Topic: Of Proccessers and GHz...  (Read 9870 times)

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Offline KBFLordKrueg

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Of Proccessers and GHz...
« on: April 09, 2006, 08:33:15 am »

Considering getting a new comp (Once a year those kids pay off   ) and I've been seeing a lot of the "Dual-Core" processes and wondering if anyone knows if it's really "better" or just "different".

As a comparison example:
Gigabyte 8I945GMF Motherboard
- Socket: 775 (64-Bit)
- Chipset: Intel 945
- 4 SATA Ports: SATA 1 & SATA 2
- 4 PCI Slots: 1 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe, 2 PCI
- Onboard 10/100/1000 GB LAN
- Max RAM: 4GB
Dual Core Intel Pentium D 930 3Ghz CPU
- Socket: 775
- Cache: 2x2MB
- FSB: 800MHz
nVidia 6600GT 128MB Video Card
- 128MB of DDRIII Memory
- 256-Bit PCI-e x16 Interface
64-BIT Windows XP Pro

vs.

Gigabyte GA-8i915P Duo Motherboard
- Socket: 775
- Slots: 3PCI/e & 1 PCI-E X16
- Onboard 7.1 Audio, USB 2.0
- 4-SATA / IDE & SATA Raid Controllers
- Intergrated LAN Ports
- Max RAM: 4GB
- Dual Channel DDR & DDR2 Support
Intel Pentium 4-560 3.6GHz with HT Technology
Speed: 3.6GHz
- Socket: 775-Pin
- Cache: 1MB
- FSB: 800MHz
Gigabyte nVidia 6600 PCI-E 256MB Video Card
Chipset: GeForce 6600
- Memory: 256MB
Microsoft Windows XP Pro

These specs aside, both systems sport the same things as far as hardware, RAM, etc.
The second one looks slightly more powerful to someone as computer illiterate as myself, but, the dual core one sounds just as good, maybe better...
And there's only about 10 buck difference in price...the first one being cheaper.
Any advice/comments from those with more knowledge on the subject...?
I'd appreciate any insight from those that really know. 

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Offline Javora

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2006, 03:14:05 pm »
If you are buying a new system then I think that Duel-Core is the way to go.  However both AMD and Intel are releasing new motherboard CPU pin standards that should be out in a couple of months.  If you can I would wait until then and buy the new standard.  Why buy a system that will be obsolete a month or two after you buy it.  The industry moves way to fast as it is now.

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2006, 05:00:28 pm »
Link to Original thread:

As KBFLordKrueg has chosen to place it here I suggest that we continue the discussion here in Engineering.
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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2006, 05:35:58 pm »
Continued from other thread.

Link to page with wattage information on several CPUs

Hey, I am just talking about what he said.

What he works on is the stuff that won't even be out for 1-2 years. 

Right now, he feels AMD is on top. 


Intel is suffering from the old IBM disease, NIH (not invented here). 

AMD introduces Hypertransport which gives them advantages - Intel rather than license it spend years trying to create an equal but different system.

AMD creates a 64bit extended version of the x86 instruction set - Intel pooh poohs it and then when forced by the market to implement it calls it EM64T and even in their documentation never mentions that it is a clone of the AMD 64bit instructions.

The same happened with DDR memory.  Intel wanted to push Rambus.  The market didn't want it - too expensive.  Intel even tried to market a chipset that would allow the use of either memory type, resulting in a massive recall (one of Intels trips).

Intel knows that AMD has stated that they have designed the Athlon 64 with multi-core in mind but Intel pushes out a "dual core" chip first to try and reclaim the appearance of a technological and performance lead.  Note that when I say Intel pushed out a "dual core" chip it is not a "true" dual core as it is actually 2 chips in one package not 2 chips built as one. 

Intel also has the problem that they have been letting marketing drive them rather than listen to the engineers.  Intel was in the drivers seat for so long they forgot that they were driving a taxi and people could get off and use the competing line. 

