A dual core Question

piko · 08-13-2006, 10:01 AM

Ok im new to the "dual core" processor systems, im looking to buy a new alienware set-up..mmmmm P2 chassis, and i can add in an Athlon 64 X2 xxxx+, now i have an athlon 2700+ at the minuite and it plays games fine at 2.16Ghz, so one of the X2 processors i can have runs at 2.6Ghz i think it was, and i cant help but feel dissapointed with that speed as i am wanting a gamer PC, with games such as elder scrolls oblivion requireing at least a 3Ghz processor, so what i want to know is, i already know that for example a 2Ghz X2 doesnt mean i have 4Ghz in total, but when it comes to games, is the 2Ghz first core going to extend itself to the second core and use power from that as well to meet the 3Ghz requirement? or am i just stuck with a crappy 2Ghz? In my eyes if that is such is it better to simply by a 939 64 bit at 3Ghz+ and ignore dual core completely?

Will.Spencer · 08-13-2006, 04:54 PM

Most games are single-threaded, which means that a dual-core or dual-processor system will do very little to increase performance.

If you want to build a PC for gaming, my advice is to ignore the dual-core CPU's and go with one of AMD's FX processors.

The AMD Athlon Athlon 64 FX CPU's are designed specifically for gaming.

Oblivion runs very nicely on my AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 processor, and the FX-60 and FX-62 are now available to improve performance even further.

Fry · 08-13-2006, 11:22 PM

dual core is all marketing IMO.. its not necessary.
I am an Intel man though and prefer them, however Will is right in saying you will get more bang for buck with the AMD for gaming.

Will.Spencer · 08-14-2006, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fry

dual core is all marketing IMO.. its not necessary.

I agree, except for servers which run multiple processes for multiple users.

Then, multiple core CPU's can really pay off!

piko · 08-14-2006, 04:01 AM

ah well that all makes sense now, thanks very much!

Fry · 08-17-2006, 09:15 PM

Personally i think those alienware computers are overpriced.
Yeah they look good, but couldn't you build something the same or similar for much cheaper?

Will.Spencer · 08-18-2006, 01:50 AM

And now that AlienWare is owned by Dell, I wonder what will become of them?

Fry · 08-18-2006, 10:18 PM

They will probably become less "extreme" unless Dell have nothing to do with the manufacturing of them.