PC Processor comparison Pentium D "820" 2.8 ghz vs P4 HT

[eXo]

Hello just had a quick question which one of theese processors would the best performance. and whats the differnce?

[KodiaX987]

http://www.sudhian.com/printdocs.cfm?aid=667


Intel is focusing on pushing dual core into the mainstream market first, with the dual core Pentium D 820 (2.8 GHz) at $241, the 830 (3.0 GHz) at $316, and the 840 (3.2 GHz) at $530. For comparison, the current Pentium 4 630 (3 GHz) is $229, while the 550 and 640 series are $283 and $287, respectively. Intel has priced the new dual core parts quite aggressively versus their single-core counterparts, quite possibly in an effort to minimize market confusion and churn over whether or not a single core or dual core part is a better buy.

If you look into the article, you'll notice data coming and going from the dual-core Pentiums go through a single pipe, creating a bottleneck. The system can theoretically handle 6.4 GB/s. My take is that this doesn't allow the computer to operate at full capacity... It'll be able to perform lots of tiny tasks at once but won't showcase much of a performance when it comes to handling just one big huge task.

AMD dual-cores, on the other hand, give different data to each CPU, and the CPUs will pass information between each other depending on where it needs to go. That system allows for a speed ranging between 14 to 30 GB/s.

(EDIT): I also found a benchmark for the dual-core Pentium D: http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=145&type=expert




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: KodiaX987 on 2006-02-20 09:50 ]</font>

[Blitzkommando]

Kodia makes a very valid point about the implementation of the Pentium dual-core systems. Another part about the communications between the Intel dual-cores is done over the Front Side Bus, which, in the Pentium D 820, limits it to 800MHz whereas the AMD X2 series, and Opteron dual-core series, operate at full frequency. I really don't have much more to add to what he already said.

It really just depends on how the machine is going to be used. The 630 will perform better with today's games and applications, the 820 will perform better with tomorrow's games and applications. Multiple threaded applications are appearing more and more, especially in multimedia. Some games, such as Quake 4, Quake 3 and the like already do see benefit from installing a dual-core patch on dual-core machines. I can attest to that as I use a dual-core system myself and have seen the improvement over a single core.

Another area that can reach even worse bottlenecking with the Intel dual-core design is the memory implementation. Both processors use a single pipe to reach the external memory chipset. This can, and does, increase latency of the already higher latency DDR2 RAM. It also means both processors have to go through the chip one at a time, limiting data transfer. The newer Intel chipsets have improved performance, but, it is still a factor to consider.

None of the solutions are perfect, from any manufacturer. Hyper-threading has its weaknesses, such as that it is a synthetic dual-core rather than an actual. Intel dual-cores suffer from the method of which it is implemented. They both suffer from rather nasty heat output and power consumption, especially if the user is considering overclocking.

Keep an open mind and look at all of the options. Don't lock yourself into one solution over another, consider all of the gains and losses of the choices. For example, right now because of latency issues and the efficiency of the AMD memory controller, AMD 64 processors are able to actually process more data through memory than the Intel processors running DDR2 memory that runs at twice the speed. Another thing to look for is considering to wait for a while longer to see what new processors both Intel and AMD introduce. The 955 XE by Intel is an amazing processor, however it is far to expensive. We could see more 'budget' oriented 65nm core processors from Intel soon which would give less performance than the 955 XE, but the same technology that has allowed for lower operating temperatures and lower power consumption. AMD is also readying to release the AM2 socket, which will be using DDR2 memory like Intel. The question of course is going to be just how much different will the AM2 socket be over the current 939 and 940 processors.

[eXo]

Hmm well im really Really not a fan of FPS http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif but i will be playing wow on this PC as well http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif: and of course PSU when ever it comes out.... the reason im even looking at the duelcore is because it has 4 memory banks where else every other p4 ht atleast from HP only have 2 and max at 2 gig's which means that i would have 2 buy 1gb sticksx2 while i alkready have 4 512 ddr2 sticks http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_confused.gif

[eXo]

intel PD 840 vs p4 630?

[VioletSkye]

Hands down the 840 would give you much better overall performance. On the few benchmark tests that the 630 won, it was a matter of only a few framerates difference and in fact for Farcry the 840 comes out ahead of the 630. Any multi-tasking, rendering, video or sound encoding jobs fare much better with an 840. Also the 840 is a good overclocker (hitting a stable 4.04Ghz easily) BUT you better have excellent cooling as it will put out some serious heat. The limits of memory bandwidth have already been pretty well covered, but Intel is obviously aware of this and will be moving to a 1066MHz FSB allowing for up to 8.5GB/sec bandwidth. Basically it boils down to this, if the applications you are running are going to saturate the FSB, being processor bound (spending time fighting for memory bandwidth) then you won't see as great a benefit. If they don't, then you should see a definite boost in performance over the single core.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VioletSkye on 2006-02-20 23:12 ]</font>

[eXo]

Once again i would like to say coodle's to violetskye for the expertise and everyone else also for the very helpful information i have decided to go with the 840 might go 850 but depend's on the price break that i recieve http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif