Conroe or Pentium D

[arya]

Scenario:
I planned to go for this configuration

Pentium D 805 2.66 Ghz/ Asus P5ND2 SLI/ Corsair 667 1 GB/ XFX 7600 GS

Now conroe has come up and many of my friends are suggesting me to pick on a conroe. First of all some 2.xGhz is twice the price of Pentium D. Additionally I'm confused over the motherboard i should take. I like P5ND2 feature wise...and want to go for a long lasting one.

My work is mostly based around programming but i run too many things at once. Webservers(at least 2), Databases(3), WMP...some other things. this makes my current P4 1.6 squeal and freez. I dont want it to happen to the new box.

Grafix wise i work mostly with Directx and sometimes with OpenGL. I use TV3D and VB.Net to create shaders and that is primary reason I'm going for 7600 GS.

I wont be overclocking much as i do not know about it. however i love the idea of motherboard doing it for me. so i picked the ASUS P5ND2

Questions:
1. Should I go for conore? Is it worth?
2. What is good motherboard if i go for conroe. I want something similar to P5N32 SLI!
3. Is the Grafix card good enogh for me?
4. Is it worth investing in a good motherboard if i get an ordinary intel mobo in price 3 times less of Asus board?
5. How much does L1/L2 cache really matter?

Thanks in advance

p.s.
AMD people : I dont wanna make it another AMD vs Intel discussion. I would love to stick with Intel. So kindly suggest me something with Intel.

 

[myocardia]

You definitely don't want a Conroe (at least for the time being), and you also don't want an 805D. By far the best price/performance right now in the Intel camp is the 945 Presler. It's 3.4 Ghz, dual-core (so it's actually 3.4x2), and is 65nm, so it runs cool, unlike an 805D, which can be used to heat your house, if you can stand sitting close enough to it to be able to actually use it.

edit: Oh, that's a good motherboard, and graphics card, but I would go with the Corsair XMS2 DDR2-8000, if you think you might ever be interested in overclocking.

 

[gobucks]

IMHO, conroe is well worth it. performance is roughly double the Pentium D on a per-mhz basis, so the 1.86GHz e6300 performs on par with a 3.73GHz Pentium D.
Also, the power savings and reduced heat from the 65nm process really help out, and OCing is great (assuming that you're interested in that)

If you don't get a conroe though, i'd recommend an AM2 athlon X2 instead of a Pentium D. AMD has made huge price cuts, and an X2 3800+ can be had for under $150 right now.

 

[arya]

thanks..I dont know much bout overclocking. But I will look forward to it for sure. Thats the reason I wanna go for a good motherboard. Everyone advises me against Intel boards, they are much cheaper though. Moreover i have to keep my budget within a limit.

Is there any moboard similar to ASUS P5ND2 for AMD?

@ myocardia
The memory you suggested looks expensive. I'm going for memory within $125. I'm getting corsair but not sure if its XMS2.

 

[jlbenedict]

If you are in the market for a motherboard, you might as well get a Conroe compatible board and get on the Conroe bandwagon.

I think it would be kind of foolish to purchase a Pentium D, if you are also going to be purchasing a motherboard as well.

 

[Matts0344]

Instead of the Presler 945 for $30 more you could get an E6300. Woulden't this destroy a 945?

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/489364...oA**.node3?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I ordered an E6400 from them yesterday, its gonna be here Monday is says.

 

[hennethannun]

As others have said, Conroe is certainly a better idea than a P-D 805.

But if you are really just concerned with good multi-tasking performance at a low price, it is hard to beat a sub $150 A64 X2.


as for motherboards, Asus has a few AMD boards similar to yours

This board is a bit less than the feature set you were looking at

This one is a bit more (and a bit more expensive).

MSI, Gigabyte and DFI also make good AM2 boards.

However, if your heart is truly set on intel, it is hard to beat Conroe right now. the E6300 is just a bit more than $200 atm, and will outperform most any AMD or Pentium D if you overclock it a bit.

the only real drawback with Conroe right now is the rather poor motherboard selection (well, that and the impossibility of finding an E6600)

 

[Cheex]

If you are going to buy a Pentium D because of your budget the the best buy would be the Pentium D 915. $148 at Newegg.
2.8GHz Dual Core
2x2MB L2 Cache
65nm Process
C1 Stepping (Cooler, consume less power)
Will outperform a 3800+ X2 in the applications you mentioned.
Would lose to the 3800+ X2 in gaming.

Still a great value. I bought one. Will upgrade to Conroe as soon as they are more widely available and the prices drop and stabilize.
If you don't plan on doing some serious overclocking, you can get the same board i did.
ASRock 775Dual-VSTA for $58 at Newegg.
And YES people...This board fully supports Conroe (It is even printed on the board itself).

IMHO: Pentium D 915 = Great Bang 4 Buck!!

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Cheex
Will outperform a 3800+ X2 in the applications you mentioned.

