Question about processors

[LukaszR1]

Ok i am looking at getting an Intel Processor for my build. I've come to down to one question.

Either,

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Socket LGA775, 3 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache, 65nm

or

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Socket LGA775, 2.40 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 8MB L2 Cache, 65nm

So now my question is, which one of the two out performs? Is the Quad better then the Duo?
I'm buying one of the two, so which one is better?


Also, can someone give me a small discription about 64bit OS. When i build my computer, do i need special hardware for 64bit? or can i just install 64bit OS normally like i would 32bit?

 

[esa193]

intel core 2 qaud with a good hsf then overclock it to 3.2ghz np

 

[LukaszR1]

ok...
Now i am not very educated about processors, i understand the basics and have a very good idea of what to look for when buying them.
But can someone give me like a quick crash course of what is key to look for in a processor when buying one?

More opinions too please!!

 

[esa193]

a core is a brain basicly of a computer
dual core has 2 qaud has 4
for price vs preformance the q6600 is the best way 2 go atm
quad core has 2 more cores then a dual core (2 more workers if you think of it like that)

 

[umakemebetter]

In 2010 you'll look back and be happy that you got a quad

 

[LukaszR1]

so in conclusion then, the Quad out performs the Duo? am i right?

 

[esa193]

in multi tasking and multi core applications such as gaming yes
but lets say your running one application and its only designed for a single thread the core2duo might out preform the core2qaud by a tiny bit becouse of its higher clock speed
but this can be fixed by a simple over clock turning up the speed 3.2 ghz and faster

 

[worshipme]

a core is a brain basicly of a computer
dual core has 2 qaud has 4
for price vs preformance the q6600 is the best way 2 go atm
quad core has 2 more cores then a dual core (2 more workers if you think of it like that)

You can't just look at it like that, there are many more factors to take into account. Clock speed, L2 cache, power consumption, heat output etc and most important of all, what it will be used for.

@ Lukasrz: You'll want to compare the Q6600 to the re spin of the E6850 @ 45nm with the extra 2MB of L2 cache per die, the E3110: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117165&Tpk=E3110

You need to find out if the applications that you run are using any more than two threads. The Q6600 has one thread per core, any app running two threads or less (95% of everyday programs) will not use the other two cores and will benefit more from the higher clock speed and larger L2 cache of the E3110.

And I take it you won't be overclocking?

Also, can someone give me a small discription about 64bit OS. When i build my computer, do i need special hardware for 64bit? or can i just install 64bit OS normally like i would 32bit?

No, you do not need 64 bit specific hardware or software. You install it exactly the same way as a 32 bit OS. One thing you should check for though, is that all your USB devices (printer, wireless adapter etc) have 64 bit drivers. Windows may be able to automatically assign a driver, but you don't know if the device will be fully functional if there isn't a 64 bit driver from the manufacturer.

 

[esa193]

a quad core is much future proof and for gaming much better
plus any one can overclock its a very simple thing to do
the cath isnt the biggest deal in the world useful but not useful enough to justify 2 less cores
any way the quad vs the dual core he wants
the quad has more catch
and fsb isnt really that big of a deal

 

[hascet]

What kinds of things are you going to be using this computer for?

Edit: Also, for 64 bit you need a processor that supports it, your processor needs to have support for EM64T, but no worries there because every modern day processor has this.