Shoutbox

I'll put this simply so I don't make a fool of myself

I'm kind of confused. I'm thinking of buying a new PC and I'm looking at Intel Core 2 Duo processors, I see ones that go from 1.86GHz to 2.67GHz (and probably higher). Why are they only that amount? Is it because the Duo means they are double that? Because I see other computers at 3.0GHz+ ?

Thanks <3

Nope they go faster, like this,
Linky

or atleast they will be soon

It means your computer will have two processors. They will run at the speeds you buy, but having two is better than one. There is the Core Duo and Core Duo 2. The Core Duo 2 is a more refined release, which uses less power and is more efficient (hence it is more expensive). Intel also produce a quad core as well now .

Duo Processors do make a difference, you can really tell the difference .

Core 2 Duos have two cores in them, so basically you'll get two 2.67GHz processors running in parallel.

e.g
User runs a video conversion on a 3.4GHz processor; it takes 30 minutes, but he can't do anything else whilst running the conversion because his CPU load is at 99%.

User2 runs a video conversion on a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo; it takes 40 minutes, and he can do everything else he wants to do because Core1 is running at 99% and the other one is free to run whatever he wants.

Thanks guys, helps a lot

About a year ago, I posted a rather lengthy explanation of how two cores affect performance.

I should add that Core 2 Duo in particular, compared to AMD's and earlier Intel CPUs, performs amazingly well.  You can't go wrong with it.

Ignore everything you previously based clock speed on. The only reason you see clock speeds like 4ghz on Pentium 4s is because intel doubled NetBurst's pipeline, meaning they could get much higher clock speeds. However, this also means the possible instructions per tick is halved, meaning you would need a 4ghz Pentium 4 to match the performance of most 2ghz AMD processors; and of course, clocking a processor at 4ghz creates heat and power consumption problems, which is why you never saw Pentium 4s outperforming AMD processors. however, with the Core line, intel fixed this issue and now just about every Core 2 Duo processor would wipe the floor with AMD's entire processor market.

Thanks Adeptus, I read your explaination.

I'll be confident in getting a Core 2 Duo processor now

quote:

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Originally posted by Dr4g0n
Core 2 Duos have two cores in them, so basically you'll get two 2.67GHz processors running in parallel.

e.g
User runs a video conversion on a 3.4GHz processor; it takes 30 minutes, but he can't do anything else whilst running the conversion because his CPU load is at 99%.

User2 runs a video conversion on a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo; it takes 40 minutes, and he can do everything else he wants to do because Core1 is running at 99% and the other one is free to run whatever he wants.

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Not really :/

A Core 2 Duo beat a single core 3.4GHz CPU at everything...

EG, Here I chose the E6400 2.13GHz and a Pentium 4 3.8GHz CPU, And the Core 2 Duo beats everything in the list.


If I was you, Id defiantly get a Core 2 Duo, you cant go wrong.

EDIT: Im really slow at posting. ¬¬

quote:

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Originally posted by Dazzy
And the Core 2 Duo beats everything in the list.

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yes, but thats just because Core itself is better. a Core 2 Solo would outperform a P4. Also, some of those tests might be multithreaded.

EDIT: you're right though, it wouldn't take 10 extra minutes if you were using a Core instead of a P4. If anything, it would take 10 minutes less. And again, thats if it were just single-core.