Windows 10: Shocked by the low performance of a Q9550...

Hi,

I had the opportunity to take for free an OptiPlex 755 PC, thinking that I could upgrade all its components and use it as a Home Theater PC, in other words: connect it to the TV and watch YouTube, Netflix, videos and pictures from HDD's, etc...

It came with a Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz 65W CPU, the integrated GPU from Intel (Q35), chipset Intel Q35 Express, an 80GB HDD, 4GB RAM DDR2 and 280W PSU.

So, I though: ok, $10 for a 120GB SSD, $20 for a Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz 95W CPU, $20 nVIDIA GT 730 low profile passive 20W and with a fresh Windows 10 installation, I have a fantastic machine. In total, $50 for a perfect PC for watching videos and stuff.

I installed yesterday everything, all seemed to work just fine, but what is my surprise, that it couldn't handle a 1080p 60fp video in YouTube at all, even 720p 60fps is sometimes laggy and the sound gets messed, like slow, sloppy and with constant pop sounds. This happens both in Chrome and Firefox. Nevertheless, in Microsoft Edge I can watch 1080 60fps in YouTube without a single problem. I have no clue why is that. I've tried to disable hardware acceleration in Chrome, and the same thing happens.

I was royally pissed, so I benchmarked my system and compared it to my weak ASUS laptop: Intel Core i5-3210M, 4GB RAM, nVIDIA GT 610M, 256GB SSD. I was pretty sure the Q9550 was similar to the i5-3210M, and the GT 730 is miles ahead of the GT 610M.

Here I post the comparison, and I hope you find a reason why my system seems to be way weaker than I thought.
Is it may be the MoBo? The CPU is not working well? The RAM? I don't know...

This is ASUS vs DELL in GPU (610M vs 730):
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. K55VD vs Dell Inc. OptiPlex 755
- Geekbench Browser
As you can see, the 730 completely destroys the 610M, so the only reason left is the CPU.

This is ASUS vs DELL in CPU (i5-3210M vs Core 2 Quad Q9550):
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. K55VD vs Dell Inc. OptiPlex 755
- Geekbench Browser
Except in the AES-XTS thing, which has nothing to do with video playback, the rest of the results are quite similar, specially in multicore which is what video playback uses.

I'm pretty sure there's something wrong because there can't be such a big difference, the Q9550 was a hell of a beast, and many people tested it with modern GPU's in modern games, and it can handle them fine. I'd love to see if someone with a Q9550 or weaker system is able to play 1080 videos in YouTube.






I don't know why the 2D result is way worse, if the GT 730 is way better than the 610M. May be that 2D is done by the CPU?

The whole point of the system was to watch Netflix (I can), YouTube videos (only in Edge) and a Netflix like service from my ISP, which in Edge works (like for live TV), but in Chrome it behaves exactly as YouTube: laggy popping sound and image. Unfortunately, Edge is not compatible with this ISP service, so I can't watch live TV with this system, which totally sucks and kills the purpose of the build. I wanted to replace the ASUS laptop.

:)

 

How come I can use Intel X3360 for Windows 10, but not Q9550S?

Hi Luka,

Running tasks and installed applications may affect your computer's performance when booting up using another processor. For us to properly assist you in figuring out what's causing the unusual behavior of your Q9550S processor, we'd like to confirm the
following information:

• Were you able to successfully boot up with the Q9550S processor before this happened?
• Do both motherboards have the same installed applications and programs?
• Were there any recent changes made on your device prior to this occurring?
• What steps have you taken so far to rectify the issue?

Your response is greatly appreciated.

 

How come I can use Intel X3360 for Windows 10, but not Q9550S?

I'm talking about Windows 10 system, which is also installed with X3360 processor. The same core is present in Q9550(S), so don't know what's the deal?

To answer your questions:

• Motherboard has booted, but Windows 10 not!
• No, older motherboard uses X3230 proc, newer one uses X3360. I've tried to changed X3360 for Q9550S, as it spends less energy.
• No recent changes were made to that device!
• Put back the X3360, which is about 30W more heat & power hungry!

So, why would the system work with X3360, but not Q9550S. Same system, same motherboard, same RAM, same HDDs... :/

 

Q9550

On the Chip there will be ether

SLAWQ- C1 stepping
SLB8V- Eo Stepping
SLGAE- Eo Stepping but is the Q9550S

You can look at the Quad page of Intel here

It will be on the 3rd line. First word