New Computer Hardware advice. Processor, Video Card, Ram, Gaming?

Question

Hi, I need advice on some new things to buy. I need a new processor, video card, and more ram. The ram is easy, but I was just wondering what would be the fastest processor I could get right now. I saw on Ebay some processors that claimed to be 8.0GHZ(4.0ghz x2) Is that correct? Is that really how those work? What is the fastest Intel Pentium Processor right now and is it better than the fastest AMD? Also, what is the best video card to get right now? I am trying to run Microsoft Flight Simulator X at full graphics and I need a new processor and video card. Please tell me if these x2 processors are a scam and not really 8.0 GHz... Thank you

Answer 1

There are currently three different type of processors in the market for desktop.

Single Core
Dual Core
Quad Core

Single core processors are those processors which have only one chip in them. in simple words these are the processors on which at a particular instance or moment only 1 program is getting executed. (Why then we can run so many different programs on the desktop is a seperate topic but very briefly it is due to the reason that the operating system switched between all the different programs in very quickly. like the if 5 programs r running then operating system will give 200 milli second (a fictitious value just to get the idea across) to each program so in 1 second all 5 programs get some time to run on a single processor).

Dual Processors
These are those processors in which there r 2 processor inside the chip. But there is just one single piece of chip. So it look like a single chip but infact it has 2 processor. If you find 2.0 Ghz Dual core then it means there r 2 processor inside that single chip and both running at 2.0 Ghz. The advantage of them over the single chip processors is that Processor can run 2 programs simultaneously. So if 5 programs r running then each program will be getting 400 millisecond in a single second. So you will have better experience during multitasking.

Quad processors
These are only available by intel currently and they have 4 processors on a single chip.. So a 2.0 Ghz Quad chip will have 4 processors inside the single chip. This means that your system can run 4 programs simultaneously and in our fictitious example of 5 programs, each program will be getting 800 milliseconds in a 1 second. This will provide better responsiveness by the system.
If you have experience of running more than couple of task on your system like playing music and browsing and editing and downloading and etc then you might have occassionally felt that switching from one task to another takes a little time. This is called responsiveness.. if you have more processors in your system then it will be easier and more smooth in switching from one program to another. Similarly sometime you might have experienced that while running multiple programs along with the music, the sound skips because the music program is not getting enough time in a single second and it gets breakage.

Now the question is whether a system which has 2 processors running at 4.0 Ghz according to the claim can be called as 8.0 Ghz processor. The problem in this situation is that for a single program the speed it is run at is 4.0 Ghz but if you have two programs doing some useful task than by having 2 processors both working at 4.0 Ghz you will get both the task getting completed at 4.0 Ghz and the work done can be said as equal to an 8.0 Ghz fictitious processor.

So its upto what you require.

Anyway below is the general normal mid range system for like $800.. if you have more money to spend than you can have a much better speedier system.

There are few suggestions i have.
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 $195
Motherboard ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 $75
Memory CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $62
Graphics XFX PV-T86J-UAHG GeForce 8500GT 256MB $55
Storage Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB $115
Samsung SH-S203B $30
Enclosure Antec Sonata III w/500W PSU $99
Monitor ViewSonic Optiquest Series Q20WB Black 20" $195

It will cost around : US $ 811
Which i think is a pretty reasonable price for such a good system.

Help taken from arstechnica and techreport system guide.
I have provided the links of the guide which give suggestion for componenets at different price points. i have also given some dual core and quad core processor comparison which you will find pretty useful.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Before i got my last PC, I had an Dimension 2400... It was a bargain basement Dell... To play games well without lag all I needed to do was get a video card and add more RAM. If I was in your position I would check out the Dell AMD configurations on their website. You can upgrade one of these suckers with a 8800GTX. It might just make your price range, but you will be paying the extra money for quality. You will be happy because you did. I have a friend who games with an emachines desktop(added video card) and it performs excellently and he recommends them to people. If you are thinking of going for a boutique(cyberpower, voodoo) do not. I have tried one before and had nothing but problems. From waiting almost a month for the computer and having it fry within the first week; I went with an XPS 710, missed some meals, and have been smiling ever since. But both companies had a reputation of making well-built pcs that can stand the test of time.

Answer 4

This may be of help:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/pcbuyguide/434/
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2quad-q6600_8.html#sect0

Double the Ghz speed is crap unless you do extreme overclocking! The new dual or quad core under Intel's Core2 technology is just great because it has multiple processor cores that do more instructions per clock cycle and at low to moderate wattage.

You can compare dual cores to 2 cars that can both do 100mph. You will never get anything close to 200mph from having 2 cars. BUT you can do a lot more with 2 cars rather having to wait for Dad to borrow his car if you have a date.

Answer 5

As mentioned before www.newegg.com or www.ewiz.com
I haven't seen a new processor running @ 8GHZ LOL

well if you wait 5 years it might happen :)

Servers can hold many processors and run as much as 6 GHZ and more but using multiprocessors

Answer 6

These speeds are true, but their clock is at 4.0ghz, which is only possible to be cooled with water. Dual cores

Answer 7

go to newegg.com for all your hardware has alot of reviews on the item, go google search for review tomshardware is a very hardware review site.