What saves Intel right now is the massive production facilities that they have which could supply the entire PC market.  AMD on the other hand only has limited production and apparently is selling everything they can make even with a factory that is producing 150% of its rated capacity and another producing at least a little while still under development and supposedly months from official production.  A 3rd party foundry that will be producing AMD chips in the coming months has been using a combination of AMD and IBM tech to produce the chips for the XBox 360.  That will allow them to debug most of the process at Microsofts expense before they move on to the AMD chips.

When I told him I was thinking of going to AMD he said it is the smart thing to do. Not even a hesitation about it.

And I really hope that the competition stays fierce too b/c, as Nemesis points out, the competition rocks for US.

DH, the whole reason for the conversation in the first place was b/c I am starting to have real issues with today's games.... IE my ATI 9600XT isn't cutting it anymore... and the next card WILL be PCI express... so I need a new mobo...


Right now AMD is the way to go, especially towards the higher end.  In spite of long years of AMD having a reputation for chips running hot right now it is Intel that is having heat problems.  They are forcing old designs to go in directions (dual core) and speeds never intended with the end result of major heat problems (the Pentium M chips used in Centrino branded laptops are an exception to that).

I would say however that with the planned AMD launch in June/July of new revisions using DDR2 800mhz rather than the current DDR1 400mhz memory waiting is the best choice if feasible.  You may have reason to upgrade sooner but I would say hold on for the 1.1 Revision of the DDR2 800 mhz motherboards if you can.  The more you push the machines memory access (especially in Dual Core) the more the advantage goes to AMD.  AMD has the higher memory bandwidth and lower latency which aids them in those circumstances.

In many ways the nVidea chipset based motherboards do seem to be among the best around.  nVideas contract with Microsoft to produce the original XBox on the Athlon allowed nVidea to do most of the development on Microsofts dime before Intel jumped in and made them a better office to use the Pentium III.  nVidea wisely didn't scrap the work but completed it as a full function PC motherboard chipset and used it to broaden their market. ATi has recently done the same but I've never tried their boards (except in my Acer laptop).

Link to old "Intel is desperate thread" that you may find of interest.

Note:  Edited to fix a typo where I wrote Hyperthreading instead of Hypertransport.  I always hated the way those two names were too close.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2006, 09:43:17 pm by IKV Nemesis »
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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2006, 05:49:44 pm »
One of the advantages of the nVidea based motherboards is that at least some of the better ones include a hardware firewall in one (of usually 2 available) of the include network "cards".  Hardware firewalls do seem to be better overall at protecting your systems and do so without compromising performance or risking software conflicts with other programs.  A hardware firewall is harder for a random virus, spyware or other malware to bypass totally as well.

I haven't used one of these hardware firewalls in the chipset yet as I don't have a new enough system (other than the laptop) to have a board with such a feature.  But I do look forward to it.
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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2006, 08:55:50 pm »
Continued from other thread.

Link to page with wattage information on several CPUs

Hey, I am just talking about what he said.

What he works on is the stuff that won't even be out for 1-2 years. 

Right now, he feels AMD is on top. 


Intel is suffering from the old IBM disease, NIH (not invented here). 

AMD introduces Hyperthreading which gives them advantages - Intel rather than license it spend years trying to create an equal but different system.

AMD creates a 64bit extended version of the x86 instruction set - Intel pooh poohs it and then when forced by the market to implement it calls it EM64T and even in their documentation never mentions that it is a clone of the AMD 64bit instructions.

The same happened with DDR memory.  Intel wanted to push Rambus.  The market didn't want it - too expensive.  Intel even tried to market a chipset that would allow the use of either memory type, resulting in a massive recall (one of Intels trips).

Intel knows that AMD has stated that they have designed the Athlon 64 with multi-core in mind but Intel pushes out a "dual core" chip first to try and reclaim the appearance of a technological and performance lead.  Note that when I say Intel pushed out a "dual core" chip it is not a "true" dual core as it is actually 2 chips in one package not 2 chips built as one. 

Intel also has the problem that they have been letting marketing drive them rather than listen to the engineers.  Intel was in the drivers seat for so long they forgot that they were driving a taxi and people could get off and use the competing line. 

