Comparing Core 2 Duo vs. xeon quad core e5310 1.6ghz

remember · 12-14-2006, 11:55 PM

I was pretty much set on getting the Core 2 duo 2.4Ghz for the price of low $300, but then saw that a Xeon "quad" core is $365. http://www.pricewatch.com/cpu/xeon_q...310_1.6ghz.htm

I was told that Xeon is "mainly" for servers, but was never told that it definitely could not be used for a "normal" computer, or given any reason why.

My question is, if Im trying to build this first computer of mine, would it be stupid or unworthy to use the quad core?

I wanted to compare the speeds of these processors at the http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.ht...=604&chart=189, but couldn't find the quad core CPU.

I know the Core 2 duo is 2.4Ghz and this xeon quad is only 1.6Ghz, but I also read in many places that the Ghz speeds can not be compared with 2 different types of CPU's, like I have here.

It seems that 4 processors in this xeon would be much better than only 2 in the Core 2, but hopefully someone can shed some more info on this? Perhaps the differences in price for the MOBO, RAM, PSU etc. for the xeon make this idea more expensive than its worth, but again for the price of $365 for 4 processors vs. $306 for Core 2, I can only think that xeon may be better? Please let me know as much as you can.

P.S. I dont play any games, but just want to have the best computer I can get, obviously for the money and to last as long as possible. And if being a server means a micro version of a search engine, Id like to also say that one day, eventually I would like to have my own website or server/search engine that specializes in certain subjects like agriculture products. If a server is a stepping stone to being a search engine and if this xeon CPU is fast, still usable for a "normal" computer but a good way fo me to one day practice for becoming a server/search engine, then please just let me know everything you can.

Jet · 12-14-2006, 11:59 PM

That Xeon is based off of the Core architecture, so you can directly compare Ghz. Could you provide a link to the quad core Xeon? I would suppose that it is just a dual core model that is advertised that you can put two dual cores together to equal a quad core?

remember · 12-15-2006, 12:14 AM

http://www.pricewatch.com/cpu/xeon_q...310_1.6ghz.htm
As you can see they all say quad core, and I cant determine if its like you say 2 2 cores or 1 4 core. I see that some say passive and some say active. If you know what it is please tell me.

Jet · 12-15-2006, 12:27 AM

I looked into it, and it is a Quad core processor! However, finding a server motherboard for it might be a hassle, as well as worse gaming performance probably. (It's Socket 771, not Socket 775, so you'd have to look for server motherboards, etc.)

lovely? · 12-15-2006, 12:42 AM

it would be a hassle, and i dont believe that it would be in your best interests to try it either. prices are bad for it right now, and you wont find anything that can even run the four cores simultaneously for at least a year. plus, that processor is'nt made for home computing, so it would run quite differently than you may or may not be used to, meaning performance may be worse than say, an e6600... games, i would suspect, would suffer with the zeon

remember · 12-15-2006, 06:41 AM

To Jet,
Yes, that is just one Quad core of many I have glanced and have no idea what all their differences are. Thanks for telling me its a 771 socket MOBO. I have no idea what that means, and dont really know why it should be so difficult to find one, since anyone with that CPU would also have to use that MOBO?

To lovely?:
I dont play any video games, and dont really understand why this xeon should not work sufficiently with games or anything I would consider requiring gaming components, like TV, Movies etc.?

I really dont understand what you mean by,. . "you wont find anything that can even run the four cores simultaneously for at least a year" What exactly are you talking about that has to run the CPU? The MOBO? or what exactly?

As long as games are the only thing that will not "perform" as well with the xeon as they would with the Core 2, then I'm perfectly alright with that. Its just my simple belief that, if 2 cores are better 1, than 4 cores should be better than 2, but obviously if say that I wont be able to find anything that can run the 4 cores for at least a year, then sadly I'll have to forget my intention, But I do have to know what part it is that you're talking about that has to "run" the CPU. Please let me know. Thanks.

fade2green514 · 12-15-2006, 07:48 AM

if it were an opteron, i'd say go for it... but you'd need a pretty damn good board to overclock that thing very far, since its an intel and you cant just implement a lower multiplier on the fsb (like you can with AMD's Hypertransport)
if you do a lot of video conversion and you multi-task constantly, then by all means get the quad core. personally i dont think its worth the money and an e6300 at stock speeds even would do fine.
the e6600 theoretically gives a total of 4.8ghz when the apps are dual-threaded or more and the xeon gives 6.4ghz of performance when the apps are quad-threaded or more. of course, most apps arent so the more practical thing for todays use would be the e6600 especially since you'll probably be able to just get it to 3.2ghz giving you the 6.4ghz that the xeon would.

