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Core 2 Duo and SLI

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Faraaz, Nov 4, 2006.

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  1. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    [​IMG] Hey guys...could someone tell me what the Intel Core 2 Duo is all about?? And how is this different from the normal 3.2 GHZ P4 I'm using right now??

    IIRC, the CPU speeds for Core 2 Duos were really low, but then again...they cost so much they MUST be better! :)
    Oh and I had another question...what exactly is SLI with regards to video cards?? And what is the best video card solution in the market at the moment??

    I'm asking because I am in the process of planning out the configuration of a gaming rig I will be picking up in December and your input would be greatly appreciated!
     
    Faraaz, Nov 4, 2006
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  2. Da Rock Gems: 5/31
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    If you want to know a bit more, read:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2_Duo

    I think it has more to do with other features - not the speed of processing machine instructions, but the speed of data along from hard disk to CPU via the motherboard. I may be wrong, but this is the way computers are going anyway, because CPU clock speed is becoming limited, purely down to heat.

    As for SLI, you could search wikipedia for "SLI" (Scalable Link Interface).
     
    Da Rock, Nov 4, 2006
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  3. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    @Da Rock: Hey thanks! I did have a read on both topics...only, now I have more questions! :confused:

    Okay, lemme get this straight...Core 2 Duo only works on software which is optimised for it, otherwise you end up getting WORSE performance than if you were using a normal P4? Umm...is this a significant issue? Should I wait for a while longer before I adopt this or is it a guaranteed future trend and I might as well get it if I can afford it?

    As for the SLI thing...its basically like using 2 video cards in parallel...sort of like a really small parallel supercomputer type thing...I mean, the principle is the same? Just trying to understand how this works...but then again, it said that it is in fact not optimised for all games and unless your game supports SLI, there's little to no point in running this...

    Keeping in mind that I am going to be buying a gaming rig in about 3 months time and money is no object, mind...what do I do?? I want to get a system which is as future proof as possible...which probably means 2-3 years given the current market trend! :p

    First priority is RAM, CPU and graphics card...everything else is secondary...so yeah, recommendations guys?
     
    Faraaz, Nov 4, 2006
    #3
  4. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Since you have money, get Core 2 Duo and SLI linked graphics cards. It's as simple as that. ;)

    It's like asking "should I buy a Ford for joy rides despite being able to afford a Porsche"? Silly. :shake:
     
    Taluntain, Nov 4, 2006
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  5. Taza

    Taza Weird Modmaker Veteran

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    Core 2 Duo beats a P4 in any possible competition, except perhaps price.

    Core 2 Duo E6600 beats any P4 ever made and uses more or less half the power than the most powerful P4. Also, when released, it was more or less as powerful as the most powerful Athlon 64 on the market at the moment.

    YMMV, but the benchmarks speak for themselves.
     
    Taza, Nov 4, 2006
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  6. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    And if you are going to go SLI, there's really no point unless you are going to get the current best NVidia cards to SLI together. Generally, two lower-performing model NVidia cards in SLI perform worse than a single higher-performing model.

    Also, by December, the next generation of NVidia cards should be for sale (G80 based), but they'll be the expensive and power-hungry breed.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 4, 2006
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  7. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    That's not how the Core 2 Duo works. With the Core 2 Duo, *any* program, including the OS, will benifit...without having to be specially coded with instructions to take full advantage of the CPU's 2 cores. :D

    There's an article in the October issue of 'PC World' that says a single new-ish nVidia dual core card (I forgot it's name/number) performed better than a noraml SLI setup. :rolling:
     
    Kitrax, Nov 5, 2006
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  8. Erod Gems: 14/31
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    If you want the best graphics card you should buy the NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX (G80) once it is available in a week or two. ATI's retaliation, R600, is expected to launch sometime during the first quarter of 2007.
     
    Erod, Nov 5, 2006
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  9. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    So confusing... :confused:

    How does a Core 2 Duo rated at a lower speed outperform a P4 with a higher clock speed if the app is not optimised?
     
    Faraaz, Nov 5, 2006
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  10. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    The lowliest Core 2 Duo outperforms every P4 out there. Take a look at a graph I posted in a different thread (You may have to cut and paste the URL into your browser): http://images.tomshardware.com/2006/08/25/060825_dual-core_analysis_chart.jpg

    How this is done is complicated, and has to do with the design of the architecture. Basically, the Core 2 Duo can do more per clock than the P4 could, especially in normal every-day processing chores.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 5, 2006
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  11. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    Ohhhhhh...I get it now! Uh...BTA, the link doesn't work...it says 500 Internal Server Error...

    Hmm...does any one know rough estimates for the pricing on a Core 2 Duo + SLI set up?? After some review, turns out that I have a budget of around 1700 dollars (US) just for the tower.

    I already have a monitor and peripherals and what not...will this be enough for a top end system?? Or am I going to have to save up for a while longer? Because I really don't see the point in spending a lot of money just to get a mid-end system...I might as well stick it out with my laptop for a while longer.

    So...what do you guys reckon?
     
    Faraaz, Nov 6, 2006
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  12. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    $1700 can get you a pretty good system, but for SLI, you need to factor in two expensive video boards. If I were you, I'd forget SLI, it really isn't worth the money.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 6, 2006
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  13. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    Okay, in that case what would be the performance difference between the GeForce 8800 GTX Erod mentioned and an SLI setup of...I dunno...the GeForce 7950 I guess...just so I can get an idea of the performance gap we are talking about here.

    I mean, if the fps I get from games at higher resolutions and detail levels doubles or something then I wouldn't mind saving up a bit longer...but if its something like 10-20% I wouldn't really care...
     
    Faraaz, Nov 7, 2006
    #13
  14. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Take a look at the the VGA charts here: http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

    There won't be 8800GTX benchmarks yet of course, but you can at least see the difference between single cards and the increase in performance for SLI, and also the difference between different models for various games and game settings/resolutions.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 7, 2006
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  15. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    Thanks very much BTA! :thumb:
     
    Faraaz, Nov 8, 2006
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  16. TrueBlueAussie Gems: 17/31
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    May as well post my question here instead of creating another topic.

    I am currently looking into buying a new pc and one system that I have come across seems pretty reasonable. It comes with dual 3.6 ghz intel processors but can be upgraded to an E6400 core 2 duo for $99. Is the performance boost worth this?
     
    TrueBlueAussie, Nov 9, 2006
    #16
  17. Taza

    Taza Weird Modmaker Veteran

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    Yes!

    Extremely so.

    For the power use if nothing else.
     
    Taza, Nov 9, 2006
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  18. Erod Gems: 14/31
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    Erod, Nov 9, 2006
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  19. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    Thank you for that Erod!!

    BTW...would it be possible to run the 8800 in SLI setup?? :love:
     
    Faraaz, Nov 9, 2006
    #19
  20. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Yes, in fact I recall screenshots where it has TWO SLI links on the card, so you could chain more than two together apparently.

    However, each card is $500-$700 and uses a whopping amount of power.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 10, 2006
    #20
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