NP8662: upgrading from p9700 to q9200 for free?

Hi,

I'm considering selling my OEM P9700 and replacing it by an ES QVAR Q9200. I dont really need the extra battery life, but I often run CPU heavy calculations for my work so I'm sure I would benefit from the quad core. I was surprised to see that the P9700 seems to sell for approx 400USD (new) and 350USD (used or ES) and the Q9200 sells for about 300-320USD on EBay. This means I could upgrade for free if I get enough cash for my P9700.

Is that realistic? Is there something I'm not reading well on the market (are these P9700 chips on demand)? The thing is ideally I'd like to buy the Q9200 before selling my P9700, else I wont be able to use my laptop for a few weeks.

Also I was wondering whether I could overclock the Q9200 a bit... those QVAR chips have unlocked multipliers right? Could I simply use RMClock to push it to 10x (2.66Ghz) or 10.5x (2.8Ghz)?

Thanks,
Mat

EDIT: Oh yeah, the other thing I wanted to ask is whether I need to hurry or not for selling my P9700. Is its value going to drop fast as more i5 and i7 laptops flood the market? It's a bit of a risky transaction for a broke student like myself, so if I could wait 6 months without my chip losing too much value that'd be best for me.

 

Make sure first your M/B can accept Quadcore. P9700 is a good processor and costs really much. The prices of ES CPUs are rising, like QAVR, costs now 40 more than 6 months ago.

 

How can I make sure my MoBo accepts QuadCore? I thought that all NP8662 computers did (as opposed to NP8660).

Good point about the rise in ES CPU prices... that probably means these samples are going to run out of supply sooner or later (because Intel is not producing any new ones)... especially true for the Q9200 because this one was never officially released. That also means I should hurry if I want to make an advantageous switch.

Other opinions are welcome!

 

What type of heavy calculation is your work ? is it CAD, Engineering Programs? the program that you use for your work can use the 4 cores simultaneously ? If you give more precision about your usage, i could give you some advices about upgrading.

 

I'm in the medical imaging field, so my work involves processing large imaging data sets. Most of the time I use Matlab and I also run Monte Carlo simulations in C. I also use my computer for various tasks, such as audio/video encoding, "heavy" word processing (scientific documents with dozens of figures, tables, equations and hundreds of references), programming and casual gaming (sometimes all at once!). While most users here are concerned with gaming performance, my main concern is my ability to multi-task.

I'm not limited by my current setup. I'm happy with my P9700 right now but who would turn down a free upgrade when offered? I never realized my CPU was worth that much on the market, that's why I suddenly had this idea of upgrading.

 

For most of the medical imaging and 3d reconstruction programs, they can't use the 4 cores simultaneously, neither the word processing programs. So for these programs the 2-cores 2.8Ghz is better than the 4-cores 2.4GHz. In the contrary, the video encoding-decoding specially that of H.264/AVC could be better with the quadro core. So you have to decide which category is most important for you.

If you use professional imaging programs under Windows then i wonder why you chose the GeForce 260M GTX GPU. Sager NP866x can host the professional Quadro FX 2700M GPU which has dedicated certified drivers for a lot of CAD, 3D, Design, Visualization, Engineering and Biomedical Industry programs specially under Windows. it's a little more expensive than the 260M (about USD270) but it's a professional card.

 

Budget. I'm not a big CAD guy, the GTX260m is already overkill for my needs. I'm just considering a CPU upgrade for futureproofing, I want to keep this laptop for at least 4-5 years. In my opinion the Quad would definitely be an upgrade for multitasking.

The best CPU that will fit this motherboard is the QX9300 but there is no way in hell i'm spending 1000$ on it. That's why I was considering the Q9200... I would hate myself 2 years from now if I wasted the opportunity for a free upgrade if ebay suppliers ran out of these ES quad chips.

Did anyone successfully multiplier-OC a Q9200 in a M860TU? I would keep it on Intel Speedstep so that it runs cooler on idle but it would have that extra multiplier when needed.

 

If you aren't afraid of Engineering samples, you can get a QX9300 for about $500 or so. When it comes to overclocking, the NP8662 is about as unfriendly as it gets. Some tried Set FSB with lame results and others use a CPU Pin mod to hardware overclock. I recommend a QX9300 ES.

 

Laptopnut! I really wanted to get advice from you because I've seen your posts where you argue in favor of a QuadCore CPU in the np8662. For my type of usage (multitasking, not hardcore gaming) you would recommend I move for a Quad right? Can you confirm that all np8662 have Quad Core support or should I open it up and try to double-check the mobo version? I bought mine pretty late, in july 2009, so I'm pretty sure it should support it.

hmm ok so even though es q9200 chips have "unlocked" multipliers i wont be able to use any multipliers higher than 9x because the np8662 bios does not provide an overclocking tool? lame... i dont want to use FSB overclocking because i want to keep stock memory and GPU clocks, want to keep my rig as cool as possible

 

For multitasking, if the app can use 4 Cores, then you have more raw power. If the app can only use 1-2 Cores, then you can just use the other 2 for something else. Either way, having 4 Cores at 2.5 Ghz will be more productive than only being limited to a total of 2 at 2.8 Ghz. You will also be able to run more applications at the same time without the CPU being easily maxed out.

2.5 Ghz isn't severely slower than 2.8 Ghz and some apps will have been updated to add multicore support too. The QX9300 also has more cache than the P9700.


I thought that all NP8662 had Quad support since that was the main reason for the refresh, it won't hurt to make 100% sure though.