What saves Intel right now is the massive production facilities that they have which could supply the entire PC market.  AMD on the other hand only has limited production and apparently is selling everything they can make even with a factory that is producing 150% of its rated capacity and another producing at least a little while still under development and supposedly months from official production.  A 3rd party foundry that will be producing AMD chips in the coming months has been using a combination of AMD and IBM tech to produce the chips for the XBox 360.  That will allow them to debug most of the process at Microsofts expense before they move on to the AMD chips.

When I told him I was thinking of going to AMD he said it is the smart thing to do. Not even a hesitation about it.

And I really hope that the competition stays fierce too b/c, as Nemesis points out, the competition rocks for US.

DH, the whole reason for the conversation in the first place was b/c I am starting to have real issues with today's games.... IE my ATI 9600XT isn't cutting it anymore... and the next card WILL be PCI express... so I need a new mobo...


Right now AMD is the way to go, especially towards the higher end.  In spite of long years of AMD having a reputation for chips running hot right now it is Intel that is having heat problems.  They are forcing old designs to go in directions (dual core) and speeds never intended with the end result of major heat problems (the Pentium M chips used in Centrino branded laptops are an exception to that).

I would say however that with the planned AMD launch in June/July of new revisions using DDR2 800mhz rather than the current DDR1 400mhz memory waiting is the best choice if feasible.  You may have reason to upgrade sooner but I would say hold on for the 1.1 Revision of the DDR2 800 mhz motherboards if you can.  The more you push the machines memory access (especially in Dual Core) the more the advantage goes to AMD.  AMD has the higher memory bandwidth and lower latency which aids them in those circumstances.

In many ways the nVidea chipset based motherboards do seem to be among the best around.  nVideas contract with Microsoft to produce the original XBox on the Athlon allowed nVidea to do most of the development on Microsofts dime before Intel jumped in and made them a better office to use the Pentium III.  nVidea wisely didn't scrap the work but completed it as a full function PC motherboard chipset and used it to broaden their market. ATi has recently done the same but I've never tried their boards (except in my Acer laptop).

Link to old "Intel is desperate thread" that you may find of interest.


Boy that was a long winded way to say that my cousin was basicly correct in his comments. ;)
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Offline KBFLordKrueg

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2006, 09:03:18 pm »
Thanks to all who replied.
I gather that Dual-Core is the way to go over a single processer then, eh?
That really was all I wanted to know.  ;)

It also explains why the AMD dual-core systems are so much more expensive than comparable Intel ones.  ;D



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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2006, 09:36:59 pm »
Boy that was a long winded way to say that my cousin was basicly correct in his comments. ;)

Given the number of times I have had to clear up anti AMD biases that were formed back in the days of the K-5 I tend to go for details when providing AMD vs Intel info.  Some people still throw out that Tom's Hardware video showing what happens when an Athlon heatsink falls off compared to a P III.  Even when it was filmed it was of questionable validity since I had never ever heard of a heatsink falling off any CPU and still haven't. 

Besides I gave reasons for why the opinion was valid rather than just the bare statement.  Reasons can be very important when making decisions.  So enjoy the breeze ;).
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Offline Elvis

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2006, 10:13:08 pm »
Technology does move fast, even if you wait for the new tech it is going to surpassed in short order. If you do multiple things at once dual core is nice. Want to alt tab out of a game and check some stuff on the internet? Not a problem no hiccups or slow downs.


I'm betting the performance increase from DDR2-667 is going to be negligible compared to DDR-400. I would not count on the appearance of DDR2-800 on an AMD machine this summer, but even then its not like the performance is going to be like night and day. There is not a reason to wait other than for prices to come down.

As far as the the nVidia hardware firewall, that was the second thing that I deleted from my latest install. It is not ready for prime time, lots of people including myself, experienced corrupt downloads with the firewall drivers installed, even if the firewall was disabled.

I've got 2 socket 939 chipsets in the house and have not had a problem with either , would recommend the nForce 4 and ATI RD480 to anybody right now.

