PC Proccessors

skives

Here is the deal. I am looking to build my own pc and I have a couple of questions first.

What is the fastest proccessor out there today? Also what one is the best for video, music, and photo editing? Overall what is the best proccessor on the market today?

Orion82698

Well, that depends on if you like AMD, or Intel.

I've used both, like Intel better.

Anything with a 512k of cache and a speed of 2.4ghz should be enough for what you want to do.

The fastest Intel right now is the 3.73ghz P4

The fastest AMD right now is 2.8 Athlon 64FX

You can find all this at www.pricewatch.com

skives

what about duo core proccessors?

JDMurray

The Intel Pentium 4 is now a deprecated CPU and has been replaced with the Intel Core 2 Duo. Because of the multi-core design (which resembles a Pentium 3 in design more than it does a Pentium 4) the CPU speed is no longer an indicator of the processing power. For example, a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo is actually a more efficient CPU than a 3.0 GHz Pentium 4. This is also due to the larger L2 cache sizes (2-4MB) and greater Front Side Bus speed (1 Ghz).

Intel® Desktop Processor Comparison Chart
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/default.aspx?familyid=1

Orion82698

If you really want to drop the money, the quad cores are due out soon.

JDMurray

What the most anyone has ever spent on just a CPU? I usually wait for any CPU I want to fall under $200US.

Also, an excellent resource for what's available in CPUs, and especially in Intel vs. AMD comparisons, is the CPU page at Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/index.html

MrD

So, when are the cell processors due out for pcs or are they even coming this way?

If anyone is interested....

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Computer-Processors/Cell-Inside-the-Future-of-Processor-Architecture/

Orion82698

jdmurray wrote:

What the most anyone has ever spent on just a CPU? I usually wait for any CPU I want to fall under $200US.

Also, an excellent resource for what's available in CPUs, and especially in Intel vs. AMD comparisons, is the CPU page at Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/index.html

Awesome website. I use it all the time!!!


The most I've ever spend for a CPU was $240. However, I would never spend anything over $300.

What's the point. In 6 months, it's old news, and in 2 years, it's probably obsolete by newer games.

kujayhawk93

jdmurray wrote:

What the most anyone has ever spent on just a CPU? I usually wait for any CPU I want to fall under $200US.

$200 is my limit. I usually upgrade my CPU and motherboard once a year.

MrD

Really? Once a year? Man..I go years without upgrading anything. Of course, I don't game. All I really use a pc for is email and connecting to a router so I could probably use a 386

skives

What is better about the new duo core proccessors and are they worth theextra money?

Plantwiz

$200-260...just depends on how much more the next step up costs. I try to stay around $200.

JDMurray

MrD wrote:

Really? Once a year? Man..I go years without upgrading anything. Of course, I don't game.

The only reason I upgrade my primary system is when there's a significant advancement in gaming software technology. It worth spending more $$$ on the higher-end motherboards that will support CPU/memory/peripheral upgrades for several years into the future. I have not yet seen a reason to upgrade to a PCI Express mobo, however.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

famosbrown

I built my current rig in January of this year. I dropped about 450 for my AMD x2 4800+ . I'm currently using the MSI K8N DIAMOND PLUS motherboard, but contemplating if I am going to switch over to the ASUS AN32 SLI DELUXE. I have both of them due to procrastinatingon sending one back .

Like what was said above...the best processors are the Intel Core 2 Duo which is built on the Conroe core. Intel finally got what AMD was doing and are now being smart about performance not being measure buy clock speeds only. AMD had performed SIGNIFICANTLY better than Intel when it came to gaming benchmarks, but Intel took the crown again after introducing the Conroe core series. Even the cheapest Intel Core 2 Duo will outperform it's AMD counterpart and the AMD processors are still significantly more expensive. AMD will make a comeback though. If you do decide to go AMD, make sure you get an AM2 processor with a compatible motherboard. This will ensure a little bit more future proof with being able to support DDR2. PCI-E is also good for future proofing so when software/games began taking advantage of all of the bandwidth and performance it offers, you will already have the hardware. FYI, nothing really takes advantage of the FULL 8x for AGP !! A 64 bit processor is a must for the future. Vista will love it, and more software/applications will be created to support 64 bit. My opinion is to go with a Intel 6300 or something. It isn't that expensive, and if you really want more clock speed, they are good overclockers . Have fun!!

Famos

JDMurray

famosbrown wrote:

the ASUS AN32 SLI DELUXE

Ah, Quad SLI video support is another reason to upgrade your mobo, but I won't do it until a significant number of games demand it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface

famosbrown wrote:

AMD had performed SIGNIFICANTLY better than Intel when it came to gaming benchmarks, but Intel took the crown again after introducing the Conroe core series.

Back in 2005, you were a fool if you bought an Intel Dual Core CPU over the equivalent AMD CPUs. In 2006, exactly the opposite is true for the reasons you stated. I wonder if AMD will be back on top by late 2007/early 2008.