Quad Core Perks and Otherwise (inquiry)

[badongrodrigs]

i have the option to upgrade my system from a single core to a dual core or even quad core, so i've been reading some reviews on both.

i've read a review where the guy said that having a high end dual core is way better than having a low end quad core. the reviewer's benchmarks included some everyday softwares, as well as other more demanding 3D graphics applications. because of this, i earlier opted to choose an Intel Core2Duo 3.0Ghz over an Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.4Ghz.

but then i realize i could really benefit from the four cores, so i looked into the Phenom X4.

so, for you guys here, do you have any opinion on the perks of the quad core? of the "fake" quad core slash two dual cores of Intel Q series and the allegedly "true" quad core of AMD Phenom x4...?

are Quad cores only "necessary" for people like me who will really benefit from the four cores because of softwares supporting multi-threading (e.g. 3DSMax)?

PS: i'm getting an AMD Phenom 9550 X4 pala, btw, after finding out that AMD quads and Intel quads give almost the same level of performance, with a smaller price tag on the AMD.

[randymarsh]

i'm not familiar with AMD quad core pero gamit ko ngayon ay Intel Core2Quad Q6600 at yung laptop ko naman ay Core2Duo. Suggestion ko i-max out mo rin yung memory ng system mo (4gb for windows OS , 8gb for linux) at kunin mo din yung pinakamabilis na memory na supported ng motherboard mo kasi magiging bottle neck ang memory bus mo kung hindi kayang sabayan ng processor ang pag transfer ng data sa bus, meaning sayang lang processing power ng processor mo.

malaki ng difference ng single core processors sa dual/quad core processors. mas responsive ang pc. nasubukan ko na magbukas ng 13mb camera raw files ng sabay sabay sa photoshop habang nagpapatugtog ng itunes ng walang kahirap hirap. kung single core gamit ko gapang na siguro yun

[badongrodrigs]

since i'm not yet a fan of Vista, i'm still using XP Pro SP2, therefore i think the max memory is only 3GB.

my mobo is MSI K9N SLI Platinum, it can support 2 GPUs and 4 memory slots (DDR2800) up to 8GB. i only bought 1x2GB DDR2 800, so i have room for expansion. and yes, i have to convert the AM2 to AM2+ to optimize the Phenom X4.

and yes, going from a single core CPU, i'm really expecting a lot from this new system.

some reviews, however, say that having a quad core CPU actually DECREASED the performance of some softwares not optimized for it...has any of you guys experienced this?

[randymarsh]

the maximum memory for windows xp is 4gb, merong switch na kelangan idagdag sa system startup under system properties para marecognize ng windows na 4gb ang naka install (eventhough nirereport ng windows na 3gb sa system properties)

also try mo pa mag add ng another 2gb ddr2 800mhz sa kapartner na slot para ma-utilize mo yung dual channel feature ng motherboard mo. malaking tulong yun sa performance ng PC mo

more details about dual channel memory architecture here
http://www.kingston.com/newtech/MKF_520DDRWhitepaper.pdf

i've been using different versions of sonar for many years. at may setting ito for dual core or dual processor support. dati kinakabahan ako pag mag 16 tracks na ako sa project, pero ngayon walang kahirap hirap na ito sa sonar, dahil sa multi core processor. kahit sabayan ko pa ng internet browsing pwedeng pwede. dati kelangan mo magdasal para hindi magcrash at mawala project mo

yung claim nila na mas mabagal ang quad core sa ibang application siguro dahil sa pagkakaprogram ng app. pwedeng hindi coded for multithreading ang program, hindi siguro nabagal na mabagal kundi yung experience parang pareho lang ng naka single core. sa experience ko, bumabagal lang yung pc ko pag tumakbo yung scheduled scan ng antivirus software, isang example yan ng single threading na application at may handle locks pa sa file na iniiscan kaya walang improvement sa area na yun.

[marzi]

what about games that are not programmed to support 4 core and up type of procys?

[randymarsh]

iba naman case sa games. almost all games are coded using multi-threading methodologies. i'm sure merong improvement yan kahit papaano sa games since nagcocomunicate din ito sa HAL via software driver ng video card at sound, na ibang software din. kaya suggestion lagi ng hardware manufacturer na lagi i-update ang software drivers for performance improvements.

[badongrodrigs]

@randymarsh

THANK YOU for that information, i will look into it. easily added lang naman another 2GB of DDR2 800 memory eh. thanks ulit!

@marzi

accg. to numerous reviews in YouTube, you don't really need Quad Cores for gaming. a high end Dual Core with 3.0 GHz can do daw almost all games na, given that you also have a high end GPU (or two).

[marzi]

i think the problem is with the CPU manufacturers...mashado silang nag uunahan maka gawa ng multi core processor...madaming software developers ang naiiwan...last year you have four core, then next year 8 cores naman...yung mga programmers nahihirapan at natatagalan mag release ng software dahil shempre kelangan pa optimized to work with the latest multi procy...

[randymarsh]

nope. di problema ng programmers yung additional cores, hindi naman nagbabago ng code para sa multithreading pag nagdadagdag ng cores. medyo mag-ooptimize sila ng code pag may bagong instruction set sa processor at low level ang gamit nilang code or may update sa directx or may lumabas na bagong video card. expect mo na after ilang years magkakaroon ng 8, 16, 24, 32, etc... multicore processors. tapos after ilang years pa nano processors na.

@badongrodrigs - no worries, sana makatulong sa'yo yung info.