Core 2 duo vs pentium 4 question..

[azaron]

I'm planning on buying a new pc, but i'm on somewhat of a budget. My last processor was a pentium 4, 3.0. I am very confused with Intel core 2 duo and iv'e tried in my spare time to read up on intels newest processors but still can't figure out what i can do ...sure if i had the money..but i don't.Point is if i'm trying to upgrade to a better pc i want to at least make sure its a tad better My goal its to play a upcomming MMORPG, i have everything down except the processor.Would a intel core duo 2, 2mb cache, 2.13 ghz be better, the same, or worse then a pentium 4- 3.0? May sound stupid to most but i'm soo not up to date with anything.Also if worse or the same, would going for a 4mb 2.4 ghz be a big difference? Mind that i'll be mostly gaming on a budget. Last but not always least, should i be looking for somthing else?Sorry the threads title is all wrong, it should be intel core 2 duo vs guy that drank to much rum and eggnog and can't figure out processors.

 

[Mattus]

A Core 2 Duo 2.13 (E6600) will destroy your P4 3.0 in games

The advantage of the 2.4 (E6700) isn't that great, the cache doesn't make that much difference usually and the 2.13 will overclock very well if you're into that.

 

[azaron]

Anyone? any input at all? Oops i posted that a second to late it seems. Thanks for the help man. I've been looking for some advise all day on this

 

[azaron]

Wait, no i was talking about the 2.13 (e6400)..correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Mattus]

Sorry, my mistake with the model numbers - It's late

The 2.13 is the E6400 and will easily beat your P4 in games.

 

[hp7909]

A Core 2 Duo 2.13 (E6400) will destroy your P4 3.0{snip}

Maybe some benchies to back-up that... here

 

[azaron]

Np mattus was just fooling around. After who helped who? Even though to get the (e6600) its only around another 100$, i think right now i'll just go with the 2.13, it all adds up. Thanks again

 

[Biohazard]

Yeah go for the E6400.. I got mine for £125.

I went from P4 2.66 512 to the system in my sig.

Most maps in CSS I was getting 30-40fps, other games like Hidden Source I was down to 9. Now with the C2D @ 2.6 I'm getting 80-90+ and 70 respectively.

Was a nice jump. Lot smoother with most things.

 

[jbloggs]

azaron:

I went from an Intel P4 3.4GHz N/Wood to E6600 and the difference was very noticeable, everything running substantially faster and smoother.

 

[Rroff]

I have 2 systems sitting on my desk that I use everyday...

P4 3gig Northwood 800FSB w/ HT
2gig OCZ Gold DDR-400 2-2-2-5 (dual channel)
Gainward BLISS 6800 Golden Sample w/ 512Mb DDR3

and

Conroe E6600 @ 3gig
2gig G.Skill 6400HZ (dual channel)
Gainward BLISS 7950GX2

and its quite interesting what is faster on the conroe and how little difference there is in other areas, i.e. in normal desktop use both seem equally speedy and smooth with multiple app, but when I start extracting a file or compressing a video, etc. the conroe just leaves the northwood in its dust.

 

[Millwall.FC]

I had a pentium 4 3ghz (dont ask me why ) went to a e6600 at 2.4ghz i was getting double my fps on the same graphics card.

 

[beast]

Lol - I posted more or less exactly what you did, I couldn't get my head around the c2d chips being faster when they have such low clock speeds. I was where you are now, I've since had a pentium D 945, E6300, and now a E6600. My opinion is you MUST have core 2 duo. It's awesome!! sersiously, DO IT!

 

[[HoL]Cobra]

I have 2 systems sitting on my desk that I use everyday...

P4 3gig Northwood 800FSB w/ HT
2gig OCZ Gold DDR-400 2-2-2-5 (dual channel)
Gainward BLISS 6800 Golden Sample w/ 512Mb DDR3

and

Conroe E6600 @ 3gig
2gig G.Skill 6400HZ (dual channel)
Gainward BLISS 7950GX2

and its quite interesting what is faster on the conroe and how little difference there is in other areas, i.e. in normal desktop use both seem equally speedy and smooth with multiple app, but when I start extracting a file or compressing a video, etc. the conroe just leaves the northwood in its dust.

You've did exactly the same upgrade I have done, only difference was my old cpu was a 2.8 Northwood, and that computer was no slouch either, was your 6800 bliss the ultra 2400 (guaranteed to clock to ultra speeds?)

Agree, the desktop use feels exactly the same as the P4. Only when doing some serious stuff does the difference show (an example has to be BF2142, titan mode in the titan itself, the P4 stuttered like it was having a sissy fit, but the C2D plays it smoothly, though this is down to the gpu aswell).
Obviously, making DVD's is also much quicker, and the like.

 

[Rroff]

My 6800 is a Gainward PCI-e card with the BR02 AGP bridge... very fast... unfortunatly there are no extra pipes/vertex units to unlock on it unlike the normal AGP cards (so stuck at 12,5), but its still faster anyhow.

BF2142 (atleast the demo) around the titans was smooth on both rigs - but I play at lower settings on the P4 (1024x or 1152x) with only low levels of AF and AA if I have them on at all and medium or high settings, whereas the conroe I max everything.