Core2 Duo or Core2 Quad

[jeffery]

I am about to put together a new Desktop for myself. In the past every time I purchased a new PC, I always got a packaged deal. This time I really want to build the box myself and optimise it to its capacity.

I have been researching a bit in the last couple of weeks and have a few questions which I am hoping the experts here can advise me.

First, the main purpose of this Machine I am building is to run several Virtual Machines. So VT technology is a good feature but I can still survive if it doesn't have VT. Which also means lots of RAM is required.

Now I have used a Core2 Duo machine and the performance compared a single core is substantial. My question is how much different is a Core2 Quad CPU going to make.


Sidetracking a bit...

I also read somewhere that only if the chipset supports 64bit can you have more than 4GB of RAM. Is this true?

Another thing I noticed about motherboards when I was looking at Gigabyte website is the following two boards:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2637
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2532&ProductName=GA-P35-DQ6

There are basically the same model number.. but what is the "(rev. 1.0)" denote? Is this is a hardware revision or a software revision for the board?

Thanks for your help.

[tiro_uspsss]

as for the mobo diff - i can see that the cooling heatpipe arrangement is changed, tho i'm not aware of any other changes - might need to email gigabyte.

my friend recently went from a celeron, 512mb ram, single 7.2k hdd machine to a dual-core, 4gb ram, RAID0 2x7.2k rpm hdds - & he reckons the diff when running VMs is phenomenal.

I *dare* say, the more cores & RAM (& i personally recommend a decent HDD subsystem) the better.

4GB limit is for 32bit machine. Most mobos & hardware in general has 64bit drivers available. *iirc* alot of the latest mobos support 8GB :D that'd b nice for plenty of VMs :D

[tiro_uspsss]

hey i just realised ur from Oz - & its ur first post! :welcome: :)

just thought i might add that the other night my friend ran 4 VMs @ once & the pc didnt even notice. I have no idea how many VMs it would take for that pc to start noticing. So obviously base ur decision on how many u want to run :D

[jeffery]

hey i just realised ur from Oz - & its ur first post! :welcome: :)
Yes I am, thanks for responding that quickly!



just thought i might add that the other night my friend ran 4 VMs @ once & the pc didnt even notice. I have no idea how many VMs it would take for that pc to start noticing. So obviously base ur decision on how many u want to run :D

Thats cool.. I am looking at running atleast 4 VMS at the same time.

[k0rn_h0li0]

core 2 quad. aren't they making it less energy sufficient but with a boost of performance?

[daedality]

Personally... I believe in core 2 Duos. There are obvious advantages of running... say a 2.4GHz quad over a 2.4GHz duo, correct? That is - if you don't have a budget. Quads sell for a little more, though, not everybody is stingy with money. Either way, you will likely get better performance with a Quad but it's all about opinion. Personally, I don't think a whole lot of people really need quad cores because they're not going to use it to the full performance that they're computer can handle, and would probably not see much of a difference in their daily computing if they had a duo. Take into consideration, also, that you'll have better cooling with a duo. (The cores are closer together, and the heat is centered better, which is especially key if you are a watercooler like myself and bow your waterblocks) -- though, I'm just one of those people who'll look for the 3-5 degree celsius boost.

Wow, this is a long post. I guess, in summary, I have to say - if you're, for example, deciding between a 2.4 quad and a 3.0 duo, I'd suggest the duo. If money isn't an issue, go for the higher quad... Though, this is all assuming you're not planning to overclock, in which case I would go for the duo either way. There's A LOT of factors to take into consideration, it's such a broad question.