Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > Dual Core Vs Single Core
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red_devil   05-05-2006 at 03:25:59 PM

I'm buying a new pc strictly for gaming, and i want to buy the best combination for it. So i want to buy the best cpu for it.

I finally settled with AMD cpus but i still don't know what to buy? SC or DC , so please help me!

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m0rTu   05-05-2006 at 04:26:41 PM
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single cores will disapear in a couple of months...buy a dual core 4800+(soket 939) if you have the money...and if you wanna buy the pc now...or wait until the AM2 soket arrives...and buy a dual core soket AM2(improved 940)...that is if you are a AMD fan...if you're notbuy an Intel Conroe...Intel say's that they found the magic formula...conroe architecture...and they are better than AMD...that's what they say...and will apear the same time as about the AM2 soket arrives...

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The_Rev   05-05-2006 at 04:56:49 PM
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I also would recommend a dual core. The wave of the future is multi-threaded games, so eventually it will be to your benefit to have that extra core.

As far as recommendations for a particular CPU go, I'd have to know what your budget looks like. Right now, AMD's X2s and dual core Opterons are at the top of the pack... But that could change soon.

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TechnologyCoordinator   05-05-2006 at 05:01:51 PM
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Dual-core CPU's have twice the amount of cores as single-core CPU's.

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The_Rev   05-05-2006 at 05:52:06 PM
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Quote :

Dual-core CPU's have twice the amount of cores as single-core CPU's.



Well put.

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jap0nes   05-05-2006 at 06:36:23 PM
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and quad cores will have twice the amount of dual cores, and four times single-core!!!

for red_devil... how much do you intend to spend on your cpu?

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gOJDO   05-05-2006 at 06:48:18 PM
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Quote :

I'm buying a new pc strictly for gaming, and i want to buy the best combination for it. So i want to buy the best cpu for it.

I finally settled with AMD cpus but i still don't know what to buy? SC or DC , so please help me!


Depends on, what is your budget and what kind of games do you play.
The graphics card is more imporatant thatn the CPU for gaming. But with slow CPU and not enough RAM, the graphics card(s) is/are useless.
Almost all current games are compiled to run as a single task, therefore the performance of one core is dictating the CPU performance. In other words, singlecore CPU with higher clock is performing better than dualcore. In future, almost all games and most of the software will be compiled to run in parallel, and in this case the DC will perform better than SC.
There are other hardware parts on which the overal system performance depends for gaming and other software: RAM, mainboard and soundcard.

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jap0nes   05-05-2006 at 06:56:34 PM
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agreed. they say in the future games will take advantage of dual core, but when the future is? current dual-core optimized games does not show much of an improvement, then a fast single core and a good graphics card are better for gaming.

and if you buy the right platform, when you feel the need you can buy a dual core cpu

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sandmannight   05-05-2006 at 08:22:48 PM
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Do what I am doing. buy a cheap single core like a 3000+ and then OC it then when the need for the technology comes or the right price :D shows up just sell it and buy a duel core

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weskurtz81   05-05-2006 at 09:11:10 PM
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WOW..... Intel pushed Conroe up to this month? Really desktop Conroe cpu's are coming out this month.... doubt it, don't give false info.

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Primitivus   05-06-2006 at 12:34:54 PM
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Buy dual core, the best you can afford. The slight benefit single core has in older titles will disappear in the near future.

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red_devil   05-06-2006 at 01:29:45 PM
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I'm looking to spend about 300$ for the CPU

As for the other parts, i chose 2x7900gt graphics cards, 2x 1gig RAM, and a 500Gb HDD.

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weskurtz81   05-06-2006 at 02:19:26 PM
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Red Devil..... if you are buying the hardware now, go with 939 dual core. If you are looking to OC at all go with the opterons, 165 or 170..... otherwise get a X2 3800 or the next model up. Anything above that and the price to the performance is to high. It's been rumored that you may even be able to stick AM2 chips into a 939 mobo with an adaptor, but I don't know if that holds water. Keep in mind, this month AM2 will release, and for a better upgrade path, you might want to consider that. Conroe will not be out for a few months so that might be to far away.

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Dahak   05-06-2006 at 02:49:42 PM
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deffinately go with the dual core.however,instead of paying the extra money for a 4800+,buy a 4400+ and overclock it.you'll end up with the same performance as a 4800+ but with less purchase cost.bothe cpus have the toledo cores and 2X1mb L2 cache.anyways good luck and enjoy.

Dahak


NFORCE4 SLI READY MAINBOARD
ATHLON X2 4400+
7800GT VIDEO CARD
2X1GIG SAMSUNG DDR400
WD 300GIG HD
ACE 520 WATT PSU

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mdd1963   05-06-2006 at 02:51:38 PM
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Your sig says you have an X2/SLI rig, and you want to know what to buy for gaming????

A socket 423 Pentium 4/1.3 GHz sounds in order! :-)

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red_devil   05-06-2006 at 03:19:11 PM
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Actually I put my favourite in the sig.

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The_Rev   05-06-2006 at 06:39:14 PM
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In that case, I say go with what's in your sig... Can't do better than your favorite. Plus, the 3800+ is right in your $300 price range.

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spud   05-06-2006 at 06:45:22 PM
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Quote :

agreed. they say in the future games will take advantage of dual core, but when the future is? current dual-core optimized games does not show much of an improvement, then a fast single core and a good graphics card are better for gaming.

and if you buy the right platform, when you feel the need you can buy a dual core cpu



Quake 4 and the Unreal 3 engine show quite the performance increase.

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