Need help with understanding dual core/single core

[MikeyLSU]

I looked under search and am still somewhat confused. To start, I have had my current MOBO/CPU for 2.5 years. Have an Athlon 2500+M OCed to 2.1

So I haven't really followed CPUs much since then. I basically go for bang for buck when upgrading but have no preference between a single core or dual core.

What I would like to know is mainly how to find out just how good a chip performs. i'm mainly talking about gaming. Since there is so much more to each chip now than just the speed, I am very confused on how good so and so chip is. For instance, the FX series by AMD, when compared to dual core chips. is it better to get a dual core 3.2 or a single 4600?

Appreciate any info, or links where I could read up on some stuff also. Does anywhere have comparative charts for a bunch of CPUs on performance?

EDIT: I guess while I'm asking, what forum is best to ask about memory? I would like to see what are the differences in DDR/DDR2. Is it worth the upgrade if you already have DDR.

 

[StopSign]

Read the reviews at Anandtech. They usually include benchmarks as well.

Nowadays you kinda have to get dual core processors because single core is old technology and you should never "upgrade" to old technology. When you say dual core, you gotta specify which processor family you're talking about. As far as performance goes, Core 2 Duo blows away anything AMD has to offer right now and are extremely overclockable. The E6300 and E4300 are probably two of the best overclockers of all time, both able to easily yield 80% overclocks.

For memory, go ask at the CPU/Overclocking board. Right now you're pretty much forced to buy DDR2.

 

[Imyourzero]

Definitely go with a dual core even if you see a single core CPU that is clocked higher. Coming from an Athlon 2500+, you won't believe the difference in multitasking and general Windows responsiveness.

Most of the problems with games & dual-core CPUs have been ironed out, so don't worry about that. Just about any dual core CPU aside from the Pentium D will be able to handle newer games with ease.

 

[MikeyLSU]

is there any easy way to find out how good a particular CPU is without having to dig up benchmarks. For instance looking at a Core 2 Duo clocked at 2.8 or something compared to an AMD 4800+. Is it just one of those things that you have to know.

What is the best buy dual core for around $200 right now?

 

[Imyourzero]

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
is there any easy way to find out how good a particular CPU is without having to dig up benchmarks. For instance looking at a Core 2 Duo clocked at 2.8 or something compared to an AMD 4800+. Is it just one of those things that you have to know.

What is the best buy dual core for around $200 right now?

Well, if you wanted to stay with AMD, you could go for an X2 4400+ or 4600+. I had a 4400+ and was very happy with it, even at stock speeds it was a VERY capable CPU.

However, with the C2D E6400 also hovering around that budget and being an insane overclocker, I'd have to recommend that. Don't worry about how it compares...once you get that puppy around 3.2GHz it'll be just about as fast as anything out there (including the high end chips from AMD and Intel) for an extremely reasonable price.

 

[MikeyLSU]

ok, so looking around newegg at different c2d CPUs Looks like the E4300 is a good OCer as well. Can you really OC from 2.13 to 3.2? And how much do you need to do that, just a good heatsink/fan combo? Do you have a E6400? Either way, what is a good MOBO for it.

And back to memory, I currently am using 1.5 GB of PC 3200 DDR RAM. I will probably upgrade that to either 2GB or 3GB, but should I keep that RAM or upgrade it to DDR2?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

If you go with C2D or AM2(AMD's new platform) you will have to upgrade to DDR2, the only way to reuse your DDR memory is with the AMD 939 platform.

If your going to upgrade memory, I would definately go with C2D and DDR2. I just ordered a C2D upgrade and picked the following components

E6400 (and yes they really o/c from 2.13 to at least 3.2, some much higher)
Asus P5B-E rev. 1.02G
OCZ Flex XLC PC2-6400 (DDR2-800)

 

[MikeyLSU]

thanks for the info, that sucks about the RAM and will probably cause me to delay upgrading my system for a little longer. Low it is looking like it will be at least $200 more than I was expecting.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

You will also have to upgrade your video card to PCI-e, none of the newer motherboards will take an AGP 8x card

You will need new mobo,ram,video card, and most likely a new power supply

 

[MikeyLSU]

yeah, I knew that part, was expecting to sell my old one and get a new one. SHouldn't be much more for a similar card to hold me over until the DX10 cards are lower in price. But I have a feeling used RAM won't sell very well

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
Does anywhere have comparative charts for a bunch of CPUs on performance?

Tomshardware has a nice set of fairly comprehensive CPU and VGA charts.

 

[StopSign]

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
For instance looking at a Core 2 Duo clocked at 2.8 or something compared to an AMD 4800+. Is it just one of those things that you have to know.

Yes.

 

[MikeyLSU]

another thing.

Either the E4300 or E6400, when overclocking this chip, how far will it go with stock everything. As in, if it can get to 2.8 or3.0 with stock HS/fan, is it worth spending the extra for that last little bit of OC?

 

[StopSign]

My E6300 can do 3.2 while undervolted. I'm not sure if you can use the stock cooler for that because the temperature of these chips seem to be all over the place. Some people have ridiculously low temperatures on stock cooler or Freezer 7 Pro (I doubt their validity) and some people have abnormally high temperatures. The stock cooler will definitely get you there if you don't increase the voltage, but it will still be pretty warm. It's always better to get good cooling just as a precaution.

 

[MikeyLSU]

ok, thanks.

I just read the OC AT article on the 4300. And many times it references that the chip costs $166 and will lower to $133 in Q2. Yet I see it for around $190-$200 everywhere I look. Where are they getting the 166 price from?

Actually, checking on newegg right now, the e6300 is cheaper than the e4300...why is this? I thought the 6300 was a better chip. Though it is very tempting to wait for the 6350 to come out with 4MB cache.

EDIT: Now a question about overclocking. I am confused about getting a 1:1 ratio with RAM/CPU

For instance, everyone says getting DDR2 800 would be good to get. How is that a 1:1 ratio when you OC to 3.2 by pushing the FSB up to 350 or something?

EDIT again: I think I am starting to understand the OC ratio. Is it that DDR2 800 RAM will run at any speed below 400 FSB without overclocking. So if you had 667 RAM, if you passed the FSB of 337 you would need to overclock. And this makes getting the DDR2 800 easier because you don't need to deal with that?

 

[StopSign]

Yes. DDR2-800 will guarantee an overclock of 400 FSB, given that your motherboard and CPU can handle that stably.

 

[MikeyLSU]

looking on newegg, is there any reason to get the 4300 over the 6300 at the same price? The 6300 is actually slightly cheaper. Does one have more potential than the other?

Also, what is a good MOBO to use for each chip?

 

[StopSign]

E4300 is popular because it has a higher multiplier, quick gives it more overclocking potential. With DDR2-800 you get 9x400 as opposed to the E6300's 7x400. However you're not guaranteed to be stable at 9x400 and the E4300 overall seems to require more voltage(?).

 

[MikeyLSU]

so what is a good MOBO for either of these chips, 4300 or 6300 since that seems to be what I'm deciding between. Leaning towards teh 4300 though.