CPU Question....?

Question

I have a question regarding motherboards a few hours ago. Im wondering, Dual core vs Single Core. Which is better?Why? If you are building a Game machine piece by piece but I dont want anything to fancy or pricey. Im loking for a processor for speeds between 2.0 Ghz-2.6Ghz. I know dual cores are expensive, but give me your thought on each.

Answer 1

Im actually building a gaming machine as well. Dual core is cool and all, but it is not completely nessecary. I say that, because alot of programs do not run on both cores, but you can set programs to run on different cores. If you do want a dual core i suggest this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103733
i'am debating between that, and this single core one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103622
So overall it really depends on what you want and need. I really don't think i could use the dual core to the max, so i think i will go with the single core.

Answer 2

I have heard this question a few times and people seem to ignore something, there are very few new single core processors, hence you almost end up going to dual core by default. The Core 2 Duo E6300 is about $180 and outperforms ALL single core processors in existence. Hence, the only time when single core would be an option is if you are looking to spend a lot less than that on a processor, which is not a good idea when building a gaming computer. By the way, I am currently building a gaming computer and I have researched everything extensively, so if you would like to email me for furhter info please feel free.

Answer 3

Well Dual Core or (2 CPU on the same card) is the next gen or processing. Its a great new technology, but I would not reccomend it other then if you are using it for gaming. Extremely overkill for just running day to day functions and not worth the money at this point.

But in terms of using it for gaming, the potential is there but because the technology is so new the games have not caught up yet. Alot of the games are single threaded applications, which basically mean that it cant swap between the two CPUs so it picks 1 CPU and dedicate the processing to that one while the other is IDLE. Until games become multi-treaded, I would not venture into buying dual-core atleast until the price drops which could be pretty soon seeing as how all the chip makers are getting into the market

Answer 4

Although the Dual core is much more newer and typically better, it is not necessary to have it. There are other processors that are dual core, but does not have the same architecture as the newer Dual cores. I have a 3.4 Ghz processor that is dual core and its just fine for me, I still play games fine.

Answer 5

If you want to maximize your processor for minimal price avoid core 2 duos and such that just came out they may not be reliable and need to run for at least a year to see how good they really are.

If you want to be safe go Pin 775 motherboard for intel and 939 for amd this will allow you to get a good pentium d processor or amd processor while at the same time allowing you to upgrade to the more expensive technology in a year when prices drop. I have a Pentium D 3.4 right now that I bought from newegg.com about 3 months ago and the speed is spectacular, but you can get a 2-2.6 for celuron D for as low as $47 but I personally recommend:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001
it will be the best performer for your money and is 2.66

Answer 6

As you have seen, I had chosen for you a AMD Athlon 64 3800+X2 Dual-Core processor. It is the lower end of the dual cores in the AMD line, but it does a respectable job for me. I'm into video editing and transfer VHS tapes to DVD. And this processor has filled the bill nicely.