question abt Cache

S

SemiDevil

New Member
Hello,

I have been reading enough to know now that Clock speed is no longer the most important thing when choosing a PC.

WIth that being said, what about Cache? The higher the cache thebetter it is correct?

What is the biggest so far for cache? Can you add more cache? What is generally a good size cache when choosing a pc?

Thank you

Semi
 
it depends
what do you want to use the cpu for
generally 1-2 mb of cache is cool
and notice there are dual core processors
there are too many factors in the cpu
 
Mac OS X said:
IMO Cache is the most important thing so buy a CPU with a shitload of cache
Click to expand...
Read this from CPU 101
How important is cache?
Tough question to answer so generally but I would say, for Intel setups with their massively long pipelines, the amount of cache available to a processors is very important whereas it's not nearly as critical for AMD folks. This is illustrated by the performance deltas between a Pentium4 and its related Celeron (i.e., its quite noticeable). Now for AMD folks, a similar scenario exists for AthlonXP/Duron (although no where as bad) and to a much less noticeable degree, Athlon64 FX and Athlon64.

Again more of an Intel issue, the performance deltas from increased cache need to be taken with a grain of salt if (a) the cache is slowed (i.e., the L2 cache on Prescotts featuring 2MB of L2 is 17% slower than their 1MB counterparts) and (b) if the core itself undergoes a change (going from NorthwoodC to Prescott adds an extra 512K or L2 cache, the Prescott architecture is significantly less efficient).
Click to expand...
 
Cache is important to an extent, you dont want a rediculous amount because the more you have, the slower it is. A good intel CPU will have 2MB of L2 Cache, like the Preslers and Cedar Mills.
 
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