Sir-Les-MP wrote:
> Hi i currently run a 939 4400+x2 cpu on an n force 4 chipset
> i am a gamer and im looking at upgrading my system to get better FPS in
> some of the newer games out i.e. crisis COD4 etc..
>
> i have already decided to get a nvidia 8800GTS 512 video card to replace
> my existing 7900gtx
>
> ive been wondering whether to use either an MAD 6400+ Black edition Dual
> core or an new Phenom 9600+ black edition or against my better judgement
> an Intel C2Duo or C2quad then new 45 mm core version's
>
> the primary use of my pc is for Gaming however i also download and
> encode DVD's
>
> i have read articles on the net about there being a flaw in some of the
> instructions within the current B2 revision Phenom's
> also looking at most of the review's ive read the C2Duo's are out
> performing both the dual core amd's as well as the quad core intels and
> amd's
>
> the last time i used an intel chip was when the pentium first cam on the
> market ever since then ive been an avid AMD user but now im wondering if
> its time to go back to intel for the extra performance im looking for or
> should i stay a Loyal AMD user.
I think the first thing I'd want to understand, is how the particular games
use a dual, versus a quad.
I've read two performance reviews, where the CPU charts showed one core
at 100% loading, and the other three cores at about 30% loading. If you think
about it, it isn't going to be easy for a game to dice up the work, so that
all cores get used equally. So gaming loads will be asymmetric, and perhaps
not a good fit for a quad.
On the other hand, some multimedia applications are nicely divisible.
Photoshop might be an example, of something that can spread the load.
I think Cinebench scales perfectly, and even eight cores can be
occupied equally.
(Depending on where you look for Photoshop benchmarks, it appears some
sites are only getting their filters to run on two cores. There may be
a patch, to get all four cores to work. Photoshop contains a mix of
single threaded, and multi-threaded filters, and the person doing the
benchmarking should watch the CPU performance charts, to make sure their
copy of Photoshop is doing the right thing. For example, the results on
Tomshardware, are suggestive of operation on two cores out of four. Notice
how the E6850, a dual core, is near the top of the chart.)
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=871&model...075&cha
The other thing to look at is price. Consider what your budget is, and
then decide what to do. If your upgrade budget is small, maybe it
doesn't make a lot of sense to try to upgrade from your current
configuration.
The bug in the processor, was in the Translation Lookaside Buffer. So not
an instruction as such. A BIOS workaround was issued to fix it.
http://www.theinquirer.net/articles/printView/gb/inquirer/news/2007/11.../amd-de
So first I would carefully review whether a quad is the right answer or not.
Make a list of your favorite games, and research how multi-threaded they are,
and whether the loading pattern favors a quad or not. And for a dual, the
decision there, may be influenced by whether you are an overclocker, and
what the current overclocks are like on air, for the contenders. Some
of the very latest Intel offerings, have widely varying overclock results.
Paul
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