Core 2 Duo 2.4 or Dual Core Pentium D 3.2

[aircooled]

I already have the 3.2 Dual Core, but have the operatunity to get a Core 2 Duo 2.4 for a good price.

I'm not a heavy gamer, but do play with graphics software a bit.

Worth switching?

 

[BadThad]

Yes, the C2D blows the Pentium D away.

 

[The-Noid]

Only by about 120% at the same clock speed, at least it's a close contest

 

[Markfw]

4.2 Pentium D ~= X2 @2500 ~= Core2 @ 2.1

Thats my experience. So dunp that D as soon as you can.

 

[Aluvus]

If your motherboard supports Core 2 Duo, and the price is good, then certainly yes.

If your motherboard does not support Core 2 Duo, it's not quite as clear cut. Motherboard replacements are not fun

 

[aircooled]

Thanks all.
Yes I have a motherboard for it, just didn't know if being so much lower in clock speed that it would be worth while, but looks like it is.

 

[Roguestar]

One more mind freed of the megahertz myth. Our job here is done.

 

[Ayah]

Poor poor lifer. Core 2 Duos are brutally powerful clock per clock.

 

[MichaelD]

/walks into House Party at 3:30AM

Um...am I late?

C2D blows everything out of the water at this time. Even if you're not overclocking, they are just badass.

And oh, BTW; they overclock with no fuss at all. Get a decent HSF and you've got a minimum 50% overclock on a E6400.

If your current MB supports it (you've said it does) there's no reason to get anything else.

 

[mithrandir2001]

It ain't like it used to be. No more MHz comparisons.

I went from a 1.4GHz Tualatin to a 1.86GHz Core2Duo.

In simple single-threaded apps, like LAME MP3 encoding, performance is only a little better with Core2Duo. In fact I get even better performance from the 3.2GHz P4 Northwood in my work PC. In this case using a DOS app, clock speed is a strong indicator of performance.

But in tough multi-threaded applications, like AutoGK video encoding, performance is leagues better with my Core2Duo; I'd say between 4-5x faster than my 1.4GHz Tualatin.

I would not buy a Netburst CPU (e.g. Pentium D) under any circumstances, however, because of power and heat issues.

 

[StrangerGuy]

The slowest Core 2 Duo right now is faster than the fastest Pentium-D ever released. Enough said.