dual-core possibilities

[maniacmusician]

my current motherboard is starting to crap out on me; two keyboards stopped working with it, and they still work with other computers. Also, the PS/2 mouse stopped working properly today, I had to go out and buy a cheapo USB optical mouse. So basically I think this thing is going to die on me in a couple of months.

I'm planning on upgrading just the motherboard and processor, and definitely going dual-core this time. For a nice, but not too expensive solution, I had my eye on the Intel Pentium D 930; 3.0 GHz, virtualization, the goods. Now, here's what I was wondering: Is it worth it to shell out a little more money and go for a core 2 duo? That'll mean I will have to wait a little bit longer to purchase, but would it be worth the extra money? and if so, which model would you recommend?

[darkhatter]

yes, just use it for 5 minutes and you'll never go back. I'm on a turion 64 X2

[kevinf311]

I'm using my parents Pentium D and it makes windows feel as fast as my Ubuntu ;)

All kidding aside, the dual core processors are quite nice. If you're looking for longevity in purchase you might consider going with the amd dual core. Word on the "street" is that the AM2 socket will be used for both the dual and upcoming quad core processors from amd.

I'm looking for a source on this, I read it online, so I should be able to find it again...

[edit] This (http://multicore.amd.com/en/Products/) kinda says it, but not as explicitly as I read before
[edit2] I can't find anything more. Perhaps this was just a lucid dream :|

[~LoKe]

Core 2 Duo dominates any Pentium D.

[haxer]

Isnt pentium D 2x2mb cache?:-k Thats got to be almost as fast

[Embiggens]

Hey, I've been looking for a motherboard/processor combo for that past couple days and ran across this deal on a Pentium D (courtesy fatwallet). I'm looking to go a level below this in quality since I'm building a total junk computer, but you might want to take a look.

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4694648?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

(sorry I don't know how to do links the cool way yet)
Also, apparently the deal is on and off. It's 119.90 when it's on.

[haxer]

maniacmusician since your in usa you could make order from newegg.com i think .. its the cheapest i ever seen :KS

[maniacmusician]

yes, I do always order from newegg.

I was just wondering whether the price difference for a core 2 duo is worth the performance it has over a Pentium D. For instance, I could end up paying $ 100 more for a core2duo yet not get an extra $100 worth of performance over the pentium D 930. Having never used a core2duo, I cant decide on this myself.

@kevinf311: I like AMD but their dual cores are just no competition compared to Intel's.

@haxer: yeah, it does have a 2X2MB L2 cache, which would be great.

I still havent gotten a clear answer in whether a faster core2duo is worth the price jump up from a P-D 930.

By the way, it's $130 US for an oem P-D 930 on newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116238R

[Embiggens]

sorry if it was OT, I was throwing in what I could. The model I linked is $180 at newegg.

[v8YKxgHe]

Definatly get the Core 2 Duo, they are so damm fast and efficiant. Before I got my C2D I use to have a AMD X2 3800 and when my PC is rendering my music use to skip and well basicaly I couldn't use the PC while my PC was rendering with the X2 3800, but now with the C2D I can use my PC as normal when it is rendering _and_ my render times are twice as fast!

They are the most amazing CPU I've ever seen!

[kuja]

The Core2 Duos dominate anything and everything in the consumer market right now, by a sizeable margin. No questions asked.

[Mr_J_]

Definatelly go for a Core 2 Duo, They should get cheaper when the Quad show up.
At least I hope so. Maybe a while after...

Pentium and it's last series are just toasters. Avoid making a grill out of your computer, besides C2D are supposed to be faster and more efficient.

Fake Quad should be showing up soon and native about the same time as AMD shows theirs, maybe sooner.
C2D would be better than a Pentium any time.

[kevinf311]

@kevinf311: I like AMD but their dual cores are just no competition compared to Intel's.


Yeah, that's true. I've never been as much a performance shopper as a longevity one. I wish I had been able to find that article about the am2 socket. That was the only thing that really tipped AMD in my favor. If I could buy one motherboard and then upgrade only the processor after a year or two, that would make my bank account happy. As I can't find or prove (even to myself :p )that this is so, Core2Duo is probably the best bet.

[~LoKe]

Yeah, that's true. I've never been as much a performance shopper as a longevity one. I wish I had been able to find that article about the am2 socket. That was the only thing that really tipped AMD in my favor. If I could buy one motherboard and then upgrade only the processor after a year or two, that would make my bank account happy. As I can't find or prove (even to myself :p )that this is so, Core2Duo is probably the best bet.

Even if the AM2 board does support quad core in the future, it doesn't matter. Do you plan on keeping your old POS AM2 board and spending hundreds, if not a thousand on a quad core? What's the point?

[RandomJoe]

I've not used a Pentium D (that I know of - hadn't heard of it! :-k ), but I've had a Core 2 Duo system for a month now and I'll add to the chorus of "definitely get the C2D"!

The temperature difference from the P4s I had alone is worth it to me - I can't hardly get this thing to go over 100 degrees most of the time. But as someone else mentioned, being able to have some processor-intensive task running and still use other apps as smoothly as if nothing else was going on is an amazing thing to behold! :mrgreen:

I bought the E6600, since I wanted the larger cache. It wasn't hard to decide that 0.26GHz wasn't worth the $200 price jump for the E6700.

