Core 2 Duo vs. Pentium D?

Question

I'm assembling a new computer but I don't know which is better between Core 2 Duo E6300 and Pentium D 915. Both are dual core. The Core 2 Duo is supposedly last generation and has a faster bus at 1066 Mhz, but the Pentium D has twice the cache (4 MB) and runs at 2,80 GHz vs. 1,86 for the Core 2 Duo. How could the Core 2 Duo be faster? For a fact, it IS pricier.

You can see both here: http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/showchart.aspx?mmID=884355,881356&familyID=1

I intend to use the computer with Ableton Live 6 and other software for multitrack audio edition and realtime DSP.

Answer 1

Yes the Core 2 Duo is faster, in fact quite a lot faster than the Pentium D you are looking at. The secret is instructions per cycle, which basically means how much work is done by the processor each clock cycle. The Core 2 Duo is far superior in this aspect, which means it does a lot more work, while running at a slower speed. If you want more info, instant message or email me.

Answer 2

People tend to recommend the Core2 duo right off the back because it has a newer architecture. Practically, this means the Core2 gets more done PER CLOCK. So a dual core Core2 at 2ghz would own a Pentium D at 2ghz, as the Pentium D is based on the netburst microarchitecture (which was TERRIBLE), while the Core2 was based on the Core architecture (which was revolutionary). Now, the clockspeed difference complicates things. Passmark says a Core2 at that clock speed gets 1000-1200 points or so, while a Pentium D at 3ghz gets 800-850. Despite the smaller cache and lower clock speed, the Core2 seems significantly faster than the Pentium D. If you want a comparison, car engines are bad analogies. Every year, the process used to make CPUs changes, which means there's more room for transistors on newer CPUs. What appears to be a tiny 1300 CC engine isn't really 1300CC: the Core2 has 290 million transistors, while the Pentium has 230 million. Like a big diesel or a LS6 V8, the core2 gets more done every stroke, and while the Pentium may be spinning at a high RPM, it's not putting out much power. In the world of CPUs, relative fuel consumption depends on what year (and what process) the CPU was made, while relative speed depends on the micro-architecture the CPU uses. The Core2 is better, despite the specs. This is why you should never trust advertised CPU specs like cache or clockspeed.

Answer 3

I believe the processor architecture is different between the two. As I recall, the old Pentium 4 architecture did not perform well with a small cache and had issues with certain types of instruction execution (which was why AMD could outperform them in gaming). All benchmarks show Core 2 Duo performs very well. I think the only instance where it would not is if the software is very strictly for using only a single core CPU. In benchmarks for media encoding, Core 2 Duo performs very well. That would be similar to audio processing.

However, you should see whether the software you want to run can take advantage of the Core 2 Duo.

The other nice thing is you can get a motherboard that you can later upgrade to quad core if you start with a Core 2 Duo, that is what I plan to do. More and more software will utilize additional cores.

Read this article:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2866

Answer 4

Core 2 Duo for sure!

Answer 5

Core 2 Duo is 40% faster and 40% more power effecient.

Answer 6

yes..core 2 duo is faster.. much more reliable.. for prices please checkout www.computerwharehousepricelist.com