Lay it down for me please Core 2 Duo

[robertq]

Hi

I bought a system with Intel P3 & then with P4 & then with P4 Hyper Threading.

Then I bought a ystem with P4 Dual Core 3.0 GHz.

Nowthere is a buzz of P4 with Dual Core.

So Now I want to buy a P4 Core 2 Duo system.

What GHz Core2 Duo will give me a performance much better than dual core 3.00 GHz ?

Intel is making a Joe Blow's life much more difficult with their nomenclature like P4 then Hyper Threading, then Dual Core & then Core 2 Duo now.

Why in the hell can they sell their product by sticking to one standard in terms of computing power that a Joe Blow Can understand ?

Please lay it down for me in terms of a Joe Blow because you guys won't be fooled around by these nomencalture of Intel that only a highly technically knowledgeable people like you would understand.

Tell me if it is worth going for a Core 2 Duo & at what GHz that would give me an edge over Dual Core 3.0 GHz ?

Currently I am considering for 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo Vs 3.0 GHz Dual Core that I own. Is it worth paying the higher price in terms of computing power of Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz ?

If not then how about Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz ?

That is trhe most I can afford.

I would really appreciate your help in any form and would like to thank you in advance.

Kind Regards

 

[Didou]

A Core 2 Duo running at 1.86GHz (& above) is way more powerful than your Pentium-4 Dual Core running at 3.0GHz. You can pretty much pick any model & as long as it is a Core 2 Duo (or even Core 2 Quad) & running at 2.0GHz or more you'll be fine performance wise.

I'm not sure you'll be able to use the new CPU on your current motherboard though, that's another issue.

 

[robertq]

Didou,

I am buying the new system.

When you say way powerful means if I buy 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 MB L2 & 1333 MHz FSB with 3.0 GB RAM will it beat P4 D 4.0 GHz ( OR 5.0 Ghz )with same other options ?

I am trying to get an idea from layman's point of view.

 

[Cinders]

The old P4s were faster in the GHz department compared to a stock core2duo, but the new core2duo are much more efficient in the work/time equation. The core2duo does more work per clock cycle than the old P4 did in the same clock cycle. And then add that the core2duo has two built-in processing cores (the old P4 only has one) which can almost double its work efficiency and the C2D operation clock can be easily raised to P4 levels or higher.

 

[k.jacko]

Didou,

I am buying the new system.

When you say way powerful means if I buy 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 MB L2 & 1333 MHz FSB with 3.0 GB RAM will it beat P4 D 4.0 GHz ( OR 5.0 Ghz )with same other options ?

I am trying to get an idea from layman's point of view.

Lol, dude if you can get 4 or 5GHz out of your P4 D then i reckon NASA will be in touch with you shortly!

core2duo's are the business, i wouldn't buy anything less now.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

A Pentium D is just a glorified room heater compared to a Core 2 Duo. Where're you getting your system BTW? What're the specs? Also, what are you looking to do on it? An inexpensive Pentium D might also do the job for you, if you're not looking to stress the PC much.

 

[robertq]

Well,

Dell just reduced their prices & now I can get P4 Core 2 Quodro 2.4 GHz for the same price.

So I am now totally confused.

Lay it down for me now please.

How much faster is P4 Core 2 Quodro 2.4 GHz with L2 of 8 MB better than P4 D 3.0 GHz with everything else the same ?

Please tell me 100%, 200% or else but in Layman's term.

Thanks much.

 

[Didou]

Please stop calling it a P4 Core 2, etc. It is not a P4, actually the P4 no longer exists. You have Dual-Core Pentiums (entry level chips), Core 2 Duo & Core 2 Quad (mid-range chips) & Core 2 Extreme (high-end chips).

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Look at this and this review for comparisons between both chips.

 

[robertq]

You guys have been tremendous help. You clered up everything & made it much easier for me.

One last thing regarding video card.

I want to use dual monitor & have a choice of two video cards. I am not going to use it for gaming.

Would it make a significant change if I chose 256 MB PCIe ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT instead of 256 MB PCIe NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS ? It would save me few bucks that I can spend on Core 2 Quad insted of Core 2 Duo.

 

[Didou]

If you're not into gaming you should get the same performance & ease-of-use from either card.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The 8600GTS delivers better performance in most games but IMO, ditch the HD 2600\Geforce 8600 card altogether and get an X1950PRO instead. It delivers much better performance than either of those cards.

 

[Didou]

If he doesn't use it for gaming it's better to get the newer cards that have a lower thermal footprint & even have hardware decoding for certain high-definition formats. He has already said that he won't be gaming.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Ah, yes, you're absolutely right. Sorry, I missed that part. In that case, the 8600GTS is still the better choice, since it runs cooler than the Radeon I think.

 

[robertq]

The 8600GTS delivers better performance in most games but IMO, ditch the HD 2600\Geforce 8600 card altogether and get an X1950PRO instead. It delivers much better performance than either of those cards.

I am getting Dell & those are the two cards they are offering but Radeon saves me few bucks that I can spend on getting quad core rather than dual core.

Am I making the right choice ?

Oh I forgot. I am also getting the TV tuner with it too to watch & record TV programs. So again which card ?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The 2600XT will do fine then.