Core 2 Quads, cache size big performance impact?

[UltraO]

Ok so I am planning to get a new Core 2 Quad CPU and motherboard and I was wondering how big the performance difference is between a 8mb L2 and 12mb L2 running at the same clock speed and bus speed?

 

[sanchz]

Get a Phenom II.

 

[werxen]

hey noob next time read the title he didnt ask what AMD chip to get, fanboy.

as far as my knowledge goes the bigger cache the more improvement you will see in heavy applications such as rendering and intense games. think of it this way, do you think there is a big difference between 4 vs. 8 instead? i'm inclined to say yes. higher cache you will notice a difference for sure.

 

[daship]

after 6MB the difference is barely noticeable.

 

[cjl]

It depends on the program, but in most cases, there won't be much of a difference. IIRC though, all 8MB cache Core 2 quads are 65nm, while 12MB are 45nm. The 45nm will run cooler and use less power (and overclock better).

 

[sminlal]

Ok so I am planning to get a new Core 2 Quad CPU and motherboard and I was wondering how big the performance difference is between a 8mb L2 and 12mb L2 running at the same clock speed and bus speed?

It depends on the memory access pattern of the programs you're running, but generally yes - the larger the cache the better the performance. But there are diminishing returns. For example (and these are entirely numbers I'm making up myself) it may be that with 4MB of cache you get a 90% hit rate, and with 8MB of cache you get a 95% hit rate, and with 12MB of cache you get a 97% hit rate. So you get less improvement with each increment of cache.

 

[Wisecracker]

after 6MB the difference is barely noticeable.

This.

There is a point of diminishing return with only limited improvement in very specific tasks.


edit: And, yes. Tuff to top some of the Phenom combos if you are from the USA and buying from the Egg ...

 

[sanchz]

hey noob next time read the title he didnt ask what AMD chip to get, fanboy.

I just want him to get the most value for money. If he's getting a new mobo, a Phenom II will perform better at lower prices.
There's no need to be agressive.
It's not like he was asking for i7 advice and I suggested the Phenom II.
It's just that it makes sense to choose AM3 with bettter a upgrade path than the dead 775, and superior performance at the same price of a Core 2 Quad system.

 

[shrex]

How much cache is needed is also determined by the clock speed, Just say your running both quads at 2GHz there will be very little difference between 8mb and 12mb. As you increase the speed to 3GHz the gap will widen(but still may be small) and the difference will carry on getting bigger at higher clock speeds.

 

[UltraO]

Naked Core 2 Quads are more sexy than naked phenoms, even more sexy than my naked i7!

But it seems like there's no big price difference between the 8mb L2 cpus and the 12mb so I guess I will go for a 12mb then

 

[shubham1401]

Naked Core 2 Quads are more sexy than naked phenoms, even more sexy than my naked i7!

But it seems like there's no big price difference between the 8mb L2 cpus and the 12mb so I guess I will go for a 12mb then

SeXy??

You are the first guy who calls those chips 'sexy'.

Rate them outta 10.How sexy they are?

 

[UltraO]

SeXy??

You are the first guy who calls those chips 'sexy'.

Rate them outta 10.How sexy they are?

Nope you smartass, why don't you just go to your mom and let her breastfeed so you can grow up into a man, eventually

 

[shubham1401]

Nope you smartass, why don't you just go to your mom and let her breastfeed so you can grow up into a man, eventually

Call yourself a man?
Then why are you angry of such a small joke?
Don't you have any manners?

 

[UltraO]

I was just joking

 

[Helloworld_98]

on topic,

@daship, the 'above 6MB cache makes no difference' argument only applies to the phenom II's, because it has 2MB L2 cache and 6MB L3 cache. However if it has a smaller L2 cache then you need a bigger L3 cache. Hence why the i7's have 8MB L3 cache, although Intel could have increased performance by a severe margin by doubling the L1 and L2 cache on the i7's.

 

[shubham1401]

I was just joking

I was also joking