Which CPU do you advice? AMD or Intel? Dual or Quad?
By zhorak
@zhorak (491)
Turkey
July 22, 2009 3:44pm CST
Hello everyone,
I am planning to renew my computer but I am confused about CPUs. I have a few questions and I need you experiences, ideas about CPU options.
While reading some motherboard specialities, I saw some information about CPUs that I don't have any idea. I saw CPU Bus Speed information on some motherboards. And I saw Bus speed on some CPUs. But these informations aren't written about all CPUs and motherboards. What does bus speed means? Should motherboard and CPU have the same bus speed? If some examples needed; a Gigabyte motherboard has 3600 Mhz CPU Bus Speed and an AMD dual core 2.7 CPU has 3600Mhz bus speed. I saw a cheaper motherboeard that has 2000 Mhz CPU bus speed but I don't know any other CPU's bus speed. And I only know this two motherboars' bus speeds. I saw tens of motherboards but they don't have this information. And what about Front Side Bus? This is an information about motherboards but again, only some of them have this info. This must be different from CPU bus speed because this is a smaller number.
Do you know a website that shows this information for all kinds of motherboeards and CPUs?
Second question is "AMD or Intel?" I don't know Intel well. I heard that AMD is cheaper but I don't if it is quality or not. Please tell me your opinions shortly about this.
And the last question: Do you prefer dual or quad core CPUs. There is an imprtant price difference between these two. But what about the performance difference? I don't know anything about how dual or quad cores work so I don't have any idea about their speeds. If you tried or read about both of them can you tell me the difference?
Thanks and happy myLotting.
6 responses
@davidprosser (5)
•
23 Jul 09
Hi zhorak,
Just to clear up, the "CPU Bus speed of a motherboard" sounds like it's referring to the speed of a particular CPU which comes bundled with a motherboard. The number which is more important here is the Front Side Bus. OK, motherboards have a maximum bus speed which they can operate at, and generally, the newer the motherboard, the faster the maximum bus speed. You can use any CPU which has a bus speed lower than or equal to the bus speed of the motherboard - so no, they don't have to be the same.
There have always been talks on which is better; AMD or Intel, but it's usually down to compatibility issues. Intel processors are generally compatible with more motherboards and hardware - that's just the way it is. But AMD have recently been expanding their range of processors, too. I would usually recommend Intel processors, particularly if you are going to be building your own PC. They often work better, and easier with other hardware when compared to AMD's.
On the topic of cores, it all comes down to your budget, and what you will be planning to use the computer for. If you'll be doing more processor intensive tasks such as gaming, photo/video editing, then you'll notice a performance boost with a quad core. But if you're on a smaller budget, a dual-core will often be fine. Intel's new Core i7 processors are quad-core, but effectively have 8. On the other side, AMD's Phenom processors are also dual-core, so it's up to you to look around at motherboard and their bus speeds, and the processor you want and for what price. Also, remember to get the correct socketed motherboard and processor eg LGA775 etc. Good luck with your new PC and I hope all goes well! Dave
@zhorak (491)
• Turkey
23 Jul 09
I find another information on motherboards, it tells which processors are compatible with it. So I think this is the only thing I must consider about their compatibility. This should resolve the socket and cpu bus problems.
I checked the prices. If I choose a fine dual core, I will have some money for a good graphics card. But I can buy a quad core and a better motherboard (I must upgrade the mboard too for the compatibility) plus a regular graphics card. I think I should read some articles about graphic cards to determine the suitable card for my needs. I won't do graphic design or other professional work, I'll just play games and watch films. With I cheaper graphics card, I can buy a regular quad core. Intel Core i7 is too expensive for me ($400-1300 in my country)
Thank you very much for the advices and information. Happy myLotting.
@jshekhar (1562)
• India
24 Jul 09
Hello friend,
My limited knowledge about computers and processors says that ideally, you should be using Intel, Quad core but then, it will depend on the use. If you want it for purely personal use, then there is no use going for Quad core right now, because it is much more expensive. I am using a dual core for my laptop since the last two years and the performance is just fine. Dual/Quad cores are there for parallel processing,which means that you can perform a lot of tasks simultaneously. That purpose is served fine by a dual core processor.
1 person likes this
@zhorak (491)
• Turkey
24 Jul 09
Because of their suitable price, I think I will buy a double core. I am still not sure about AMD or Intel. I am reading reviews about some CPU models in all my free time. There are some good reviews that consider both performance and price. They generally advice AMD for the more suitable prices.
Thank you and happy myLotting.
@EliteUser (3964)
• Australia
11 Sep 09
Hey,
I personally like the Intel Quad Core processors, or even the brand new processors out that are called the Intel Core i7 Extreme processors. No other AMD processor can actually compete with the Core i7 Extreme edition. Make sure you have a good day, Happy Lotting!!
@VisuUnome (208)
• India
22 Jul 09
i am using intel core 2 duo 2.2ghz i want to tell one thing that cheapers are not the best one and best ones are not cheaper.according to my point people say the wrong statement that cheap and best i really dont know that how the cheaper become best for those, i recommend you to try intel duo processor because i didnt heard much about intel quad processors....
