C2D newbie: is the main difference between processors just speed and L2 cache?

[mshan]

I am just starting the transition from A64 x2 to C2d and am trying to figure out which cpu to get (Asus P5W DH Deluxe and Intel BoxDG31PR motherboards).

I am much more of an HTPC / silent pc type than a gamer, so stability and compatability are more important than overclockability, although obviously if potential is there for same price that's obviously ok.

Is the difference between all of these C2D processors just rated speed and L2 cache?

And at what point do perceivable differences in performance (instantaneously snappiness and raw horsepower) disappear for general computing, htpc, and some light gaming?

 

[Lonyo]

Yup, all the differences that most consumers will care about are cache, clock speed and FSB speed. The other missing feature(s) are usually things like support for virtualisation technologies which don't tend to matter for the average home user.
The performance differences vary depending on application. Obviously higher clock speeds are always better, but some programs care about cache and FSB speeds, while others don't.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3112&p=8 <- fairly useful roundup comparing 1MB vs 2MB vs 4MB cache Core 2's. You can see in Sysmark that the extra cache of the E6550 does a lot more than the small clock speed increase over the E4000's, but with media encoding the gap is mainly due to clock speed.

If you want something silent, an E7200 processor would probably be a nice budget buy.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...E16819115052&Tpk=E7200
45nm, so low power (and therefore good for silent running/HTPC use), will overclock, has a decent amount of cache and good raw clock speed.
Pretty much any Core 2 will be snappy in general use, and it will also perform in gaming. Obviously faster processors with higher clock speeds/more cache are always going to be better, and more expensive. An E8200 is $180 or so, and has 130MHz more clock speed and double the cache.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...dale-3M.22_.2845_nm.29 for a summary of specific differences between the E7000 and E8000 series. Mostly cache, FSB and clock speed.

 

[mshan]

For my needs, how would an e6600 or e4600 compare to the e7200? (Asus P5W DH Deluxe and Intel BoxDG31PR mobos).

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Badly. The E7200 is penryn, so it has a bit of an advantage over the others already. The E4000 series is the same price, so don't bother, and the E6600 is more expensive than an E8400.

 

[mshan]

delete