Core 2 Duo vs Pentium 4 HT

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fanwashere

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Hi does anyone know which would run faster? I'm comparing it to a MacBook that I may buy in the future, I'm talking about the 2.0GHz White MacBook (May-2009 Model). My current desktop is with the following specs:

-CPU: Pentium 4 HT @ 3.0GHz
-RAM: 1.5GB DDR 400MHz
-GPU: nVidia GeForce 7600GT 1GB GDDR3
Motherboard: ASRock 775VM800

White Macbook:
-CPU: Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHz
-RAM: 2GB DDR2 800MHz
-GPU: nVidia GeForce 9400M

I'm considering the MacBook cause I'll need it for school, but I want some gaming done on it. I've always wanted a Mac, and this one is actually worth the money (to me).

Right off the bat, I know the GPU should be significantly better. The RAM too. The only thing I'm troubled with is the CPU. Will a Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHz be able to take on a P4 HT @ 3.0GHz? Cause the thing I want to do is gaming, so its not really multitasking, multiple cores does not matter. But gaming requires 3D Rendering, which dual cores are good for.

Thanks.
 
The Core 2 Duo will be significantly faster. As for the mac, you could get a significantly faster notebook for the same price with Windows, or an even faster desktop if you built it (though for school, the desktop may not be an option). Do you actually need a mac, and if not, why do you want one?
 

4745454b

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Someguy is on the right track. If gaming is your main priority, then a MAC won't do. I'm also not sure a 9400M is better then a 7600GT. Spend the money that you would have spent on the MAC on a desktop replacement windows laptop. Much better for gaming.
 

fanwashere

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See, I don't have a high expectation for games. My current desktop runs it fine, anything that runs it better would be just fine for me. The specs for the MacBook should run better than even my desktop right now.

And gaming is a small part of it, I may just doing on a day off or when I'm bored. School is the big thing. The reason I want a Mac is that I'm eventually taking Electric and Electronic Engineering and Design or something like that in university, that'd take 3D Rendering and Graphic Editing, which are all a Mac's good points.

Bottom line, anything better than my desktop, I'll take it.
 
Welcome to the forums!

A 2Ghz Core 2 CPU is much faster than a 3Ghz P4 (even in single threaded apps).
Your chosen macbook will be much faster than your old desktop.

I am inclined to agree with the others here.
Do you really need a mac for school?
If you plan on gaming you will have to dual boot Windows as OSX has very few games that run on it.
As you will need to run Windows regardless, you could locate a much faster machine with Win 7 preinstalled for the same price as a mac...

Defiantly your choice, just want to make you aware there are more cost effective options...
 

mildiner86

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the 9400 GS is a naff GPU ull struggle to run most games, and as its a mac most games wont load n e ways unless u put windows on the thing. the CPU is fine as well as the speed of the ram.

but if u wana game forget it

the mac will look nice and do school work, as long as u get office for mac ect. but it will not game.

personally id say get a laptop, i know for £899 u can get a core i7 1.6-2.8Ghz, 230m GT 1GB GPU and 4 GB DDR3 Ram, HP Laptop
 

fanwashere

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Thanks for the welcome :).

And my question is basically answered, I guess I'd take a Core 2 Duo over a P4 anyday.

But guys, understand this. Macs are not overpriced.
For around $500-$600 point, you are probably getting a laptop with Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 - 2.4 GHz. Around 2GB of DDR2 Ram, and 4 times outta 5, some Intel GMA graphics. Battery life, screen quality, etc. are all around the same. Why I chose this particular model is that its the cheapest Macbook with okay CPU and decent graphics (9400M). I will also get a choice of Snow Leopard instead of just Windows 7. It opens a whole new world for just maybe $100 extra.
 

fanwashere

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haha thats what I call overkill. But I'm not buying one until next year, so if any i3/i5/i7 drops in the $500 mark, I might consider it.
 
Whoops, just spotted one thing!
The 9400M is defiantly NOT faster than your current 7600GT.
In fact, it is less than half as powerful.

Your current 7600GT is roughly equivalent to a 8600GT or 9500GT.
The 9400M has half the Stream Processors and runs at significantly slower speeds than a 8600GT/9500GT.

Even with the faster CPU your games will probably run worse on it :/
 

fanwashere

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Aww really? Mines the AGP 8x version. I picked up a pretty nice GFX Card for $40 then :D.

I'm seriously reconsidering now...
 

C00lIT

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Any laptop that can play videogames fairly are usually aroun 1200 to 1500$
This is if you plan on playing high end games.

You could probably find a laptop for around 1000$ with a lower end dedicated videocard, and those are good on price performance... specially if it has options such as an HDMI output.

around 700 to 800$ you can find a decent laptop with intergraded IGP from ATI or Nvidia... those may game better then an intel IGP but still very week.


As much as I am AntiMac by choice, I still respect it as a fair quality laptop.

I recommend that you get that mac laptop if school is the priority... that way you wont get distracted from your studies with those game shortcuts on the desktop ;)
 

For engineering, do not get a mac. For rendering and design, a standard PC is far superior, and since they need a decent amount of power to run, an equivalent cost PC would run them much faster too. Everyone I know (I'm at school studying engineering right now) who has a mac has boot camp and runs basically all engineering apps in Windows, with the only exception being Matlab (which supports just about every OS out there, including Linux).
 
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