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2006, 09:03:45 am »
My only issue is that you can't get an Intel board that supports AMD processors.  The issue I have long had is that Intel makes a damn fine motherboard (their on board chipsets have been ironclad for a very long time).  My problem with AMD has ALWAYS been that in order to get one I had to roll the dice with a non-intel Motherboard.  Asus, Abit, etc... I have had them all at one point or another, and so far the I point out that ALL my motherboards that are still working at home (with the lone exception of an Asus with a 1.333 ghz AMD chip) are Intel.  Hell one of them is a Pentium 550 that I am still impressed with (as it still works and has never had an onboard fan, just a single exhaust fan besides the power supply fan) in terms of longevity.

Amd has some damn impressive CPUS when it comes to desktops, however I still give Intel one major advantage, Mobile.  The "M" chip appears to be a very good chip with amazing "battery life" options.

There is one last peice that keeps me buying (and recommending) Intel.  Memory... to behonest Processor just doesn't matter as much as Memory, and memory bus.  Save some dollars on the top end processor, and get yourself the best damn memory you can afford, then double it.  :-)

GE-Raven


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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2006, 09:11:52 pm »
Both my previous systems have been AMD systems, I'm just trying to squeeze as much pwr into my dollar as I can.  ;)
Looks like I'm going to go with:
Gigabyte 8I945GMF Motherboard
- Socket: 775 (64-bit)
- Chipset: Intel 945
- 4 SATA Ports: SATA 1 & SATA 2
- 1 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 2 PCI
- Onboard 10/100/1000Mbps LAN
- Max RAM: 4GBs
- USB 2.0 & Firewire Ports
Dual-Core Intel Pentium D 830 3GHz CPU
- Socket: 775
- Cache: 2MB (1MB per Core)
- FSB: 800MHz
- Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology
1GB DDR2-533 Memory (getting twin 1 GB sticks with it, so it'll be 3 total)  ;D
NVIDIA 6600 256MB Video Card
-256MB of DDRIII Memory
- 256-Bit PCI-e x16 Interface
200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
- Capacity: 200GB
- Speed: 7200RPM
- Interface: Serial-ATA
- Cache: 8MB

I'd REALLY like to get this sweet dual-core AMD system, but, it's just out of reach of my budget.  :-\

And I just don't have the tech knowledge to build a system from scratch.  ::)

At any rate, the one I'm going to get is going to be a vast improvement over what I have now, so I anticipate gaming on it with a minimum of patience.  ;D

Again, I appreciate all the advice.
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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #11 on: April 10, 2006, 09:27:38 pm »
You could get DDR400 RAM (costs less), and use the saved money towards a AMD 3800+ X2 and still have better performance.


ALSO

Crucial Ballistix 1GB pair of DDR400 has Low timings (that means fast) and costs ~ $100, thats what I got for my AMD X2 System I just built.

I musta spent ~ $600 - 800 on my system.

AMD X2 3800+
eVGA 6800 GS 512 MB
DFI LanParty (this is evpeisive, if you on budget get a lower priced moetherbaord)
Crucial Ballistix 1GB DDR 400

Those are the most expensive parts.



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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2006, 09:43:34 pm »
Continued from other thread.

Link to page with wattage information on several CPUs

Hey, I am just talking about what he said.

What he works on is the stuff that won't even be out for 1-2 years. 

Right now, he feels AMD is on top. 


Intel is suffering from the old IBM disease, NIH (not invented here). 

AMD introduces Hypertransport which gives them advantages - Intel rather than license it spend years trying to create an equal but different system.

AMD creates a 64bit extended version of the x86 instruction set - Intel pooh poohs it and then when forced by the market to implement it calls it EM64T and even in their documentation never mentions that it is a clone of the AMD 64bit instructions.

The same happened with DDR memory.  Intel wanted to push Rambus.  The market didn't want it - too expensive.  Intel even tried to market a chipset that would allow the use of either memory type, resulting in a massive recall (one of Intels trips).

