Difference in Intel Chips

jpfahy

Whats the difference in real world computing between say a core2duo 6400 and a core2 extreme which costs a multiple of the price.
Are you going to see a multiple of the performance or just a bit of a difference.
Would a core2quad kick both of their asses.
The reason I ask is I'm about to build a new system and want it to run Vista Ultimate smoothly. I have in mind C2D 6400 cpu, 2gb pc6400, Abit AB9, Ati 1900xtx in an Antec Sonata II with 450w psu. 24in Dell screen 2407wfp 1920X1200.
No real interest in overclocking, want an absolutely stable system.
Will the above system fly along under Vista or do I need more ooomph ??

dazftw

Higher psu maybe?

I dont think theres much of a difference between home premium and ultimate I think ultimates just got the business stuff.. so it may be a waste if you dont need them

Im building

core2duo 6600
EVGA 680i
8800GTX
2GB Corsair6400
vista home premium I dont think theres a need for ultimate? I could be wrong..

DirkVoodoo

Depends what you're doing.

I upgraded from an Athlon 64 3800+ and right now I don't see any difference, cuz im just surfing the net. Heavier gaming and multitasking, encoding and editing will see the added benefits. Just look at any real world benchmarks.

The key to vista seems to be ample RAM and a good GFX card, a 6400 should do fine. Quad core isn't really beneficial unless you are going to be doing something that will occupy all 4 cores. Remember, 4 cores doesn't mean 4x faster.

Agree with DeafVision, Ultimate (along with the Ultimate Downloads) seems more of a rip off right now. Anyone who has been reading my posts knows I'm not a fan of Vista right now, XP is still solid and DirectX10 support isn't out yet from NVIDIA, so besides Aero Glass (i like pretty things), Vista seems more of a troublesome systme hog, a bit like XP when it came out. If you are getting an OEM system and HAVE to get Vista its ok, but I wouldn't rush onto the bandwagon.

Btw, out of interest, what make is this 450W PSU?

papu

imo buy an e4300 and overclock to 3ghz , save you a hundred euro and its just as fast !

jpfahy

the psu comes with the case, Antec 450W SmartPower 2.0 power supply

DirkVoodoo

Thats ok, Antec are decent PSUs. An XTX pulls a lot of power on full load though, I have an XT and i think they pull up to about 320W on full. I believe the XTX can go as high as 340W.

d_advocatus

DirkVoodoo wrote:

Thats ok, Antec are decent PSUs. An XTX pulls a lot of power on full load though, I have an XT and i think they pull up to about 320W on full. I believe the XTX can go as high as 340W.

Umm, no... The XTX pulls about 130W power at peak (XT ~ 120W). That's almost the limit of what the PCI-E bus and the PCI-E molex can deliver. That's why the 8800 needs two PCI-E molex connections, because it draws about 275W at peak.

Also, Antec aren't decent PSU's, they're cheap crap.

And you're cutting it pretty tight with 450W. As you connect USB devices and add drives, expansion cards, etc, you're gonna start having brown-outs.

Also, if you're planning on doing gaming you really should look at an 8800 if you're going to be running on a 24" screen. At a res of 1920X1200 you probably will have quite a few problems if you try to crank up AA and AF.

jpfahy

Yeah, I'm a bit worried about the 450W. I think I'll keep my case and buy a new PSU, any recommendations ?

d_advocatus

Forgot to mention... As far as I can remember, the Abit AB9 needs an 8-pin 12v rail which most PSU's still don't have! (So the Antec won't work with it anyway). I had to buy mine in PC World for this reason, most of the PSU's on komplett and Dabs that at the time had the 8-pin cost over €150. The Jeantech Storm 700W cost me €100. It's a great PSU and there is minimal variation in voltage. Also has a very quiet fan.

DirkVoodoo

d_advocatus wrote:

Umm, no... The XTX pulls about 130W power at peak (XT ~ 120W). That's almost the limit of what the PCI-E bus and the PCI-E molex can deliver. That's why the 8800 needs two PCI-E molex connections, because it draws about 275W at peak.

Also, Antec aren't decent PSU's, they're cheap crap.

And you're cutting it pretty tight with 450W. As you connect USB devices and add drives, expansion cards, etc, you're gonna start having brown-outs.

Also, if you're planning on doing gaming you really should look at an 8800 if you're going to be running on a 24" screen. At a res of 1920X1200 you probably will have quite a few problems if you try to crank up AA and AF.

You are right, my bad, the figures i quoted included total system load and were intended for comparison. The original PCI-e spec was for up to 75 W but the newer iteration (PCI-e 2.0?) allows for up to 150W with the extra connector.

My apologies d_advocatus. However I still think the antec is ok, better than a fortron or a NorthQ.

d_advocatus

No need to apologise mate.

DirkVoodoo wrote:

However I still think the antec is ok, better than a fortron or a NorthQ.

Never used a NorthQ and havn't researched much about them. I'd put Fortron and Antec on the same level to be honest. From what I've seen there's huge variation in voltage which can damage sensitive components.

Y'know, if I'm pushing my CPU to the limit and have the voltage already chugging away and deteriorating my CPU at 5 times the speed it should then the last thing I want is a little voltage spike that fries the chip. In a chip with stock voltage that spike wouldn't matter so many PSU manufacturers cut corners. If you're oc'ing or just a freak for quality then avoid those manufacturers!

DirkVoodoo

Agreed. I wouldn't buy one myself, and if he needs to buy a new PSU with this 8 pin connector, look for a tagan or a seasonic.