[kevinf311]

Even if the AM2 board does support quad core in the future, it doesn't matter. Do you plan on keeping your old POS AM2 board and spending hundreds, if not a thousand on a quad core? What's the point?

Are the quad cores going to cost that much? If I hadn't fried it a year and a half ago, I'd probably still be using my old 754 motherboard. If I wanted to upgrade to a quad core processor, I'd much rather spend $X on just the processor instead of having to figure in the cost of a new motherboard, too.

Like I said before, I'm not in the high performance game. Multiple core processors just seem to be the way things are going, so I will eventually get one. If I can get twice the distance out of a motherboard I will by all means try to. (I'll be riding my 939 until it grinds to a halt never to be booted again :twisted: )

Of course since my source on the AM2 socket was either imagined or too abstract for me to find again, this may all be for naught :rolleyes:

[jimrz]

I've had a Core 2 Duo system for a month now and I'll add to the chorus of "definitely get the C2D"!

The temperature difference from the P4s I had alone is worth it to me - I can't hardly get this thing to go over 100 degrees most of the time. But as someone else mentioned, being able to have some processor-intensive task running and still use other apps as smoothly as if nothing else was going on is an amazing thing to behold! :mrgreen:

I bought the E6600, since I wanted the larger cache. It wasn't hard to decide that 0.26GHz wasn't worth the $200 price jump for the E6700.

Indeed ... same proc, same reasoning and same observed results

[maniacmusician]

Thanks a lot guys, I've decided to go with the Core 2 Duo E6300 and this motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142).

the E6600 is out of my league price-wise, and the E6400 isn't really worth it IMO. I still might change my mind I suppose, but I think this is the setup I'll go with.

[23meg]

Around what temperatures do the Core 2 Duo processors typically run at? What would be the "just running Firefox and Evolution and some music player" temperature (I know it depends on the clock speed, fans, the case etc. but come on, just a rough figure), and what are the highest safe temperatures like?

[maniacmusician]

I don't know the exact stats but I do know that they run cooler than the Pentium D's. Also, they consume less power than the Pentium D's, which was a large part of my decision to go with C2D.

If you really want to cover all your bases, buy some Arctic Silver 5 (i think thats the stuff) which is cooling paste for the processor. It's much better than the goo that Intel puts on there :) and it will keep your processor cool and happy.

[The Noble]

One of the nice things about the C2D is that it is HIGHLY overclockable without any major modifications. From what I have heard, it is possible to OC a C2D by .5 GHz safely, so I say that extra hundred could be a worthy price to suffer. Just remember that the Pentium D's are based off of the Pentium 4 netburst architecture, and you know how "good" that is.

I suggest that you do some serious research and not trust everything I say, as I am not 100% sure that everything is true.

[maniacmusician]

yeah if you check my post a few back, I've decided to go with the e6300; at least that's my initial decision. I don't have the money right now to cough up for an e6600, and that's the only other one I would pay that much for anyways.

btw the c2d e6300 is only about 30-40 dollars more than the P-D 930 :) So I think I'll be getting my money's worth with it. I've been looking at benchmarks and stuff, and the e6300 usually outdoes the pentium d 930 by a reasonable enough amount to warrant $50 extra bucks for it. And it's even over-clockable, as you said.

But actually, I've heard that the P-D 930 is also a very good processor for OC'ing. Or so says my friend who owns it, I've never checked that out.

I can't wait till I have the money to order the c2d; I'm excited.

[RandomJoe]

Around what temperatures do the Core 2 Duo processors typically run at? What would be the "just running Firefox and Evolution and some music player" temperature (I know it depends on the clock speed, fans, the case etc. but come on, just a rough figure), and what are the highest safe temperatures like?
That would pretty much be how I use my system. I am using the stock Intel cooler, and used Arctic Silver instead of the Intel pad.

My readings are in degF, if the degC conversions are wrong blame my HP calculator... :mrgreen:

Normal day-to-day operation, the CPU temp shows 95F / 35C.

When I crank up mplayer with "threads=2" to encode a DVD, or play UT or CivCTP for an extended period of time, it'll climb to all of 100F / 38C.

There was *one* time I actually managed to get the CPU temp to climb to maybe 105F / 41C briefly - but I can't remember what I was doing to manage that! Think I might have had Civ running on one screen while encoding something in another (to actually max out both cores).

I was suspicious of my temp readings at first, but got under the desk to physically check, and the air blowing out of the case is certainly far far cooler than any of my other systems. And nothing burns my fingers when poking around inside! ;)

[maniacmusician]

yeah it seems as if I was a little off on my observation, the C2D's do run a little hot. But with the right cooling paste and as long as you don't do anything crazy, it doesn't seem like it would be too bad. If you're interested in OC'ing the 36600 would be the one to go with....It can OC all the way up to 4.0 GHz with the right cooling!

[~LoKe]

yeah it seems as if I was a little off on my observation, the C2D's do run a little hot. But with the right cooling paste and as long as you don't do anything crazy, it doesn't seem like it would be too bad. If you're interested in OC'ing the 36600 would be the one to go with....It can OC all the way up to 4.0 GHz with the right cooling!

The Core 2 Duo consumes less power, thereby running cooler than other dual core processors.