Where did you get that crazy idea? You need 3.4ghz pentium-d to consistantly keep up with the 3800+ X2, the 3.2 keeps up occasionaly, but the 3800+ X2 is ahead of everything below that by a pretty good margine. You might want to go out and look at all the benchmarks...

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: Cheex
Will outperform a 3800+ X2 in the applications you mentioned.

Where did you get that crazy idea? You need 3.4ghz pentium-d to consistantly keep up with the 3800+ X2, the 3.2 keeps up occasionaly, but the 3800+ X2 is ahead of everything below that by a pretty good margine. You might want to go out and look at all the benchmarks...

My bad...for that i meant with an overclock. Reason i suggested the 915 though is because i just bought one and its working beautifully.
Also, its to make the switch to Conroe afterwards.

 

[zephyrprime]

Get a 6300 and overclock it! It's easy to do with a p5nd2. The conroe is easily the fastest processor for compiling. It can compile twice as fast as a p4.

 

[hennethannun]

If you want a good, low cost processor for the long haul, with no upgrade necessary, get the x2 3800+. it is fast, overclockable, and pretty cheap.

If you want a stop-gap processor, so you can save money now, but maybe with an eye towards upgrading within the next year, get Pentium D (915 or, if you really want to save money an 805) and a Core 2 Duo compatible motherboard. then you can grab a nice C2D processor when prices come down and availability goes up. I suppose you could

EDIT and thirdly, if you just want to spend money up front and get great performance now and for the next year or two, get a C2D E6300 (about $220 now).

 

[arya]

i thank everyone for replying

I've decided to go for conroe E6600. i saw some reviews and benchmark test results here at anandtech. so i feel Its right choice. though its costing me around $355(16000 INR).

Now the problem is the motherboard. I really liked Asus P5N32 board and wanted something similar in less than $175 so i settled for P5ND2, which is almost same on features. But most likely P5ND2 does not support conroe.

I've been suggested P5B and P5WDG2 WS Professional. P5B being the cheaper one. Personally i would prefer an SLI board so that i can put another card later on. As I'm already going for a nVidia 7600 i dont need onboard grafix.

What would you guys suggest fopr that... keeping price around $175 pereferably lower

 

[Pederv]

Just hold out for a couple months.
Prices will drop and your selection of motherboards will increase.
As the selection of motherboards increases thier prices will drop.
Furthermore an SLI chipset for conroe is coming.

 

[dasmokedog]

Originally posted by: arya
Scenario:
I planned to go for this configuration

Pentium D 805 2.66 Ghz/ Asus P5ND2 SLI/ Corsair 667 1 GB/ XFX 7600 GS

Now conroe has come up and many of my friends are suggesting me to pick on a conroe. First of all some 2.xGhz is twice the price of Pentium D. Additionally I'm confused over the motherboard i should take. I like P5ND2 feature wise...and want to go for a long lasting one.

My work is mostly based around programming but i run too many things at once. Webservers(at least 2), Databases(3), WMP...some other things. this makes my current P4 1.6 squeal and freez. I dont want it to happen to the new box.

Grafix wise i work mostly with Directx and sometimes with OpenGL. I use TV3D and VB.Net to create shaders and that is primary reason I'm going for 7600 GS.

I wont be overclocking much as i do not know about it. however i love the idea of motherboard doing it for me. so i picked the ASUS P5ND2

Questions:
1. Should I go for conore? Is it worth?
2. What is good motherboard if i go for conroe. I want something similar to P5N32 SLI!
3. Is the Grafix card good enogh for me?
4. Is it worth investing in a good motherboard if i get an ordinary intel mobo in price 3 times less of Asus board?
5. How much does L1/L2 cache really matter?

Thanks in advance

p.s.
AMD people : I dont wanna make it another AMD vs Intel discussion. I would love to stick with Intel. So kindly suggest me something with Intel.

All I can say is this:

My Pentium D805 @ 4014 was idle at 42c and 62c at full dual Prime95 load. My C2D 6300 at stock is 10% faster and runs 27c idle and 38c at full dual prime95 load. Below are my tests at stock and a mild OC to 2.1GHz. I have Corsair 6400C4 memory on the way so I will be able to push this even higher.

Stock 1.86GHZ
Temp: Idle - 27c
Temp: Load - 38c
SuperPI 1M: 0:29
SuperPI 8M: 5:34
Sandra Arithmetic: Dhrystone - 17092 MIPS
Sandra Arithmetic: Whetstone - 11845 MFLOPS
Sandra Multi-Media: Integer x8 - 102620 it/s
Sandra Multi-Media: Float x4 - 55362 it/s

OC'ed 2.10GHZ
Temp: Idle - 29c
Temp: Load - 41c
SuperPI 1M: 0:27
SuperPI 8M: 5:11
Sandra Arithmetic: Dhrystone - 19403 MIPS
Sandra Arithmetic: Whetstone - 13326 MFLOPS
Sandra Multi-Media: Integer x8 - 116018 it/s
Sandra Multi-Media: Float x4 - 62580 it/s

