Sign up for a new account or log in here:
also @ TechSpot: Samsung to debut 3200x1800, 298 PPI 13.3" LCD panel (and more)
Home › News › Weekend Open Forum
Weekend Open Forum: How many cores power your PC?
Fortunately, competition hasn't slowed down in the entry level and mainstream segments. Unable to keep up with today's fastest offerings, AMD has made a solid effort to deliver balanced value and performance on all its chips, keeping Intel on its toes or at least putting enough pressure on them when it comes to pricing. They further emphasized this by introducing their first six-core desktop part earlier this week, priced quite lower than Intel's Core i7 980X.
Of course, these chips are not meant to compete against each other, but the fact remains, today you can get a full range of CPUs manufactured on more efficient processes and with up to six cores, for little over $200. That's something anyone who carries out heavily threaded tasks such as intensive 3D work or video encoding can certainly appreciate.
With that in mind we want to revisit this topic and ask you, how many cores are powering your PC today? Do you believe further increasing the number of processing cores will pay off in terms of actual performance given today's software standards? And if so, do you plan on upgrading to a six-core chip from Intel or AMD anytime soon?
User Comments: 98
Got something to say? Post a comment-
P4 2.8
At least HT gets used on it now. -
Staff
My workstation is still running the trusty Q6600 I bought many years ago, but it's getting replaced pretty soon for a Core i7. Steve gets to keep all the chips we test for further evaluation (so we can report back to you, when we don't have to return them).
-
quad core Q6600 @ 2.40hz works pretty damn well!
-
watching games as slideshows with my Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2,88hz
-
Triple core. AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition.
So fat it does the work for me. I will be upgrading to a 6 Core at the end of the year though. I think.
-
Laptop: 2 Cores, Core 2 Duo
Home Server: 2 Cores, Core i3
Gaming System: 2 Cores, E6750 @ 3.2Ghz
Will be upgrading to a Core i7 920, Four Cores, coming up this month.
-
I have a amd 955 and not planing to upgrade
-
Staff
Bought my first Quad November 2007, a Intel Q6600
I've exchanged that once for a Xeon X3230
And now I'm running a Q9450
All on the same Maximus Formula mobo, the latest processor has more cache, however all upgrades where done to find a processor which would overclock higher, but that failed, first two where 266Mhz FSB so then the mobo did not hold me back then...
But now with the Q9450 I can't go high because it's high default FSB of 333Mhz limits me due to my mobo's chipset not wanting to go at even 450Mhz
Mobo is Maximus Formula flashed with Rampage Formula BIOS
-
I am using a Phenom II 550 with unlocked cores turning it into a Quad B50 , then overclocked to 3.42 Ghz. * 8 gigs of DDR2 1066 and a powercolor 5970 gpu. My mobo has a bios update to run the 6 core Phenom II and am thinking of upgrading to it next month after many reviews are posted by users.
AMD may be the underdog rite now , but for what i use a pc for ( Gaming ) why would i ever want to pony up $1100.00 for a 6 core fom intel when AMD offers a close competor for $300.00 ? The upgrade path that AMD offers is nothing short of fantastic.
-
4 - Core i7 920 D0 @ 2.66GHz (Stock - plan on a modest 3.2GHz OC soon)
-
KG363 said:
3 cores
Phenom II x3 720 @3.5GHz
-
My DKA790GX Motherboard died, so I though it was a good opportunity to upgrade to an Asus Crosshair IV & AMD Phenom II X6 1090T ;D - 6 Cores
- Plan On OC To 4.1 Soon...A Definate Improvement over my Phenom II X4 940! Worth The Money!
-
StaffErik said:
Intel Core 2 Duo T6400
2 Cores
-
Running quad core Q9450. Waiting for Sandy Bridge to upgrade.
-
Quad on my main workstation then 64 cores on my 3d rendering farm...all custom built. Pure bliss.
-
Currently I am running an X3 710. It is not quite as much horsepower as I would like, but is infinitely better than my old PD 920 @ 3.3. I had been thinking about a new video card for my next upgrade, but now that the Phenom II x6's are out I'm not so sure any more.
-
4 core i7 920 @ 3.8
2 core X II 55 @ 3.1 with 1 additional core unlocked by mobo
-
Using 4 cores - Q9550, mildly overclocked to 3.1Ghz. Been an excellent little processor. Next spring I'll upgrade to an "i" something - haven't decided yet.
Although 4 cores has come in handy during some heavy-duty multi-tasking jobs, it really has had zero difference on gaming compared to a dual core. Software companies need to get their act together and realize unless some new technology comes out, we've pretty much hit the high ends of processing speed and need to maximize their products for multiple core use.
-
Q9400 @ 3.7ghz on my workstation.
E8500 @ 4.4ghz on my home server.
E2180 @ 3.6ghz on my HTPC
Some randlebean 2ghz core 2 duo in my lappy
Looking to get a i7 930 for my workstation soon.
-
Mikymjr said:
Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.86Ghz
-
4 cores, phenom 9850
-
I don't have a notebook, and only use one E6750 @ 3Ghz machine whish is used for gaming, work and multimedia.
Up until I bought Bad Company 2, I wansn't pallning to upgrade until sandy bridge comes along. Now though, since GTA IV and Bad Company 2 need quad cores, I was thinking of getting some $200 band aid upgrade, but when I think about it some more, I guess I'll wait until Sandy Bridge.
The money should be better spend on travelling and other hobbies.
Plus Intel wants about $220 or so for a Q9550! AMD sells an X6 CPU for that price, also you can get an i7 920 for $180 at micro center! - so I'm not buying the Q9550 for that sole principle.
I wish I had an AM2/3 motherboard and not a LGA775 one :/
-
Yad said:
At lappy i got a C2D 2ghz.
Pc has C2D E4500 overclocked at 2.5ghz with stock cooling.
Planning to upgrade to Phenom II x6 T1055 at the end of summer,at least i hope so XD
-
Got a Phenom II x4 955 running at a slight overclock of 3.5GHz.
-
princeton said:
Guest said:I am using a Phenom II 550 with unlocked cores turning it into a Quad B50 , then overclocked to 3.42 Ghz. * 8 gigs of DDR2 1066 and a powercolor 5970 gpu. My mobo has a bios update to run the 6 core Phenom II and am thinking of upgrading to it next month after many reviews are posted by users.
AMD may be the underdog rite now , but for what i use a pc for ( Gaming ) why would i ever want to pony up $1100.00 for a 6 core fom intel when AMD offers a close competor for $300.00 ? The upgrade path that AMD offers is nothing short of fantastic.
AMDs 6 core competing with intels 6 core. 1/10 troll effort.
Most Popular
| Trending | Featured |
Featured on Laptops
Subscribe to TechSpot
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.