tell me which processor to buy....

[ianm2]

ok parts are ordered for my new build....

its gonna be a p5b deluxe...

so which chip do I get?

I can't afford more than an e6320

but which core? conroe or allendale

what cache? does it really make a difference for multiple use, ie internet, games and office stuff.

and there are new cheap ones out 2140s...

all a bit confusing, which one please?

thanks

[mp666]

L2 Cache makes a difference without doubt. I'd go with a 2MB cache at least. In general a smaller cache means that you can overclock easily but the overclocking ability of a processor (or to be correct of a system) depends on other factors too. If you don't have a passion for virtualization you can go for 4xxx series.

[Hutch]

You should've got the P5K Deluxe, better overclocker than the P5B D. Go for the E6320 but if you can afford another $20 go for the E6420. The L2 cache makes about a 1-15% difference in performance depending on the application.

[Bbq]

I just bought an E4300. It works perfectly with my P5B Deluxe, hitting 3.6ghz on stock voltage.

I suggest an E6420 though; 4mb cach is pretty nice.

[ianm2]

hi hutch, I havne'e bought the p5b yet, I narrowed it down to an asus 965 ish

its between these

p5b deluxe
commando
p5b premuim vista
p5k deluxe

this is a fairly representitive list of what's available

http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Core_2_Duo.html

[CTman]

I would go for the PK5 Deluxe, since it is based on the Intel P35 express (Bearlake), i.e. more future proof, supports the new 45nm intel processors like the Penryn (http://www.intel.com/technology/architecture-silicon/45nm-core2/index.htm).

More info: http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=534&l4=0&model=1646&modelmenu=1


Good luck!

[mp666]

this is a fairly representitive list of what's available

http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Core_2_Duo.html

Small mistake in this page : 4300 runs at 1.8 GHz not 1.86. BTW, I believe that a price cut is nearing for Intel CPUs,so you can get a better CPU for your money. But I don't expect the already cheap 4xxx and 21xx CPUs to get much of a price cut. If you decide to get one of these waiting a few more weeks may be unnecessary.

[nicolasb]

Yes, there are some big price cuts on Intel CPUs coming on July 22nd. You'll be able to buy a Q6600 for just $266. :eek:

[ianm2]

well I can't afford one yet, got to buy the mobo, and to finalise which one to go for...its been long enuff!!

isn't penryn in the valleys of wales...:D ( I think minas tirith is)

( you have to be english or welsh to understand that, as in welsh male voice choirs)

...or watch the film zulu...with michael caine

so bits are coming in dribs and drabs.

there is always that, I must wait a little longer, but at one time or another, you have to buy if you want it. but I will wait for the price cut, which probably will never come as its not called rip off britain for nothing, the british public will put up with anything, as they can't be arsed, no bad thing really, except when it comes to principles. I respect the french for that, they won't let their govt get away with shafting them ( we pay 2 types of tax on alcohol, VAT and duty, what it costs the french, $2 or so for a bottle of wine, costs us $8, rotten lot our tax system, even get taxed on secondhand goods after the tax has been paid first time, how thieving is that?)

I also have a new pioneer dvd writer coming, I have had lg, liteon, but you can't like jonny says diss. a company outright, some products are ok, some less so....I am getting a samsung, too, so will give a sort of verdict on all of them, wrt access times, reading ability and noise, all of which I prize highly.

....edited, well I cancelled the pioneer and went with the samsung alone ( I couldn't really get the dvr111 easily, which was what I wanted, went for the 112 and found that supposedly wasn't as good). optical drive choice is an absoulte minefield.

I can't really choose between lg and liteon, both appear similar, but my lg doesn't read a disc, have to get my liteon back and see if that will read it( its lent out) that's what the pioneers for.

and a new hard on drive, I have a samsung, which is great, but which next....WD, seagate, hitachi death star:D

I could go all japanese and get pioneer and hitachi
or korean and get all samsung...they are really good now...hard drives, opticals, monitors....

......actually, edited to add, its not as simple as that, LG are now allied with hitachi, and samsung with toshiba, nec with sony...

so its worked out that all being well, will have samsung opticals and hard drives, and also a monitor....well it makes things easier from one excellent manufacturer.

I can't recall which is supposed to be better....core 2 extreme, or quad core proper, seems like there was a bit of dispute???

.....ahhh just read the post below, that explains what I thought about c2Ex vs core 2 quad

[nicolasb]

I can't recall which is supposed to be better....core 2 extreme, or quad core proper, seems like there was a bit of dispute???That depends what you're running. A faster-clocked Core 2 Duo will outperform a lower-clocked Core 2 Quad if it never has to do more than two things at once. Highly multithreaded software will run better on four cores.

Unfortunately software has to be specifically written to be able to take advantage of multiple cores, and a lot of software isn't. At the moment there isn't an awful lot that can take proper advantage of 4 cores. Well, there is... but it's mostly commercial server software - database servers, web servers, etc.

On the desktop, quad-core gives some significant advantages for things like video encoding (but not video decoding). And it also lets you multitask heavily, so you could do some video transcoding in the background while playing a game, and not experience much of a performance hit to either application.

This will eventually change, of course. Games like Alan Wake, for example, are designed to take full advantage of four cores.

Dual-core processors also tend to overclock better than quad-core ones, which increases the likely gap in clock speed for two eqivalently-priced CPUs.