Dual Core Worth it?

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E

eXx08

Banned
May 28, 2005
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I'm seriously thinking about switching my thought about a Dual Cor X2 3800+ to a Opteron single core 146. My questions:

1.) Does dual-core have a very big performance gain
2.) Will it be easier to install and setup a single-core
3.) Is dual-core worth the extra $130


This is my first build and I want everything to go smooth.
 
E

eXx08

Banned
May 28, 2005
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Originally posted by: Markbnj
Not if it causes another one of these threads to be created ;).
Click to expand...

I know there is like a million threads on this but I just need a down to the point answere.
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
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www.markbetz.net
Yeah, but the problem is, if I tell you "Damn straight it's worth it," which is my honest opinion, thirty five single core fanbois will come rampaging in to tell you how, in their expert opinion (meaning, the opinion that the average supermarket checkout person develops reading the cover headlines on PC World between customers) there are no multithreaded programs in windows and nobody multitasks.


 
A

aatf510

Golden Member
Nov 13, 2004
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Originally posted by: thekillerjks
I'm seriously thinking about switching my thought about a Dual Cor X2 3800+ to a Opteron single core 146. My questions:

1.) Does dual-core have a very big performance gain
2.) Will it be easier to install and setup a single-core
3.) Is dual-core worth the extra $130


This is my first build and I want everything to go smooth.
Click to expand...


1) If you are strictly talking about performance gain in applications, it is close to none in 95% of the home/office applications. You only benefit from dual-core if you run certain applications that uses 100% of your CPU, and you still need to use the computer at the same time.
2) No, they are the same thing unless you are going for an old motherboard in which you might need a single-core A64 in possesion to start-up your pc and update the BIOS.
3) It depends, read No.1
 
Hacp

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
13,923
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Originally posted by: toattett
Originally posted by: thekillerjks
I'm seriously thinking about switching my thought about a Dual Cor X2 3800+ to a Opteron single core 146. My questions:

1.) Does dual-core have a very big performance gain
2.) Will it be easier to install and setup a single-core
3.) Is dual-core worth the extra $130


This is my first build and I want everything to go smooth.
Click to expand...


1) If you are strictly talking about performance gain in applications, it is close to none in 95% of the home/office applications. You only benefit from dual-core if you run certain applications that uses 100% of your CPU, and you still need to use the computer at the same time.
2) No, they are the same thing unless you are going for an old motherboard in which you might need a single-core A64 in possesion to start-up your pc and update the BIOS.
3) It depends, read No.1
Click to expand...

 
A

Andres3605

Senior member
Nov 14, 2004
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I had a 3000+ before my dual core opteron (165), in regular scenario (i.e.: winamp+FF+NIS) it feels about the same speed, but if you are encoding, doing Photoshop, and in some heavy usage applications the computer feels a lot faster and more responsive, in games my results are pretty close (using the same speed) but if I start using another applications at the same time like team speak, winamp or some utility it feels a little faster, I say go for it if you can afford it.
 
S

santaliqueur

Member
Feb 8, 2005
114
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a big benefit to using dual core processors is that the search function works on forums. single core processors cant use the search function.

CJ
 
S

soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
LOL are you serious santa? Is that why it never works for me? Lol.

I would say go for the dual core. Of course I multitask all the time. But the longer you have your computer, the more you are going to find things you want to run into the background. I think dual-core is a very good investment considering this. I'm running soulseek, a bunch of torrents, music software (which resamples my music to 24bit/96khz), and like to have firefox up with 15+ tabs. Also theres gaim, konfabulator, ObjectDoc, Picasa in the background, Itunes, MS Antispyware, and Motherboard monitor 5. And thats just when I'm torrenting, listening to music, and browsing (pretty light useage). With that I "idle" at 30-45% on my Barton 3200+. But then say I want to burn a DVD for a friend, which converts avi to DVD-video, or playing a flash game (firefox doesn't like this), or watching a video or something else. I begin to notice some lag pretty easily. If you're like me, an upgrade to dual core would be VERY much worth the money. On the other hand, my current rig does everything I need to right now, its just a bit slow some times. An Athlon 64 might handle this perfectly (thanks to the HyperTransport), at least that is my guess. I don't know. Can anyone confirm/deny this?
I don't think its completely unthinkable to say even an Athlon 64 would be a bit taxed by all this. Thus, for future security, a dual core system would be like the $5,000,000 insurance plan. You get the multitasking performance now, plus the 64bit performance down the road, plus the REAL dual core useage/multitasking later. Sounds like a great upgrade.

I'll probably wait till quad core, however; I shouldn't really NEED an upgrade till then. Whats your current rig?
 
Farmer

Farmer

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2003
3,334
2
81
Originally posted by: santaliqueur
a big benefit to using dual core processors is that the search function works on forums. single core processors cant use the search function.

CJ
Click to expand...


:)
 
MrDudeMan

MrDudeMan

Lifer
Jan 15, 2001
15,069
94
91
ive had both, and i say go dual core. having norton on in the background has 0 affect on system speed after the upgrade to dual. you wont regret it if you can afford it.
 
J

jlbenedict

Banned
Jul 10, 2005
3,724
0
0
Dual Core is worth it.. enough said..

I previously had a 3000+ cpu, and only had it for less than a year..
I now run a X2 3800+ cpu... the differences are amazing...

DVD Shrink, Vmware Workstation, Folding@Home and other various apps that I use, are a joy to use now since I have the system resources to handle it..

DVD Shrink, running under my previous 1.8Ghz, 3000+ cpu would just about be a full load on my system... Vmware workstation is also a beast on a single cpu system.....

Now I can run two single instances of a Vmware guest; set affinity for each seperate Vmware process, and go on my merry way.. with no hiccups at all..


 
C

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
For the average user, no..for someone who just wants high FPS in games, no. For someone who wants high FPS in games, and be able to decode a DVD in the background, YES.
 
B

Boztech

Senior member
May 12, 2004
782
0
0
This also depends on how long you plan on keeping your machine. Software is going the way of multithreaded, drivers and games are already being released that take advantage of dual-core.

In short, dual-core will have more longevity at this point.
 
corkyg

corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
27,370
239
106
Absolutely worth it if you are doing video editing and DVD rendering/authoring.
 
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