Core 2 Duo, or Quad?

[Kills On Site]

Well it looks like the family will finally be getting a new computer for Christmas. Here is a question though. A few months ago when I built my computer the Core 2 Quad was only slightly more than its same speed Core 2 Duo, and was less than a faster Core 2 Duo. Times change, however, and this Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHz and Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 GHz are the same price, $280. What would you guys go for, the faster Core 2 Duo, or double the cores on the Core 2 Quad. The computer will be used for mostly Windows applications, not gaming.

[Captain]

Same price? Go for Quad. Both Duos and Quads overclock like beasts anyways with proper cooling and power.

If you're not gaming though, wouldn't it be best to invest in a lower-spec CPU?

[Kills On Site]

Also, should I go for XP Pro 32-bit or 64-bit?

[Captain]

I'd personally take the 32-bit XP. Unless you're planning on using more than 3.5GB of RAM, I see no reason to go 64-bit.

Not every application is optimized for 64-bit yet.

[Foo]

I've just bought quad-core with Vista x64.

It's great, Vista has caused way less issues than I anticipated.

Since you're going to be running apps not games, quad core makes a lot of sense. Also, x32 OS is fine but since x64 Vista will run x32 apps with no issues whats the point in limiting yourself to a 32-bit OS? There's no disadvantage in going 64-bit, so it's a no-brainer....

[Cooldown]

Quad > Duo
64-bit > 32-bit

simple, ain't it

[Foo]

More cores! More bits! More Awesome! \o/

[Cooldown]

More cores! More bits! More Awesome! \o/

teh graphs agree

[Tsakali_]

I like the type of graphs that 'zoom' in to exaggerate the results, but these are not that type just saying.

[SOAPboy]

I've just bought quad-core with Vista x64.

It's great, Vista has caused way less issues than I anticipated.

Since you're going to be running apps not games, quad core makes a lot of sense. Also, x32 OS is fine but since x64 Vista will run x32 apps with no issues whats the point in limiting yourself to a 32-bit OS? There's no disadvantage in going 64-bit, so it's a no-brainer....

Er
That is unless you're using alot of addons. Sound, Video, Tuners. We had a TON of 64 bit issues and trying to hack up drivers to get them to work.

[JooKed]

Would a Geforce 8800GT 512 be bottlenecked by an older processor such as a X2 6000?

[Captain]

Yes.

[SoM]

how could you call a x2 6000 an older processor lol, thats the 2nd highest from the athlon series, the fastest is the 6400 from the athlon

[Captain]

Eh, that "older" threw me off. I'm not familiar with AMD so I thought it was one of the older series

[shadd_]

Would a Geforce 8800GT 512 be bottlenecked by an older processor such as a X2 6000?

i've got an x2@ 2.9ghz whatever that is and am cpu limited with 8800gt. but don't let that hold you back. eye candy++.

[AmIdYfReAk]

indeed, Shad is Correct..

my core 2 e6600 with a 8800GTS and my cpu's are holding me back.
i have clocked all the way up to 3.7 and still havnt hit the Choking point of the 8800.

i am back down to 3.0 untill i can get my water cooling done properly.

[JooKed]

how could you call a x2 6000 an older processor lol, thats the 2nd highest from the athlon series, the fastest is the 6400 from the athlon

Eh, its fast, but its been around for a while it seems. Its also really cheap for some reason. The difference between an AMD 6000 and a Q6600 doesnt seem worth the $130 price difference... at the moment. Then again, I have a feeling it'd be worth it in the long run. That could also be looked at as some sort of paradox, since "I have a feeling it'd be worth it in the long run" doesn't really apply due to how fast computer tech advances.

[Plan B]

Know what's weird?

I overclocked my Q6600 from 2.4 up to various speeds (on a crappy MSI 650i board).
For benchmarking I used the Crysis demo CPU benchmark.
I got better results (higher average FPS) on stock settings than on overclocked settings, each time.

Anyone know how this could be?

[Foo]

I had the same issue. Were you using a manual overclock or auto?

[Plan B]

Both.

MSI has an automatic overclocking app, called D.O.T., that dynamically adjusts clockspeeds depending on load (with a max of +15%, though, so that would only max out at 2760 mhz , but still...).

But I (would) prefer to manually adjust FSB, so I know the speed is at a constant level.
Powersaving shmowersaving.

However, I just leave it at stock settings now.
I just don't get how overclocking can slow things down.

[shadd_]

too much oc can cause stability issues.

slowing down can be one of those issues.

[AmIdYfReAk]

too much oc can cause stability issues.

slowing down can be one of those issues.

he is right, When you start to clock a cpu up, you will get ECC Error's through the system ( cpu, ram, videocard ) .

Though the App wont crash, it will contantly be Re-doing those calculations to get an answer over and over again.

Thus you slow down, you need to clock the Cpu up basically along with the other components to give you the overhead that you need to get the speed you want.

in my case, i went from 1066Mhz FSB to 1333Mhz, but for the time being my ram is still running DDR800, So my overhead is Lower but i am Faster than the stock setup.
i need to find the Niche to get my ran running at ~1000+mhz with the lowest impact and error rate.

Overclocking is not a simple thing once you start looking at the whole picture rather than "ZOMG MIEN CPU IS TEH DOPE! 5GHZ BEBEEE!!!" etc.

[Plan B]

Yeah, I'm going to leave the CPU alone.
I just lack the skillz and patience to optimally tweak things, and the system already runs more than adequately.

However, if the CPU already bottlenecks ONE 8800, wouldn't it be useless for me to SLI in the future?

[Kills On Site]

Well I ordered the rig, went with the Core 2 Quad. Here is another question, this rig is going to have multiple users, is it better to create all the users at the begining or get it all set up and all the programs configured the way I want and then create new accounts?

[+JuggerNaut+]

i always create later. you have more control this way once you're setup as admin.