Which CPU?

EricM

Daemon Poster
Messages
635
I am new to all of this and I have a few quesions regarding CPUs. I will be using the computer possibly for everyday use, minimal gaming, music editing and multitasking. So this has narrowed it down to a dual core CPU. My question is Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2. Right now I am leaning towards the X2, but I am very confused. I also have a few questions about the Intel Pentium EEs and the AMD Athlod FX. How do these differ from the normal CPUs like P4 and Athlon 64? Are they just faster and more memory? And for RAM... what is the difference between DDR DDR2 AND DDR Dual Channel? Which is the best? And what mother board should I go with if I go with AMD?
 
EricM said:
I am new to all of this and I have a few quesions regarding CPUs. I will be using the computer possibly for everyday use, minimal gaming, music editing and multitasking. So this has narrowed it down to a dual core CPU. My question is Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2. Right now I am leaning towards the X2, but I am very confused. I also have a few questions about the Intel Pentium EEs and the AMD Athlod FX. How do these differ from the normal CPUs like P4 and Athlon 64? Are they just faster and more memory? And for RAM... what is the difference between DDR DDR2 AND DDR Dual Channel? Which is the best? And what mother board should I go with if I go with AMD?

The X2 is a way better cpu. The EE is just an expensive cpu, which doesn't even come close to the FX's. The new 57 could pwn any EE, unless it was dual core. The X2 is just the new generation of great cpu's from amd. It's all about two cores, dual processing, and faster everything. Of course, for gaming, a single, faster core performs better in gaming, but everything else it's good. ddr and ddr2 is really just the difference in the memory speed, like pc3200, and up. ddr2 is just faster and better. Dual channel ram is like what it says. Dual channel. picture this: single channel ram is like a 4 way highway, with 2 lanes going one way, and two lanes going the other way. dual channel ram is like an 8 lane highway, with 4 lanes going one way and the other way. see where I'm going? dual channel just can do a better job with the flow of traffic. Any mobo that is socket 939, or, the new mobo m2, which supports ddr2, which I would get.... hope this helps...
 
Thanks for the help. I have heard Intel is better for multitasking, but I still am going to stick with the X2. I will be using music editing software and will be playing a few games on the computer I am going to build. So if i go with the X2, should I wait now till the M2 sockets become more available? And if so should how much RAM should i go with and what type? Dual Channel or DDR2?
 
WEll, for the m2, the ram will be ddr2, so you'll go with that. I'd wait. Or, if you're impatient, just get a socket 939 mobo and just upgrade the cpu later on.
 
What do u mean by upgrading CPU? When the M2 socket is out, AMD is going to change their chips so they will be compatible? So I take it as DDR2 is better than dual channel?
 
As of now, that particular product doesn't exist yet. It's in the works. Socket M2 won't be released until the second half of 2006 so if you're patient enough until then....

It's suppose to support up to DDR2 667. The FX CPUs next year will also support the new M2 socket too. It's going to be really exciting to see all the new changes AMD is going to make. I've decided to postpone my build until then.
 
Same. I'm building one next year... a top of the line one. So I'm saving up now... lol...
 
All right Jac... you and I will start our build around the same time probably. If should be extra fun with the new stuff, yeah baby...

We'll defintely see some new motherboards out by that time too so it should be good picking. How much you willing to spend?
 
depends on how much I get... lol... I'm hoping I can spend at least $2000, but I'm really wanting around $4000. I don't know how much I'll get by working at Starbucks for a whole year, but hey, I could get more. But I gotta save up for some college stuff you know. It all depends. But around $2000 is where I'm heading.
 
I hope I can get it around 2 grand also but you can probably expect high prices when it first comes out. Unless we can wait longer for the technology to mature, we're probably going to pay big bucks for it right then. I can probably go as high as 3 grand if I have to but that's pretty insane on something that will depreciate so fast according to Moore's Law. Nvidia should probably come out with a new line of graphics card by then too so we'll be looking forward to that.
 
Back
Top Bottom