BTW at 2.1 this proc is faster than the AMD FX-2 62 DC @2.8GHz

 

[arya]

Originally posted by: Pederv
Just hold out for a couple months.
Prices will drop and your selection of motherboards will increase.
As the selection of motherboards increases thier prices will drop.
Furthermore an SLI chipset for conroe is coming.

thats the problem...i got many small website projects and cant work anymore on this old box...i need to upgrade. just need to pick the best option which will be something long term investment.

very confused

@dasmokedog

thats all latin to me

 

[dasmokedog]

Originally posted by: arya

Originally posted by: Pederv
Just hold out for a couple months.
Prices will drop and your selection of motherboards will increase.
As the selection of motherboards increases thier prices will drop.
Furthermore an SLI chipset for conroe is coming.

thats the problem...i got many small website projects and cant work anymore on this old box...i need to upgrade. just need to pick the best option which will be something long term investment.

very confused

@dasmokedog

thats all latin to me

Ok, since you too are a programmer I would suggest going with the 6300 Core 2 Duo. Take this chip and put it in either a Gigabyte DS3 or DQ6 motherboard. Go with the DQ6 if you want stable power with Quad Core compatiability. You will want to match this with some Corsair 6400C4 memory (1gig = $130). Everything else is up to you as it has no real impact on your needs. Personally if you are not heavy in to gaming but still like to partake in the occasional one then grab the XFX 6800XT video card. You can pick one up for about $100.

Hope that helps.




EDIT:
Sorry I just re-read your orig post. The 7600GS is an OK card but I would bump it up a notch to the 7800GT. I noticed you said you like the P5N32 SLI. Do you use SLI?

 

[arya]

thanks a lot for the memory tip.

I dont use SLI, but it wouldnt hurt to have the board in case i want to expand later on. Its not a essential factor anyway.

7600GT is kinda expensive here. I had two options in my price range x1600 Pro 512 MB and XFX 7600 GS 256. As i was going for a nForce SLI board i opted for nVidia card. I'm not a game freak anymore, but i do need a decent card which can support my work on shader model 3.0. and i thought 7600 > 6600/6800 so i'd go for that. i can go for 6800 if its better than 7600.

I like P5N32 SLI coz of its features. P5B also seems to have same feature list. So i think i can settle with that board. I'm getting the board directly from ASUS ppl and probably i'll get it cheaper than most distributors, thats why i would wanna stick to ASUS.

btw did you install liquid cooling for your OCed conroe or its just on stock cooling?

 

[dasmokedog]

Originally posted by: arya
thanks a lot for the memory tip.

I dont use SLI, but it wouldnt hurt to have the board in case i want to expand later on. Its not a essential factor anyway.

7600GT is kinda expensive here. I had two options in my price range x1600 Pro 512 MB and XFX 7600 GS 256. As i was going for a nForce SLI board i opted for nVidia card. I'm not a game freak anymore, but i do need a decent card which can support my work on shader model 3.0. and i thought 7600 > 6600/6800 so i'd go for that. i can go for 6800 if its better than 7600.

I like P5N32 SLI coz of its features. P5B also seems to have same feature list. So i think i can settle with that board. I'm getting the board directly from ASUS ppl and probably i'll get it cheaper than most distributors, thats why i would wanna stick to ASUS.

btw did you install liquid cooling for your OCed conroe or its just on stock cooling?

I would go with the XFX 7600 GS then it is a good board and a great value. As for my rig, I have a Zalman CPNS9500LED HSF. As a rule I never go with stock cooling. The Intel fans you get are very in-effecient and loud.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: dasmokedog

Originally posted by: arya
thanks a lot for the memory tip.

I dont use SLI, but it wouldnt hurt to have the board in case i want to expand later on. Its not a essential factor anyway.

7600GT is kinda expensive here. I had two options in my price range x1600 Pro 512 MB and XFX 7600 GS 256. As i was going for a nForce SLI board i opted for nVidia card. I'm not a game freak anymore, but i do need a decent card which can support my work on shader model 3.0. and i thought 7600 > 6600/6800 so i'd go for that. i can go for 6800 if its better than 7600.

I like P5N32 SLI coz of its features. P5B also seems to have same feature list. So i think i can settle with that board. I'm getting the board directly from ASUS ppl and probably i'll get it cheaper than most distributors, thats why i would wanna stick to ASUS.

btw did you install liquid cooling for your OCed conroe or its just on stock cooling?

I would go with the XFX 7600 GS then it is a good board and a great value. As for my rig, I have a Zalman CPNS9500LED HSF. As a rule I never go with stock cooling. The Intel fans you get are very in-effecient and loud.

Only if they are coupled with a pentium D. The conroes come with the same fan and the stock heatsink does a great job cooling. With the pentium D you are probably looking at the thing spinning at 4500 rpms. Probably half that with the conroe.