question...........

[GreaseMonkey]

Because im unsure and im not gifted with a lot of knowledge about computers, i would like to know if you have a AMD Amthlon Dual Core 64x2 at 2 GHZ does it mean it runs at 2 ghz or double that witch would be 4 ghz ,frankly i cant see it myself but i just need a little reasurrance. thanks

[Nick N]

The speed of the processor is the speed of all cores contained within its structure. If it is a dual core, both cores run equally fast. If quad, same. They are also calibrated to remain is sync with each other and to allow the OS to trim that timing as needed.


The difference lies in how large the L2 Cache is, how many there are and the how the cores use them. AMD and Intel use a different method for accessing the cache and sharing the data between the cores. AMD also incorporates the northbridge memory controller into the processor where Intel relies on the motherboard northbridge chipset for that.

Right now and until AMD releases its next generation of processor the Core2 Intel is a better dual core processor because of the lower latency (speed in which things happen internally) the processor has. Since the northbridge chip on the motherboard does some of the work for the Intel CPU as compared to AMD being directly on the processor, AMD tends to run hotter and requires higher voltage to run the processor, where with Intel the northbridge chip on the motherboard gets hot and the processor runs with a lower voltage.


When you are comparing speed of AMD and Intel prcessors (Im only speaking of comparing Core2 and A64) then you must understand that because of the different internal speeds, 2.6gig on AMD is actually slower than 2.6gig with Intel. Its not the frequency at which raw calculation takes place.. 2.6g is the same as 2.6g, but rather how much faster the Intel will allow raw calcualtion to occur without interruption (low-latency) and therefore it can take in a new problem and execute a final calculation faster than AMD running the same speed.

Because of how that works, a stock speed AMD x64 dual core 4800+ @ 2.4g in many ways runs slower than a stock speed Core2 1.8g. There are differences and there are areas the 1.8g Intel runs slower than the 4800+ but because of the overall response to instruction, the user may see an overall better response from the slower Core2 Intel. It also depends of what software is being used in how better or worse the two compare to each other. Overclocking the 4800+ can overcome the difference but as you overclock the core2, which tends to also clock higher by %,

[GreaseMonkey]

Thanks....even though that was a lot to take, it helped me to understand proccesers more when i know what i want....but money wise and if you didnt want to have maxed out gaming, would the AMD 64 be better and cheaper?

thanks

[Nick N]

Your question is a bit vague because there is much more involved with how much you spend to get a processor to perform than just the slug itself.

When it comes to purchasing a processor and there is a budget involved, the success in how well the processor is able to deliver its full potential depends on the speed of the memory, speed of the motherboard, and if you are talking about game use, speed of the video card. The decision about which processor to run should be based on the supporting components, and, how long you intend to keep the system before another upgrade.

If you purchase a cheap motherboard and cheap memory and try to put an expensive video card and processor in that system, you will not see the full potential of the processor or video card. The same thing would happen if you put a cheap or slower processor in a system with a fast video card. The video card is bottlenecked. Therefore in each case you are either spending more for clock cycles you will never see or do not have enough clock cycles to allow the video card to work right. The expense of going one processor or another should be based on all the parts being used in the system, not just the CPU itself.

Since you can not use an Intel processor on and AMD motherboard, and visa-versa, you have to decide which platform you wish to build, then put an entire system together based on your budget ability. The video card should be matched to the CPU ability and the rest of the selections are about letting those two run as fast as they can together.

If you were to buy a 8800GTX video card and put it in a system running a AMD X2 6000+ processor you would be loosing money because the 6000+ will not allow the 8800GTX to deliver its full potential to the system and will therefore be choked.

You must match the components based on all your devices and not just choose based on a model number or a GHz speed.


Right now Intel offers a much better cost to performance ratio than AMD and that will continue to be the case until this summer and later in the fall when AMD will be releasing its next generation of CPUs, and shortly after its next generation of motherboard bus designs.