Virtualization - need advice, quad or will core2duo suffice?

[utahraptor]

Hello all.

The computer I am about to build will be used for gaming, but also for bittorrent/music/video ect... I want to set this one up for optimal gaming while engaging in those other tasks. I plan on keeping the primary windows xp installation pristine to the point that it will only have my games installed.

I want to run vitual pc 2007 to have one or more guest operating systems running for the purpose of downloading stuff and playing videos on additional monitors while I game or for browsing the web while I game. The main component I am wondering about is the CPU. I am not sure if this setup will require the two additional cores or not.

In any event, here is the component list:

Thermaltake SHARK $159.00

Thermaltake 700W Power Supply $169.00

CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB x 2 (4GB total via 4 sticks) 398.00

Western Digital Raptor - for primary OS / Games $239.00

Seagate Barracuda ES 500GB x 2 for 1 TB total - for data 318.00

ViewSonic X Series VX2235WM Black/Silver 22" $349.00

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler $61.99

ATI 2900 HD XT Video Card ~ $469.99

LANPARTY UT NF680i LT SLI-T2R ~ $318

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 $320.00

OR

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $535.00

As you can see, the price difference overall is not huge, but I will get a bit more speed going the 2 core route.

 

[cutthroat]

Large aftermarket CPU coolers sometime block the first DIMM slot, you may not be able to fit 4 sticks of RAM, make sure before you buy.

If you are running two OS's at the same time through virtualization you should get the best CPU & memory you can, it's really hard on resources.

Looks like a killer system overall.

 

[goldragon_70]

Unless you're doing video editing, or planning to use this system for more then the normal life of a computer about 5 years, Your probably not going to use the quade core enough to justify it as much as you would your graphic card.

 

[LoneEagle]

I would say go for the Quad and overclock it to the same level of the dual and voila! If you really want to do many things at the same time, a dual may choke.

But even you get a quad, the bottleneck may not become your processor but your hard disk or something else.

Your best bet is to get both from someone and try them!

Let us know!

 

[picho]

It depends on the game IMO. If the game doesn't leverage multiple cores then you can assign your VPCs' affinities to the second core of the E6700 and let the game have the first core to itself. Although, I'd recommend running only 1 VPC session if you can manage it.

If the game leverage multiple cores, the Q6600 is going to be better, especially if you're running some VPCs.