Intel knows that AMD has stated that they have designed the Athlon 64 with multi-core in mind but Intel pushes out a "dual core" chip first to try and reclaim the appearance of a technological and performance lead.  Note that when I say Intel pushed out a "dual core" chip it is not a "true" dual core as it is actually 2 chips in one package not 2 chips built as one. 

Intel also has the problem that they have been letting marketing drive them rather than listen to the engineers.  Intel was in the drivers seat for so long they forgot that they were driving a taxi and people could get off and use the competing line. 

What saves Intel right now is the massive production facilities that they have which could supply the entire PC market.  AMD on the other hand only has limited production and apparently is selling everything they can make even with a factory that is producing 150% of its rated capacity and another producing at least a little while still under development and supposedly months from official production.  A 3rd party foundry that will be producing AMD chips in the coming months has been using a combination of AMD and IBM tech to produce the chips for the XBox 360.  That will allow them to debug most of the process at Microsofts expense before they move on to the AMD chips.

When I told him I was thinking of going to AMD he said it is the smart thing to do. Not even a hesitation about it.

And I really hope that the competition stays fierce too b/c, as Nemesis points out, the competition rocks for US.

DH, the whole reason for the conversation in the first place was b/c I am starting to have real issues with today's games.... IE my ATI 9600XT isn't cutting it anymore... and the next card WILL be PCI express... so I need a new mobo...


Right now AMD is the way to go, especially towards the higher end.  In spite of long years of AMD having a reputation for chips running hot right now it is Intel that is having heat problems.  They are forcing old designs to go in directions (dual core) and speeds never intended with the end result of major heat problems (the Pentium M chips used in Centrino branded laptops are an exception to that).

I would say however that with the planned AMD launch in June/July of new revisions using DDR2 800mhz rather than the current DDR1 400mhz memory waiting is the best choice if feasible.  You may have reason to upgrade sooner but I would say hold on for the 1.1 Revision of the DDR2 800 mhz motherboards if you can.  The more you push the machines memory access (especially in Dual Core) the more the advantage goes to AMD.  AMD has the higher memory bandwidth and lower latency which aids them in those circumstances.

In many ways the nVidea chipset based motherboards do seem to be among the best around.  nVideas contract with Microsoft to produce the original XBox on the Athlon allowed nVidea to do most of the development on Microsofts dime before Intel jumped in and made them a better office to use the Pentium III.  nVidea wisely didn't scrap the work but completed it as a full function PC motherboard chipset and used it to broaden their market. ATi has recently done the same but I've never tried their boards (except in my Acer laptop).

Link to old "Intel is desperate thread" that you may find of interest.

Note:  Edited to fix a typo where I wrote Hyperthreading instead of Hypertransport.  I always hated the way those two names were too close.


You know AMD is not the only way to go here especially if price is a consideration. if that is the case go intel, they are much cheaper and more budget friendly (and Nem even you must agree on that)
Rob

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2006, 10:30:54 pm »
I WAS on a budget and got more bang for my buck when I upgraded my desktop syst to a Prescot core.(P4).

Eventually, and I dont know when, I may upgrade again.

RAM, is a possibility.

Video card is another. But wait. I have a new video card that I am happy w/.

Or I just may not upgrade at all.

And that still reminds me, still looking for a rodent (mouse) for my laptop. ;D




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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2006, 09:52:54 am »
Just a quick note:
  As I build computers for commercial use (arcade machines) I MUST remind you'z of the thermal characteristics of AMD chips- they run EXTREMELY hot compared to Intel chips.  ALWAYS read the thermal guidlines on AMD's site and stick to it like glue. An overheated AMD processor becomes junk the first time, so watch it like a hawk when you're finished building it and ALWAYS use a power supply that has a cooling fan facing the processor, as well have a case fan that blows out next to the power supply. My current Athlon runs about 50 C and is rock solid (as opposed to 65 c before I installed the case fan).
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Offline Strat

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #15 on: April 11, 2006, 10:08:42 am »
AFAIK this USED to be the case.

The latest Pentiums actually run hotter than any AMD64.

That is not to say that AMD64 run hot but Pentiums run hotter;  the AMD64 actually run cool and the Pentiums run hot.

