Triple or Dual Core

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elliot_c

New Member
I had a AMD 7750+ but have sent it back now (the shop needs it tested to see if I can get a refund or something) because I wanted a slightly better system for getting into some games and im into photography.

Now where im confused is what processor to buy (if the refund goes through) because I was going to get a AMD 8650+ (3x2.3Ghz) from ebuyer but then a freind told me this was a bad idea because most programs and games will only use two cores and im better off getting a dual core Intel E8600 because this will be better for the things I use as below....

Photoshop CS4, Grand Theft Auto 4, Prototype, Other games and will buy new games in the future and also general day to day stuff...

I am trying to keep a budget but im confused because I would just get the Core 2 Duo but then I like gta4 and am worried newer games will move on to more triple and quad core processors like this game, can anyone give advice?
 
Your best off getting a Phenom II based cpu if you can, dont get socket 775 intel, it is end of life. I would look for a phenom II 710 triple core, worth the slight extra over an 8650 using the older phenom I tech.
 
Thanks, your always a quick reply, I will have a look at them remembering im on a tight budget and still need to buy my psu and graphics card...
 
There was an article recently that compared 2, 3, and 4 cores. I think it concluded that
for games, 2 cores and 3 cores performs the same - or very slight increase. The extra
cores are more for multitasking - like running photoshop on the left monitor, while game
is on the right monitor.
 
Would the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 not be a better bet than a triple core? I know the speed of the three cores adds up to more than the pentium but the core 2 has a 6mb cache im not that good on processors but how much of an impact does this have? Whats messing up my mind is the fact that the reviews on the net are saying the core 2 duo outperforms the triple core amd's and even the quad cores!
 
The Core 2 Duo E8400 is a rip off. It is $167 and the Phenom II 710 Tri-Core has more processing power and is only $99.

What reviews are stating that the Core 2 Duos outperform the Phenom II Tri and Quad-Core processors? Can you post a link?
 
elliot_c said:
Now where im confused is what processor to buy (if the refund goes through) because I was going to get a AMD 8650+ (3x2.3Ghz) from ebuyer but then a freind told me this was a bad idea because most programs and games will only use two cores and im better off getting a dual core Intel E8600 because this will be better for the things I use as below....
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If you have an AMD motherboard you cant just drop in an Intel processor without replacing the motherboard too, which would drive costs up
 
elliot_c said:
Would the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 not be a better bet than a triple core? I know the speed of the three cores adds up to more than the pentium but the core 2 has a 6mb cache im not that good on processors but how much of an impact does this have? Whats messing up my mind is the fact that the reviews on the net are saying the core 2 duo outperforms the triple core amd's and even the quad cores!
Click to expand...
Its not worth the price, the Phenom II X3 cpu is great for gaming, and overclocks just as well.
 
I am just confused because there are a lot of sites saying most games and programs do not support x3 or x4 processors apart from gta4 so I was set on going for a good dual core but im still researching because I have gone wrong before.. (I will be getting a new motherboard anyone know any good uk websites for motherboard bundles?)
 
elliot_c said:
I am just confused because there are a lot of sites saying most games and programs do not support x3 or x4 processors apart from gta4 so I was set on going for a good dual core but im still researching because I have gone wrong before.. (I will be getting a new motherboard anyone know any good uk websites for motherboard bundles?)
Click to expand...
That is wrong, more and more games especially newer ones are going to want more cores vs higher clockspeed. For parts i have heard ebuyer.com and overclockers.co.uk are both good.
 
Dual core technology is old technology at this point in the game. As programs get newer, they will be more favorably coded for multiple cores. As soon as this threshold is passed, that extra core will make the world of difference. The current Photoshop might only be optimised for dual core, but its pretty much guaranteed the next version will utilize 4 or more cores. If you get an E8400 right now, you will love it, despite being ripped off lol. You'll be kicking yourself in a year or two though. If you get the Tri-core, you'll love it, and won't kick yourself in due time.
 
Here are some central processing units that are in a list of general processing power (1 being among the most powerful 8 being the least powerful):

1) Core i7 processors
2) Core 2 Quad processors and Phenom II (quad-core) processors
3) Phenom II (tri-core) processors
4) Phenom processors and Core 2 Duo processors
5) Athlon X2 (dual-core) processors
6) Pentium D (dual-core) processors
7) Athlon (single-core) processors
8) Pentium 4 (single-core) processors
 
ganzey said:
i would never buy a triple core, read this

http://gizmodo.com/373185/
Click to expand...

Well first of all, that's on the original Phenom series, not the Phenom II's, which we're talking about here and are vastly superior to the original architecture. Secondly, what's wrong with disabling a core if its bad and selling it anyway? Only one of the cores is bad, and in some cases, its entirely fine, but disabled to meet demand for the processor. Either way, they aren't going to sell a processor with more than one bad core as a tri-core, so while its still your choice entirely whether or not you want to boycott the tri-cores, there is really nothing wrong with them.
 
I am going to buy the 710 x3 2.6Ghz now prob on wednesday as they are still processing my refund, I have been a geek since I started this fourm checking out loads of websites and found its prob best value for money and even on dual core only programs I will have 2x 2.6Ghz which isnt bad and a spare core for background tasks or whatever and I should be able to finally play gta4 which I brought and have not even used properly yet! I found the kit on puterz.co.uk (remind you im from uk) for £170 so im going to pair this up with a reasonable graphics card and get a a new decent power supply...
 
The Phenom II 710 Tri-Core processor is a good choice. The GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P motherboard will work with this processor. I would suggest you take a look at this motherboard.
 
I dont want to drag this thread out now but a good website for uk people I have just found is overclock.co.uk they have the Phenom 2 x3 710 for £90.70 and some other cheap components so im prob going to build my system from this site later this week. Im going to go for the power cool 650w power supply, Phenom 2 x3 720 (the 2.8Ghz is only £10 more) a Asus M4A78 Pro motherboard and im still looking at the coolers for the processor, I have a case already with cooling and will probabily add a GeForce 9600GT or the Ati at similar price I have optical drives and even though I only have a 160GB hard drive I will use this to save money!
 
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