good dual core to oc & a good quad core to oc

[dynamota]

Hi All,

I am just beginning to understand the concept of over clocking.

What is a good Intel dual core to overClock and at the same time, what is a good quad core to over clock? (as of today)

How high can either of these be pushed safely?

General Knowledge Question:
a) Why should I go for a quad core when there are very very few applications that are built today to utilize the power of 4 processors. If we talk games Crysis is the only game that I know. (may be there are others.)

b) If there is an application(built for a single cpu) that takes a lot out of a cpu, how is the processing distributed between the 4 processors?

Most of you would have answered a variation of this question one way or the other. But do appreciate helpful insights in this area


tx in advance

 

[angry hampster]

Read through this:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2145784&enterthread=y


A lot of the same questions were addressed in there.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

in choosing a processor the decision between dual and quad shouldn't take more than a minute to decide. 95% of games will play equally on both dual and quad core cpu's.

the dual will do most things just as well as a quad but with quad u can do more multi tasking and work on multi threaded apps with less slowdown.

another pro for the quad would be DC programs such as f@h

the best dual core OC'er today is the intel 8400 and the best quad core OC'er is the Q6600 G0 stepping. (correct me if i'm wrong guys)

 

[dynamota]

Tx guys,

After reading through the first link, I realized that they are two different beasts.

I would primarily use my PC to:

1. Play games (Crysis, UT3, Guildwars etc)
2. Browse web and do a lot of web development(php/.net/coldfusion)
3. Use tools like CS3 appl list,
3. Once in a while encode videos

weighted average would push me towards a dual core.

Here is another area I am struggling with. Say I get a E8400(assuming that its a good one to overclock) and in about a years time, I decide to pick up another dual core. I am hoping that I can find a mobo that I don't have to change.

 

[angry hampster]

I assume that the Nahalem processors will still be on LGA 775 socket. If this is the case, you won't need a new mob o.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: angry hampster
I assume that the Nahalem processors will still be on LGA 775 socket. If this is the case, you won't need a new mob o.

different platform. Different arch.

And unless he grabs DDR3 which is overpriced compared to ddr2, he's gonna need to change that as well. :T

 

[Mondoman]

Remember, too, that some people think of "best overclocker" as biggest % speed increase (like an e2xxx), whereas others think of it as "fastest speed once overclocked," which would be something like the e8400. A lot depends on your budget. As for a MB, get one that officially supports 1333MHz FSB and can be overclocked to 1600MHz FSB and beyond, and you should be able to get good upgrade CPUs for it for a couple of years at least.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: Mondoman
Remember, too, that some people think of "best overclocker" as biggest % speed increase (like an e2xxx), whereas others think of it as "fastest speed once overclocked," which would be something like the e8400. A lot depends on your budget. As for a MB, get one that officially supports 1333MHz FSB and can be overclocked to 1600MHz FSB and beyond, and you should be able to get good upgrade CPUs for it for a couple of years at least.

Nehalem will crush those dreams

 

[Tempered81]

if your picking up an e8400 it will be the last 775 upgrade on this architecture unless you pick up a yorkfield later this year. You could run with a cheap setup, pick up a p5k or ds3l and a 2180, or if your going with 65nm conroes, you could pick up any old 945, 965, or 975x chipset motherboard.

a bargain deal with an easy oc would be a $60 OCable mobo and an e21xx, If you want the performance go with a p35-dq6 or p5k dlx or lanparty ut p35tr2 and pair it with an e8400, or wait for a yorkfield

anything you choose, nahalem will be a whole pc upgrade, mobo ram & cpu

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: dynamota
Tx guys,

After reading through the first link, I realized that they are two different beasts.

I would primarily use my PC to:

1. Play games (Crysis, UT3, Guildwars etc)
2. Browse web and do a lot of web development(php/.net/coldfusion)
3. Use tools like CS3 appl list,
3. Once in a while encode videos

weighted average would push me towards a dual core.

Here is another area I am struggling with. Say I get a E8400(assuming that its a good one to overclock) and in about a years time, I decide to pick up another dual core. I am hoping that I can find a mobo that I don't have to change.

I was under the assumption that the UT3 engine was able to use multi cores as well as CS3 and assuming you could find software that can utilize multiple cores, a quad is better for encoding too.

 

[dynamota]

I think CS3 has a some kind of a patch that can make it useful for quad core. But I think that UT 3 is not quad core.


Another tough question:
What is the life of a E8400 or Q6600 if I over clock it? OverClock it to say reasonable levels?

atleast 2 yrs?

 

[dynamota]

I have a budget of $1500 to $2000 to build my rig.

Initially I thought that I will get one of the high end OC processors that are at $1100.00
But that was just going to throw my whole budget off by another $1000.00

Thats the reason, why I decided to research each area and find a place where it will work for me.

I currently have a 3 yr old:
AMD FX 55 on nvidia MSI K8 neo mobo, 2g of ram and a 6800 ultra video card.

I think I am going to keep the case and the dvd drive. Other than that, I am just hoping to bring in all new parts. (Like psu, mobo, processor, 4g ram)
Dont think I will get an SLI, might go for one of those 768mb video cards.

 

[krnmastersgt]

An overclocked Q6600 or E8400 will last probably around 4-6 years before showing any problems from aging.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
An overclocked Q6600 or E8400 will last probably around 4-6 years before showing any problems from aging.

I'm pretty sure he meant "before it's as slow as my current system", not before he has to replace the CPU because of overclocking damage. And in that case, the Q6600 should last about as long as your current system has, although the E8400 would need to be replaced before then. And I'd recommend you buy one of these cards, instead of an 8800GTX.

BTW, here's a partial list of the current games that use all four cores of a quad-core:
Supreme Commander (doesn't benefit much, though), Quake Wars (again, not much benefit), BioShock, UT3, Tabula Rasa, The Witcher, World in Conflict, Crysis, and the one that pretty much requires a quad, M$'s Flight Simulator X (utilizes all cores 100%, with roughly double the framerate over dual-cores of the same speed).

 

[dynamota]

Here is another question:

Say I go with a Q6600 and plan to over clock it, whats the best mobo I can get to maximize things

Two things that a friend suggested that I keep in mind.

1. "Whatever board you get make sure your board has an R at
the end of the ICH for example ICH9R"
2. "Are you getting a SATA DVD Drive? If not then you'll need to make sure your
board has an IDE port and that the cable will reach in the case you choose."

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: dynamota
I think CS3 has a some kind of a patch that can make it useful for quad core. But I think that UT 3 is not quad core.


Another tough question:
What is the life of a E8400 or Q6600 if I over clock it? OverClock it to say reasonable levels?

atleast 2 yrs?

CS3 scales well at 2 cores - pretty major diminishing returns @ 4 cores. I don't know much about the patch but will guess it does a better job at balancing load across 4 cores as opposed to running actual threads in parallel ...

Premiere on the other hand scales much better to 4 cores ...

edit: As far as the gaming - once again, better load-balancing as opposed to true parallelism.
FSX is the exception ... in most cases