**Archangel** · 12-15-2006, 09:15 AM

you cant just add up the frequenties of each core tough..

remember · 12-15-2006, 09:10 PM

To: fade2green514:
It seems that you are making your decision based on the "overclocking" factor.
Since I have no idea what overclocking is, I cant say anything, so hopefully when I read overclocking 101, I will at least understand what you're saying.

tlarkin · 12-15-2006, 09:18 PM

Xeons are made to be a work horse processor. We have a few intel based macs (mac pro) at my work that run dual xeon 2 gig processors, and there is a lot more in their architecture over a consumer level processor, however both are based on the same core technology.

In all honesty, if you were actually going to spend the money to buy a xeon processor I would say don't do it, and just build two seperate C2D machines

also make sure you are comparing the right xeon with the right core 2 duo, the xeons with the 1033 bus last I checked were around 1,000 dollars each, but that was back during the summer time.

12-14-2006, 11:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
remember Silver Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: crappy so. california Age: 28 Posts: 178	Comparing Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz vs. xeon quad core e5310 1.6ghz I was pretty much set on getting the Core 2 duo 2.4Ghz for the price of low $300, but then saw that a Xeon "quad" core is $365. http://www.pricewatch.com/cpu/xeon_q...310_1.6ghz.htm I was told that Xeon is "mainly" for servers, but was never told that it definitely could not be used for a "normal" computer, or given any reason why. My question is, if Im trying to build this first computer of mine, would it be stupid or unworthy to use the quad core? I wanted to compare the speeds of these processors at the http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.ht...=604&chart=189, but couldn't find the quad core CPU. I know the Core 2 duo is 2.4Ghz and this xeon quad is only 1.6Ghz, but I also read in many places that the Ghz speeds can not be compared with 2 different types of CPU's, like I have here. It seems that 4 processors in this xeon would be much better than only 2 in the Core 2, but hopefully someone can shed some more info on this? Perhaps the differences in price for the MOBO, RAM, PSU etc. for the xeon make this idea more expensive than its worth, but again for the price of $365 for 4 processors vs. $306 for Core 2, I can only think that xeon may be better? Please let me know as much as you can. P.S. I dont play any games, but just want to have the best computer I can get, obviously for the money and to last as long as possible. And if being a server means a micro version of a search engine, Id like to also say that one day, eventually I would like to have my own website or server/search engine that specializes in certain subjects like agriculture products. If a server is a stepping stone to being a search engine and if this xeon CPU is fast, still usable for a "normal" computer but a good way fo me to one day practice for becoming a server/search engine, then please just let me know everything you can. Last edited by remember; 12-15-2006 at 12:11 AM.

12-14-2006, 11:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jet Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5,285	That Xeon is based off of the Core architecture, so you can directly compare Ghz. Could you provide a link to the quad core Xeon? I would suppose that it is just a dual core model that is advertised that you can put two dual cores together to equal a quad core? __________________ Macbook/Intel Core Duo 1.83Ghz/2GB DDR2 667/60GB HD/OSX 10.4.11/160GB 3.5" Firewire External/160GB Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini External/

12-15-2006, 12:14 AM	#3 (permalink)
remember Silver Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: crappy so. california Age: 28 Posts: 178	Link to xeon made in 1st thread http://www.pricewatch.com/cpu/xeon_q...310_1.6ghz.htm As you can see they all say quad core, and I cant determine if its like you say 2 2 cores or 1 4 core. I see that some say passive and some say active. If you know what it is please tell me.

12-15-2006, 12:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Jet Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5,285	I looked into it, and it is a Quad core processor! However, finding a server motherboard for it might be a hassle, as well as worse gaming performance probably. (It's Socket 771, not Socket 775, so you'd have to look for server motherboards, etc.) __________________ Macbook/Intel Core Duo 1.83Ghz/2GB DDR2 667/60GB HD/OSX 10.4.11/160GB 3.5" Firewire External/160GB Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini External/

12-15-2006, 12:42 AM	#5 (permalink)
lovely? Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: California Age: 15 Posts: 3,647	it would be a hassle, and i dont believe that it would be in your best interests to try it either. prices are bad for it right now, and you wont find anything that can even run the four cores simultaneously for at least a year. plus, that processor is'nt made for home computing, so it would run quite differently than you may or may not be used to, meaning performance may be worse than say, an e6600... games, i would suspect, would suffer with the zeon __________________ E4500 @ 2.93GHZ ASUS P5K-DELUXE 2GB OCZ Reaper CL3 @ 800MHZ 3-4-4-15 eVGA 8800GT OZC GameXStream 700W PSU 320GB WD Caviar SATA, 80GB WD Caviar IDE Sometimes scientists make things alot harder than they need to. All they've gotta do is put a big spring on the ground where they think it's gonna land, or send a mission to the moon to erect a sign that says "Welcome to Earth".