The two have effectively switched positions.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2006, 10:54:14 am by Strat »

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #16 on: April 11, 2006, 10:20:43 am »
ALWAYS use a power supply that has a cooling fan facing the processor, as well have a case fan that blows out next to the power supply. My current Athlon runs about 50 C and is rock solid (as opposed to 65 c before I installed the case fan).

Holy crap! 50-65°C!!!  :o That is going to self destruct - and fast... The Athlon I run rarely goes over 43°C.  Electronics like body temp. 37.5°C. Which the mainboard seems to hover at.

ALWAYS use a power supply that has a cooling fan facing the processor, as well have a case fan that blows out next to the power supply.

That might have something to do with it... that is not a good cooling setup in my view, blowing the significant heat of the power supply into the case is just not a good idea.

I use the default power supply configuration with the fan blowing its hot air out, and a chassis fan at the back also blowing air out of the case. This way there is something close to laminar flow from the air intake inlets at the front of the case to the vents at the rear with fans pulling the hot air out of the case. The processor fan is doing the bulk of the cooling for the cpu anyway, you just need to ensure it has a good supply of cool air to pull over the heatsink. Blowing hot air from the power supply into the case is just not a good idea.  :thumbsdown:

For my main PIII-1000MHz PC I also have the power supply and chassis fans pulling air out of the full tower case at the back. Current stats attached (of course cooler than the Athlon 2500 I run, which is currently in storage, and is usually a few degrees higher in the heat of the summer - these numbers are probably why it has run rock solid for me over 6 years and performs wonderfully):
« Last Edit: April 11, 2006, 10:42:02 am by Bonk »

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #17 on: April 14, 2006, 01:13:12 pm »
You know AMD is not the only way to go here especially if price is a consideration. if that is the case go intel, they are much cheaper and more budget friendly (and Nem even you must agree on that)

Not if your going dual core. 

Intel has kludged together 2 cores that were not designed for it into a single package and they run hot.  Once they create a chip designed for multicore from the beginning then that may well change.

The AMD K8 chips were designed for multicore and they run much cooler. 

The designed for / versus kludge and the power consumption/heat issues give AMD the nod in spite of being more costly.
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Online Nemesis

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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #18 on: April 14, 2006, 01:27:31 pm »
Just a quick note:
  As I build computers for commercial use (arcade machines) I MUST remind you'z of the thermal characteristics of AMD chips- they run EXTREMELY hot compared to Intel chips.  ALWAYS read the thermal guidlines on AMD's site and stick to it like glue. An overheated AMD processor becomes junk the first time, so watch it like a hawk when you're finished building it and ALWAYS use a power supply that has a cooling fan facing the processor, as well have a case fan that blows out next to the power supply. My current Athlon runs about 50 C and is rock solid (as opposed to 65 c before I installed the case fan).


You are out of date.  Check the chart here.  Note the Pentium D 930 that KBFLordKrueg is considering is on the chart as using 93.6 watts the top AMD X2 chip is the 4800 and it uses 87.3 watts.  The top Pentium D on the list uses an astounding 128.9 watts.  So who runs hotter?

As to an AMD overheating and junking automatically, in a word - wrong.  I've had a dual CPU Athlon machine overheat and be fine afterwards.  My nieces (now ancient) Duron 650 recently had some major overheating problems until they called me over to fix it and clean a solidly packed heatsink - it still works.  AMD has the same type of overheating protection that Intel uses.  They were later at adding it but they have still had it for years.

« Last Edit: April 14, 2006, 03:42:26 pm by IKV Nemesis »
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Re: Of Proccessers and GHz...
« Reply #19 on: April 14, 2006, 05:10:58 pm »


Holy crap! 50-65°C!!!  :o That is going to self destruct - and fast... The Athlon I run rarely goes over 43°C.  Electronics like body temp. 37.5°C. Which the mainboard seems to hover at.

Um, my Athlon 1.4GHz that I've been running as my server (used for many D2 Campaigns) have been running nearly non-stop at 65-72 °C for three years
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