CPU Speed vs. Cores

[Hsv_Man]

I've never seen stock processors go 4Ghz with maybe a few exceptions of certain systems, but they aren't consumer hardware. Anything over the 3Ghz barrier tends to generate too much heat for consumer level computers.

Tlarkin is right intel has never to my knowledge had a processor advertised "try our new xx processor over 3.8 ghz of processing power." This just does not happen.

 

[Drenlin]

^ Actually, the Pentium 4 672 was 3.8GHz... :/

 

[maroon1]

how about a 4ghz dual core intel i5 vs a 2.1ghz quad phenom?

wouldn't the i5 be faster on non multitasking?
and the phenom be faster with multitasking?

or would i5's Hyper Threading even it out?

i5 dual core @ 4GHz would be much faster than Phenom X4 2.1GHz in both multitasking and single threaded applications

However the difference in single threaded applications would be much bigger

But I don't think there is a phenom X4 with only 2.1GHz clock speed, anyway

Also, I don't recommend i5 6xx series because you can buy i5 7xx which has 4 real cores, not 2 real cores + 2 virtual cores

 

[FXB]

Most if not all the i5's are dual core. All the i7's are quad core. I don't think any of them are hexa-core.

What's your take on the AMD phenom II X4 955 black edition at 3.2 GHz?

 

[Aastii]

Most if not all the i5's are dual core. All the i7's are quad core. I don't think any of them are hexa-core.

What's your take on the AMD phenom II X4 955 black edition at 3.2 GHz?

Most of the i5's are dual core, but advertised at quads because of hyperthreading, making 1 physical core into 2 virtual cores. Any i5's with the name 6xx are dual, those with 7xx are true quad.

All i7's are quad, except for 970 and 980x, which are hex core

The 955 is a very good processor, it will perform as well in games and every day applications than your intel processors will, so for price if you are building a gaming/every day system, then it would be the better option, but if you are using CPU intensive programs, an i7 would probably be better because of better speeds clock for clock and better FP calculations. With the 955 though, make sure it is C3 stepping, not C2, as C3 runs cooler and overclocks a hell of alot better than C2

You can tell if it is C2 or C3 because of the name. Look at the last 4 digits of the product code:

IBOX = C2
MBOX = C3

 

[FXB]

make sure it is C3 stepping, not C2, as C3 runs cooler and overclocks a hell of alot better than C2

You can tell if it is C2 or C3 because of the name. Look at the last 4 digits of the product code:

IBOX = C2
MBOX = C3

What's the whole C2 or C3 thing?

 

[FXB]

Also what's hyper threading and how is it beneficiary?