Intel Core 2 Extreme CPU X9100 SLGE7 E0 @ about $150 (¥ 960.00)

I'm not so sure that this qualifies for this subforum, but I've been dying to share this find with someone. This seems like the best place for it, and I know that more than a few of you might appreciate this deal.

Link: http://tw.taobao.com/item/12642902627.htm
Specs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#.22Penryn_XE.22_.2845_nm.29

International shipping is about $3.15 (¥ 20.00).

Some background: the X9100 E0 stepping is essentially the T9900 with an unlocked clock multiplier. It runs cooler than the C0 steppings, and iirc, it requires less power. Laptops which cannot accept the C0 stepping due to poor cooling might be able to run the E0 stepping safely. For laptops with Socket P that are limited to dual-core processors, this is pretty much the absolute best CPU you can get. (However, do your research, etc.)

Unfortunately, while the C0 stepping of the X9100 is quite common, its E0 stepping is extremely hard to find. This is the primary reason I'm sharing this deal here. I've done a fair bit of searching to find this vendor, and I really want to put the word out there that, yes – these things still do exist on the marketplace!

My secondary reason is of a more selfish nature. I know that $150 is a fair price for this CPU, and I'm not interested in a price check. However, I cannot read Chinese, and I have no experience shopping at Asian marketplaces. If there's anyone out there who is interested in ordering one, I'd love to hear how the process goes. If someone who speaks Chinese would like to contact the vendor to verify that they are indeed selling the E0 stepping, not a mislabeled C0, please do share their response with the rest of us peons. Looks like they've got plenty of units to go around.

Thanks for your time!

 

Wow I didn't know anybody still actively sought out Penryn processors. I feel like a sandy bridge quad would absolutely obliterate it, and they can be had for cheap nowadays. What computer would you be putting this into?

 

Potentially, my Dell Inspiron 1545. I'm a web developer, and I get really attached to my tools. Although it makes poor economic sense to upgrade it rather than buying a better laptop on the used market, I think it deserves an upgrade for all the service it's given me, and I'm curious to see just how much this old motherboard can take. (Shameless plug to my WTB: Option GTM679W thread.)

Unfortunately, there is a BIOS lock on the Dell Inspiron 1545 that prevents folks from using quad-core processors. I don't think anyone has managed to break it yet, and besides, I've done no research regarding whether or not the motherboard and its controllers and whatnot would be able to accept a quad on the hardware level. (But see this thread re: Core 2 Quads.)

However, I'm willing to settle for the T9900 rather than risking the X9100 E0. There's not enough research out there re: the Inspiron 1545's power and temp handling of the X9100, partly because the E0 stepping is so hard to find. If I install the C0 stepping, it'll fry itself or the board for sure, maybe not instantly, but it'll happen. (See this blog post and its follow-up. From what I understand, this is what will happen when you use the C0 stepping on a laptop not designed for 45W and don't undervolt it.) Plus, a used T9900 is like 1/3rd the price of the X9100 E0.

Anyway, now I'm just sharing random bits of research I've found. Regarding this find, I'm still hoping that someone who speaks Chinese might contact this vendor and verify that they are selling the E0 stepping. Their CPU-Z screenshot shows the C0 stepping, so there's conflicting information on that page, but I'm still holding out hope that they've just ripped that screenshot from another vendor.

 

I think you can just grab a X9100 C0 from ebay and undervolt it. I had a unlocked Q9100 Quad core ES that could run its max stock multiplier at 1.05V instead of its default 1.1675 and run a step below its max multiplier at the lowest possible voltage (0.9500), and it was a C0 stepping. For being a VERY early revision engineering sample chip (it didn't even have temp sensors!), it performed very very well.

 

I bought three X9100 E0 processors from Taobao for 400RMB each. They are really horrible compared to a T9900. The dies Intel used in the X9100 work well with massive cooling, overvolting, and overclocking. In a laptop that is not designed for it, it is just going to run hot because the stock voltage will be higher than a T9900, you can barely undervolt an X9100 while a T9900 can be undervolted a lot, and there is little thermal or power headroom to get a higher clockspeed than the T9900.

And never under any cirumstances buy a C0 steping Penryn. They are utter trash and worse than an E0 X9100!

 

Over a year ago I bought a t9900 for something like $50. I didn't think the overclockability was worth the premium.

It undervolted to <1.1 volts at 3.2ghz iirc.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk