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To get dual-core over single-core or not?

Delvis

Delvis

Delvis

Caporegime
Joined
7 Nov 2004
Posts
30,197
Location
Buckinghamshire
Hi, over th past few months ive been trying to save for a new Pc system, originally i wanted an X2 4400+ with my x1900xtx, and some 2x1gb ram kit...and Hdd + psu etc etc....

But not long ago my monitor decided to die, so i had to buy a new one, ive been looking around, and a hell of a lot of people keep saying dual core isnt that much beter over single core, Unless of course the game "supports" it, or has a patch released to take advantage of it...Like Quake 4 for example...

Im just stuck on if its worth me getting the X2 4400+ at £300+ over a single core varient CPU?

I basically play games, and do your general stuff on a PC, if i ever burn Cd's i tend to just leave em running neways while i go and do something else for ten mins :S

Just after forking out for a new monitor, ive ended up with less money, and basically im stuck on what i can and cant get....

Is it worth getting a dual core over single core now? im hopefully going to keep this PC for a LONG time, as i dont have the spare cash to spend on new thing each month.

Regards,

Craig.
 
Hm yeah...but which? ive heard a lot about the 3700 SD core cpus doing justice...but i doubt im going to overclock, not yet anyway :S Is the 4000+ that much better? I know the 3800''s arent too charming :P
 
I can more than likely afford the 4000+, as ive been oogling over the X2 4400+ for ages... :P

Just trying to fing out where i can save money, yet still get the same performance...
 
Delvis said:
Is it worth getting a dual core over single core now? im hopefully going to keep this PC for a LONG time, as i dont have the spare cash to spend on new thing each month.
Click to expand...

Until you said that, I was going to say, stick with single core.

However, I think you will be better off with dual if you plan to keep the CPU longer than 12 months.

There's an interesting thread on XS with some comparisons.

Single core will give you better performance in games per £ right now, but that could change in 6 - 12 months' time.
 
Hmmmm indeed...but then theres the X2 3800....i know theres isnt LOADS of diff between that and the 4400+, apart from a lil clock speed and the extra cache....but does the extra cache really make all that diff :S
 
Sooooo...not a lot then? :P

I was just thinking, IF i can get a 4400+ Surely its worth it? Shame you cant increase cahce size eh ;), just the damn price, for how much improvement in performance there is :(

Or is there an Opteron equivalent? Without clocking the speed at all.
 
go for the dual core, you won't regret it, trust me :)

also consider the 4200+ if you don't mind the smaller cache.

IMO go for a 3800+ or 4200+ and overclock it (on stock volts if you don't want to push things) and your almost guaranteed to hit 2.5+ on stock volts with the 06 cores(most do 2.5-2.8). Good cpus :)
 
Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego - OEM - £135 - You would be mad not to IMO. ;)

It's all about bang per buck!!!

I would only get an X2 if you REALLY do multi task while playing games, most people actually dont. Games need GFX more then CPU anyway.

Save the money in an ISA till some new products come come out.
 
Yeah, heard a lot about the 3700's, only reason im considering the X2 is for "future proofing" As i dont intend on Upgrading any time soon, ie not within a year EASILY, and tbh, £300 on a Cpu (4400+) Is a fair bit :S
 
I was in a similar boat when I got my PC in April. I could have gotten the 4400+ and dropped the gfx card to a X1800XT or got a 3700+ w/ artic cooler & X1900XT. After some serious thought I got the 3700+ & X1900XT and i've never looked back. I've got my 3700+ rock solid at 2.8Ghz and its seriously fast. Main reason for my choice is that I still don't think Dual Core is 'needed' sure it would be nice to have 2 cores running at 2.6Ghz w/ 1mB L2 cache but I don't multitask just game so I got the single core.
 
Delvis said:
Yeah, heard a lot about the 3700's, only reason im considering the X2 is for "future proofing" As i dont intend on Upgrading any time soon, ie not within a year EASILY, and tbh, £300 on a Cpu (4400+) Is a fair bit :S
Click to expand...

mate , in a year there will be quad core cpu's , so please buy the cheapest now which is a 3700 and stock money for these quad core action mommas :D

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See....ive now got people saying, get a single core, and people saying get a Dual core! :( ugh...

I looked at some benchies for oblivion at 1280x1024 on a x1900xtx...and the 3500+ of all things still keeps up with the X2 3800 and 4400 etc...

So, seriously now, bother with single core, or bother with Dual? OR...get a single core 3700+ now, save like...£150...Then if it starts lagging, try clocking it slightely...or just get a X2 3800+ for under £200? comments please? :(
 
It's difficult to compare the speed betweeb the twil, unless you have two identical machines except for the CPU, or disable second core and try the test again.

Dual core works, and if windows does start hogging it'll spread the load across the two. But I have done some shrinking, blooming fast, each core at 50% and machine was still usuable. On my other desktop if I did the same it'll be unusable until it's finished (same priority setting in shrink also) So even when using a single app a single core hogs (I know you can use lower priority but I wouldn't want to, as shrinking will take longer)

So for that it's much quicker (I guess can time it in SC and DC if you're interested) and machine is still usable. Quake 4 is supposed to be 60% quicker, it does seem a bit smooth as with Quake 1.2 set to DC off judders slightly, now smooth. If you're thinking about building a HTPC much later on you could just buy a single core 3700+, use that for a while until dual core drops down, then when you built the HTPC use the 3700+ in that and get a new 5000+ DC or whatever the fastest /best value for money 939 dual core is out.
 
Hmmm yeah...damn this is annoying... :rolleyes:

I really dont know, heard people saying ALL sorts of things now :P, i mite just take a plunge and get a 3700+....BAH, just theyre on Offer today also, but i can get a X2 3800+ for like, £40 or so more...hmz?
 
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