12-15-2006, 06:41 AM	#6 (permalink)
remember Silver Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: crappy so. california Age: 28 Posts: 178	To Jet, Yes, that is just one Quad core of many I have glanced and have no idea what all their differences are. Thanks for telling me its a 771 socket MOBO. I have no idea what that means, and dont really know why it should be so difficult to find one, since anyone with that CPU would also have to use that MOBO? To lovely?: I dont play any video games, and dont really understand why this xeon should not work sufficiently with games or anything I would consider requiring gaming components, like TV, Movies etc.? I really dont understand what you mean by,. . "you wont find anything that can even run the four cores simultaneously for at least a year" What exactly are you talking about that has to run the CPU? The MOBO? or what exactly? As long as games are the only thing that will not "perform" as well with the xeon as they would with the Core 2, then I'm perfectly alright with that. Its just my simple belief that, if 2 cores are better 1, than 4 cores should be better than 2, but obviously if say that I wont be able to find anything that can run the 4 cores for at least a year, then sadly I'll have to forget my intention, But I do have to know what part it is that you're talking about that has to "run" the CPU. Please let me know. Thanks.

12-15-2006, 07:48 AM	#7 (permalink)
fade2green514 Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: buffalo ny Age: 19 Posts: 3,166	if it were an opteron, i'd say go for it... but you'd need a pretty damn good board to overclock that thing very far, since its an intel and you cant just implement a lower multiplier on the fsb (like you can with AMD's Hypertransport) if you do a lot of video conversion and you multi-task constantly, then by all means get the quad core. personally i dont think its worth the money and an e6300 at stock speeds even would do fine. the e6600 theoretically gives a total of 4.8ghz when the apps are dual-threaded or more and the xeon gives 6.4ghz of performance when the apps are quad-threaded or more. of course, most apps arent so the more practical thing for todays use would be the e6600 especially since you'll probably be able to just get it to 3.2ghz giving you the 6.4ghz that the xeon would. __________________ Core 2 Duo e6300 (3000 grit lapped) Thermaltake big typhoon - cpu full load 43C DFI Infinity 975X Crossfire motherboard 7800gt 256mb + NV silencer 2x2gb G.Skill ddr2-800 5-5-5-15 (1.8v) 2x80gb WD 8mb sata2 in RAID 0 system drive 1x250gb Seagate 7200.9 storage drive

12-15-2006, 09:15 AM	#8 (permalink)
Archangel Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Netherlands Age: 21 Posts: 7,834	you cant just add up the frequenties of each core tough.. __________________ God's busy, can I hellp you? Newton is dead, Einstein is dead, I don't feel very well either Xfire - Mirrari Intel Q6600 ( @3.6GHz) Asus Triton 79 Amazing 549/3200 4x 1Gb Corsair XMS2 DDR800 ( @ 960MHz ) Asus Maximus Formula Asus & Sapphire HD3870 512Mb Logitech MX Revolution mouse, G-15 keyboard, Saitek X-45 AeroEngine II case Corsair HX620W PSU

12-15-2006, 09:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
remember Silver Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: crappy so. california Age: 28 Posts: 178	I dont know what overclocking means. To: fade2green514: It seems that you are making your decision based on the "overclocking" factor. Since I have no idea what overclocking is, I cant say anything, so hopefully when I read overclocking 101, I will at least understand what you're saying.

12-15-2006, 09:18 PM	#10 (permalink)
tlarkin VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 5,940	Xeons are made to be a work horse processor. We have a few intel based macs (mac pro) at my work that run dual xeon 2 gig processors, and there is a lot more in their architecture over a consumer level processor, however both are based on the same core technology. In all honesty, if you were actually going to spend the money to buy a xeon processor I would say don't do it, and just build two seperate C2D machines also make sure you are comparing the right xeon with the right core 2 duo, the xeons with the 1033 bus last I checked were around 1,000 dollars each, but that was back during the summer time.

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