After experiencing too many problems with my old computer, I have decided to upgrade in the near future. However, I have a question about CPUs:
Is it better to have a faster single core CPU, or a slower dial core CPU?
I was looking at either the AMD Athlon 64 3500+ or the Intel Pentium D 805. They're both about the same price, except the D is supposed to be slower and is dual core. Because I dislike spending money (i'm still gaming on my old P3 @ 866 with onboard graphics), I'd like to get a chip that will last as long as possible and still be usable. Since dual core is what all the new stuff is, would it be usable longer (in terms of speed compared to others)?
If a program doesn't support dual core, will it just run on a single core? Is there a way to switch programs between cores at startup, or does it have to be done after it's started?
I wouldn't be doing much new gaming, most of my games run "acceptably well" on my old computer now so they should be fine either way.
Just a side question: if I did go with dual core, could I run a server on one core and a game on the other? Or would that cause a lot of lag online?
Thanks for all your help.
PS: Before anyone asks, I would like a Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2, but they simply aren't in my budget, so please don't say that I should get one.
Is it better to have a faster single core CPU, or a slower dial core CPU?
I was looking at either the AMD Athlon 64 3500+ or the Intel Pentium D 805. They're both about the same price, except the D is supposed to be slower and is dual core. Because I dislike spending money (i'm still gaming on my old P3 @ 866 with onboard graphics), I'd like to get a chip that will last as long as possible and still be usable. Since dual core is what all the new stuff is, would it be usable longer (in terms of speed compared to others)?
If a program doesn't support dual core, will it just run on a single core? Is there a way to switch programs between cores at startup, or does it have to be done after it's started?
I wouldn't be doing much new gaming, most of my games run "acceptably well" on my old computer now so they should be fine either way.
Just a side question: if I did go with dual core, could I run a server on one core and a game on the other? Or would that cause a lot of lag online?
Thanks for all your help.
PS: Before anyone asks, I would like a Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2, but they simply aren't in my budget, so please don't say that I should get one.