What is fast for core duo processors?

Question

I'm still stuck in the pentium 4 mindset of like 3.4 ghz being really fast but now the question becomes with this core 2 duo what is a fast speed for these things, I'm purchasing an alienware and the highest I saw the speed on was like 2.4 ghz wtF so what Is fast for a core 2 duo processor?

Answer 1

Just buy what you can afford. Eventually it will be out of date anyway.

Answer 2

The Intel E6600 at 2.4 Ghz is perfectly fine and a reasonable price. The Core 2 duo is at least 30% faster than a plain Dual Core like the 800 or 900 series at 3.4 Ghz.

Intel has come up with all kinds of new Core 2 Duo chips which are cheaper models than the original set. Get one with 4MB of cache, not 2MB.

The original Core 2 Duo set went by model numbers E6600, E6700 etc. Some of the newer set has different FSB (front side bus) speeds so you have to be very careful in choosing the motherboard and have the bios updated before installing the chip. They go by models E6550, E6750 etc.

All Core 2 Duo chips run at a different voltage than the older Dual Core, so you need a motherboard to match. Don't confuse single core Pentium 4s with Dual Core, or Core 2 Duo. They're all different even if new motherboards accept all LGA 775 CPUs.

I would say the Intel E6850 3.0GHz 1333MHz 4M Core2 Duo would be a great chip if you wanted something fast but not bother with a Quad chip.

You may want to use a new hard drive. I found my E6600 CPU ran the heck out of my old HD to the point it's real noisy now.

Get a hard drive with 16 MB of cache, and SATA 3 is backwards compatible, so may as well get SATA 3.

To update the bios on a new motherboard, just install your old CPU first. If it's a pre-made computer, don't take their word for it, make sure you update the bios when you first get it.

Remember, Core 2 Duo and Quad CPU chips are new, and there have been problems with computers being sold and not have the latest bios update for the motherboard. (especially the Quads)

Answer 3

Before you purchase a Dell I would search around other places. Dell's are overpriced for what you get, and bogged down with software and crap that you don't want or need. If you have any computer knowledge at all I'd shop around, Dell's are good for those who are rich and need all the computer help they can get. And to answer your question, you would not notice the difference, unless you are doing professional work or intense gaming. You can find benchmark tests at the link below for different processors as well as some other hardware. And since you are considering a Dell, I doubt you would be using your PC for this intense applications. Hope this helps, and good luck in search of a new computer!

Answer 4

With dual core processors you don't need to worry about clock speeds that much. If you want a dual core computer that FAST, you have to take in consideration your RAM, FSB
(front side bus) clock speed, and L2 cache, since dual core processors can tackle twice as much info as a solo core only if it recieves the information fast enough to process it.

Answer 5

the total speed can be slower but it has two cores so it can do two things at once (although it seems like other processors can do this, they are really just switching between doing one thing and then another) so it will run cpu intensive applications much faster. this is the same reason supercomputers have lots of cpus and not just one big one.

Answer 6

core 2 duo ultimate

Answer 7

Its a more efficient core design, so they can run faster at a lower clock speed.