I currently have a P4 3.4GHz with 1GB of ram. I need more power. am i better off with a 2.13 duo processor? I'm lost when it comes to comparing standard processors and "duo" processors. Also, how do these compare to macs?
2007-05-02 02:48:03 · 5 answers · asked by Robio the Great! 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
OK...here is a simple explanation...
Pentium 4's are last generation processors that relied more on speed then being efficient...that is why they went all the way up to 3.4 Ghz in some of the EE models...
Pentium D's are "mock" dual cores...which simulate having dual cores but not truly being a dual core...same as the Pentium 4 in speeds...faster speed to make up for not being efficient
Core2Duo's are TRUE dual core processors...even the slowest Core2Duo at 1.8 Ghz (E6400) will absolutely destroy any P4 or Pentium D on the market without overclocking...with overclocking they are in a completely different league...
As for the upgrading...it seems you just want a faster computer and a few things can be done to make it faster in the hardware department...
You can upgrade to a Core2Duo easily as the cheapest one right now is less than 180 bucks...but you might also have to upgrade your motherboard as well which will add another 50-80 bucks to an upgrade...
Or you can upgrade the RAM to a faster speed (PC3200) and get more of it if you play games or do alot of a multi-tasking...
The best option for a quick improvement would be to get more RAM...for a long term investment go with the processor upgrade
Also for the suggestion above me...an 8800GTX is a PCI-Express 16x card...and if the guy is running a P4 3.4Ghz then I highly doubt his motherboard has a that slot...more than likely a AGP slot or probably just PCI if he bought it from Dell or Gateway
2007-05-02 03:15:07 · answer #1 · answered by outsider8402 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ya you are becuase duo core processors can do twice as much as any single core. By the way I have herd rumores that mac may have a computer out with a quad core processor and 4 gigs of ram but its only as far as I know a rumore.
2007-05-02 02:54:57 · answer #2 · answered by hamman1990 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you need more power for multithreaded apps, symmetric multiprocessing, Super Pi benchmarking contests, etc., then get the Core2 Duo. It's clockspeed may not look awesome but it actually does more per clock cycle and has very good overclocking headroom when paired w/ a good i965 motherboard.
If you just need more gaming power, just get an 8800GTX.
2007-05-02 03:01:04 · answer #3 · answered by Karz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do you need more power for? That is a quick PC.
You can increase RAM instead of getting another CPU.
Have you tried overclocking??
2007-05-02 02:51:54 · answer #4 · answered by Duncan B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dual processors are much faster than single ones. It is not quite doubling the speed, but its pretty close to it.
2007-05-02 02:51:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