confused again....

[madcatmk3]

I keep thinking that AMD and intel are wiching terms around to make things looke better. If a dualcore is listed as 3.4 Ghz does that mean two at 1.7 or two processors at 3.4 malking a 6.8 total? I think it's the first one but now I'm confused.

[Favu]

Two 3.4Ghz on the same die.

[Razorfish]

Depends oin what company your talking about,

Intel list their processors buy there speed, i.e Intel Pentium D 820 2.8GHz This processor has two cores running at 2.8GHz each (Basically two P4 2.8s on the same chip)

AMD list their processors with PR Rating i.e.AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 This processor has two cores running at 2.0Ghz each (basically two Athlon 64 3200s on one chip)

[madcatmk3]

but two 2.8 cores malkes a total of 5.6 Ghz so is that right?

[tiamat63]

*sigh*

No Madcat.

Two execution cores running independently (so to speak) each @ 2.8ghz. You do not combine the clock frequencies.

[madcatmk3]

I understand that I just mean to clarify it in the sense that they are both running that if you mathimatically add them instead of real power. I do now understand that there are two cores each running at x freq.

[Gizmo]

Except that two cores running at 2.8 GHz do not give you the same horsepower as one core at 5.6 GHz except in very special situations. In the real world, a 2.8 Ghz core will give you about 25%-30% more performance than a single core would, because most applications are not written for multiple CPUs yet (and SOME applications never will be because it doesnt make sense).

[dsio]

The other reason is that the Intels in particular have been a rather half arsed and bandwidth crippled affair. Using an 800Mhz FSB to feed a pair of cores, that on their own can use that to death, is beyond stupidity.

Then there is the lack of an internal crossbar linking the two cores. The K8 design allows the two cores to communicate with eachother internally, while in the Intel design, data has to go from one chip, down to the northbridge, then make a U-turn and come back to the second core.

Futher congesting an already London streets equivilant bus.

[Aedan]

And believe me, Oxford Street is jam packed from end to end with busses that don't move much faster than walking pace.

[dsio]

Originally Posted by Áedán

And believe me, Oxford Street is jam packed from end to end with busses that don't move much faster than walking pace.

I have no doubt. I spend alot of time watching TopGear UK on the BBC, so I hear Jeremy Clarkson complaining about it every week

Also keeps me well informed on the stupidity of your transit officials. Whats the bloke called, LadyLove or something isn't it?

[Aedan]

Now I'm confused!

[aghastpumpkin]

Originally Posted by dsio

I have no doubt. I spend alot of time watching TopGear UK on the BBC, so I hear Jeremy Clarkson complaining about it every week

Also keeps me well informed on the stupidity of your transit officials. Whats the bloke called, LadyLove or something isn't it?

Until a few years ago, London was by no means the worst for traffic problems. In Brighton, there used to be so much traffic in a road called Dyke Road Avenue that people use to take an hour to travel 3 miles.
Now Brighton Council has put such heavy costs on parking in Brighton, traffic is been majorly cut down.
Dual-core is about multi-tasking. It means you can run Photoshop phot editing along with Adobe Premiere capturing film, and one core will work on one, the other on the other.
Neither process would take longer than if they were run one at a time by a single core processor of the same speed, but it just means you can do two things at once.
For a single application to actually run faster on a dual core CPU, it needs to be multi-threaded. This is why single-threaded Games actually don't run any faster on a dual core.
It is like towing caravans. You might be able to tow two caravans with two cars, but you won't be able to tow them any faster.

[madcatmk3]

a dualcore processorstill has more horse power then a single core, relying they both ran at full power. right?

[ajopz]

Originally Posted by dsio

while in the Intel design, data has to go from one chip, down to the northbridge, then make a U-turn and come back to the second core.

.
--------------------------------------------

Do u get to see the newer series of top gear over their? With that rather annoying richard hammond in it

[tiamat63]

Originally Posted by madcatmk3

a dualcore processorstill has more horse power then a single core, relying they both ran at full power. right?

I'm not to sure where your post was going, but I'll try to do my best to understand.

Dual core makes little difference in applications that are single threaded, basically 90% of anything out there...not to mention 95% of all games.

If your going to be doing alot of video/audio encoding decoding, DC will hold its advantages by far over single core. If gaming and overlocking is your deal...DC doesnt over much hope when compared to a single CPU.

Not to mention if you play older games. Example: you'd have to set an affinity for CS1.6 on Dual core. Otherwise you'll get some insane video lag.

Dual core is an excellent future proofing tool, but not necessary (by this threads topic) in anyway.

[madcatmk3]

that was the fetures but I figured out my own queston, I though (after a geek squad tech toold me) that a 3.2 dualcore was two 1.6 cores instead of two 3.2 cores.

[Razorfish]

Originally Posted by madcatmk3

(after a geek squad tech toold me) that a 3.2 dualcore was two 1.6 cores instead of two 3.2 cores.

They were wrong im affraid...

[Pitch]

Originally Posted by ajopz

Do u get to see the newer series of top gear over their? With that rather annoying richard hammond in it

Actually, he just gets insulted constantly, which makes his presence far less annoying.

[aghastpumpkin]

He's fantastic. James May is awful - he mooches around and does little to actually contribute to the program. But then, that other guy before him was so boring you could see Hammond yawning.

[Favu]

James May is great!

Although it's not any surprise that you enjoy Hammond, as you DO come from Brighton