Could someone explain...

[JonM]

...about Core 2 Duo CPUs please?

I am looking at buying the following:

1 x Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
1 x Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
1 x GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX21GB6400UDC)

from Overclockers UK http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-036-OK for £266 whish I thought was pretty good (I will also add a PCI-E X1950 pro and a new PSU and keep the rest of my PC).

But, the last CPU I bought was my current AMD 3200+, which at that time it was all about Ghz muscle and you got the biggest Ghz CPU you could afford.

Well, it seems that has changed with the Core 2 Duos? The one I am looking at is 1.86Ghz and my AMD is rated at 2.2Ghz, so why is the Duo better? I have seen very favourable comments about this CPU and the whole bundle seems very good and I will be on the PCI-E ladder at least!

So will I see a massive difference with what I propose to buy? And, secondly I have only ever had and fitted AMD CPUs are the Intel ones easy as well? I will also get an Antec TruePower Trio 550W PSU, is that good enough to power this lot?

Thanks

 

[ajfink]

I'd be happy to explain. Clock speed isn't everything when it comes to performance. The Core 2 Duo is a more efficient architecture than the older Pentium 4 / Pentium D processors and even the Athlon64 architecture (which the X2 processors are also based off of). By having a more efficient core architecture, the Core 2 Duo processors can do more work per clock cycle than their predecessors; that is, every Hz does more work than that of the previous generation. A somewhat general way to look at it is to say that a Core 2 Duo would require a Pentium 4 of double the clockspeed to achieve the same performance. So, a 1.83Ghz Core 2 Duo would equal or exceed a 3.6~Ghz P4 in most benchmarks.

Analogy time: Think of the CPU as a highway. Your processor would be a three lane highway, the Core 2 Duo would be a four lane highway. Thus, the three lane highway would have to be moving its traffic at a faster pace (more Mhz/Ghz) to achieve the same car throughput of the four lane highway moving at a slower pace.

It is the same principle as why the Athlon64s performed better than P4s and Pentium Ds for a few years - except Core 2 Duo does it even better.

 

[1Tanker]

Nothing i can add that Jack & AJ haven't already said....other than... that is a nice "combo" of parts, and will work well together. Should you decide to overclock, they're good parts for the job. GL

 

[Bobsama]

I would recommend a low-end Core 2 Duo processor; the original clockspeed is barley an indicator of what the processor is designed to do; you could overclock a E6300 to the speeds of a X6800; a fifth the cost for the same preformance.

Current Intel architecture "Core" is very capable; the Conroe core has the best preformance/watt at the speeds of the E6700; 2.7ghz is a great spot while keeping under 65 watts (anything beyond is 75 watts, iirc). We can thank Intel for the netburst years; those processors reached high temperatures and clock speeds; they're outdated now but reaching about 4ghz gives Intel the experience to bring speeds like that to current architecture. Most Core 2 chips will be capable of hitting at least 3ghz, most 4ghz with better cooling.