Correct, the Bios in the NP8662 does not allow you to do any over clocking which is why others have done FSB and hardware mods to accomplish this task.

I recommend that you buy a QX9300 ES from shirleyfu1117 on Ebay, he is selling a few QX9300's at $560.00, the prices seem to be increasing from what I remember too.

You only mentioned multitasking but you will also find that the QX9300 is excellent for all gaming too, especially GTA IV.

 

thanks for the advice!

but wouldnt you agree that if i cant overclock the Q9200 without FSB or hardware mods then I cant overclock the QX9300 either? I was under the impression that the reason the QX9300 was so expensive was its overclockability, being an extreme chip. But if I cant overclock it then I would be paying 200$ extra for a bare .13 Ghz (half a multiplier). The Q9100 and Q9200 chips also have 12mb cache but are much cheaper.

 

That is true, the QX9300 is no different to the Q9200 in terms of not being able to overclock and yes, you would just be paying an extra $200 for a very small increase. I tend to look at it slightly differently, i.e getting the highest Quad CPU that your laptop can physically take right now.

I do think that you should get the Q9200 taking into account cost and performance and for $299, you can't really go wrong. Just be sure to use some good thermal compound like Arctic MX3, ArctiClean for remover, and make sure you rid yourself of static before the process. (I am assuming that you haven't upgraded / replaced a laptop CPU).


You can also undervolt to increase battery time and reduce idle and max temps by up to 5C+.

Beware that a few of the Q9200 CPU ES don't have a temp sensor, as far as I know, the ones that Shirley sells do have them though.

As far as I remember, the Q9200 chips that have Core stepping E0 have working temp sensors.

 

Thanks for the good advice! Do you think I'll have trouble selling my P9700 for >300$ ?

 

I have no idea but be sure to mention that your P9700 is OEM and has never been overclocked which will help. Consider that there are a few P9700 Engineering samples on Ebay and they cost $348.88. You might have some luck on the forums here too.

 

Roymathieu, if you live in or near Montreal, I may be selling a Quad sometime soon. Feel free to PM me if you like.

 

omg I do live in Montreal, I'm PM you right away

 

Laptopnut, you never had any heat problem whatsoever in your NP8662 using a Q9000 or a QX9300? My P9700 idles at 30-32C and maxes out at 55-57C under heavy load and is constantly the coolest component in my laptop, what kind of temp increases can I expect with a 45W TDP quad core?

 

My QX9300 ran slightly cooler than my Q9000 because it was undervolted or maybe due to the smaller amount of thermal paste that I applied compared to how much was on the previous install.

I had idle temps of 35-40C, sometimes 43-44C from what I remember depending on use. After a few hours of GTA IV gaming most Cores maxed out around 77-78C. Bare in mind that GTA IV uses all cores and puts anywhere from 90-95%, sometimes 100% load on each core. My Q9000 used to max out at 80C - 82C if I remember correctly. Less CPU intensive gaming will obviously result in a lower max load temp, sometimes around 70C.

 

my p9700 is up for sale on the NBR marketplace for those interested!

 

Just go with the QAVR Q9200.

 

QAVS or QAVR is better and what is the difference? Because I have a QAVS chip

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5076227&postcount=11

 

Thanks for the link soviet!

 

just to let you guys know i am now the proud owner of a Q9200 in my M860TU! I bought my chip from Crylo and it was a great pleasure doing business with him.

So far the temperatures look very good, nothing wrong to report. I was playing around trying to undervolt it and I've made some interesting findings, I'm starting a new thread to discuss this over.

 

Congrats. Hopefully I can get a buyer soon for this T9800 and I'll be joining you in the Q9200 club.

 

Hi roymathieu,

is the p9700 still available? my asus apparently cant take a quad core (bios mod/update anyone?) so a p9700 is a great upgrade option. is it still available?
thanx

 

nope i sold it to another NBR user

 

I might be able to sell my Q9200. Pm me if interested thanks

 

Can the Q9200 hit 4ghz (with 333mhz FSB pin mod and volt mod)?

Whats the max multi you can set?

 

So what does QAVS / QAVR or QAJF mean and what's an ES?

Edit: Ah, ES=Engineering Sample? Anything wrong with an ES chip?

 

QAVS and QAVR are the sSpec names for ES Q9200's. All ES CPU's use a four character alphabetic code while OEM and retail CPU's use a five character alphanumeric code.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=396594

 

Engineering Samples are pre-production chips, and thus often have disabled or missing features compared to final production models. Of course, being pre-production chips, they also often have extra features that never made it into the final design (extra cache, minor architectural changes). The biggest problem with buying an ES is that, technically, it's illegal. ES chips were distributed by Intel for testing purposes, and are technically still property of Intel; anyone who gets an ES chip is _not_ supposed to sell it. Not that this stops people, and truth to tell, Intel probably won't come after you for it.

 

well i'm glad i made a move and got my q9200, i just made a quick search on ebay and no one is selling any q9200 anymore, not even shirley

did intel do something to get them off the market? or have they simply sold out?

btw if you search for q9200 on ebay the only results you'll get is this seller computerupgradeking offering 17" OCZ whitebooks with dual HDDs, 4Gb DDR3, 130M GT 512mb and Q9200 for 1000$, pretty good deal if you're on a tight budget!

 

Shirley runs out from time to time. They'll be back.

It definitely wasn't Intel's doing, as there''s still hundreds of ES processors on eBay.

p.s. I'd never spend $1k for a GT 130M