Questions on multi cored intel processors.

I'm looking to build a new gaming system. My thoughts are that I'm interested in investing in a system that will last me as many years as possible. I'm looking to upgrade from a P4 3.0 GHz processor.
Originally, I was interested in a 2.66 GHz quad core extreme. Everything pointed to more = better. After a lot of looking around and reading, it's not looking that way. A lot of what I've read has pointed out that nothing utilizes the quad core well, and that the quad core is an ENORMOUS waste of money.
After taking that into consideration, I thought it'd be a good idea to dim my processor down some. I decided to go with a simple dual core. That lead to the question of what the difference between would be between the x6800 2.93 GHz dual core extreme and the e6700 2.66 Ghz core duo. They've got the same fsb and cache size. Is it simply the clock speed? If so, why is it classified as the "dual core extreme" and a price difference of about $700.
I'll keep this short, too keep from rambling, and leave a lot of it open to discussion. For the most part, I'm looking for a considerable upgrade, and if the components are worth the money, then that's fine with me. I'm interested in as many aspects as possible, especially the aspects I've overlooked. I apologize if I'm bringing up an old topic or two. I browsed over a lot of the topics and I didn't find my answer.

 

Okay - here's a good question you should be asking yourself : "What am I going to use this PC for?" If it's for some extreme, rough gaming, I suggest you can go for the casual Core 2 Quad. The Core 2 Extreme might have extra stabilities (not sure about that - usually those stuff can be overclocked without too much problems) and unlocked multipliers, and that's why it's extremely expensive too (no pun intended!).

If you want a *good* gaming machine, go for the E6750 - and I heard that it overclocks well. Not sure of the performance difference - unless you have programs which FULLY utilizes quad core and all together.

Let me summarize : the Extreme edition processors are usually for overclockers, and with unlocked multipliers, these can go very far, and up to the skies. But you gotta pay more. If you ain't overclocking it, any casual C2D or C2Q will help. And of course, even the lower end Pentium Dual-Core could be a better replacement of a P4 3.0GHz (either the Prescott or the Northwood or the Gallatin ones).

 

Ignore it dude, they're spammers

 

You don't need quad for gaming. Quads are pretty much "useless" unless you do a lot of video/audio encoding/decoding, photoshop or any other similar softwares that can actually fully utilize multicore processors.

 

LOL yeah, just noticed his sig

 

ok, i have a question,

which is better for video editing, (in order of most desirable to buy)
2x amd opteron 64 2.2ghz single core
2x dual-core 3.6 ghz or
quad core 2.6 ghz

according to a previous post, video editing systems need alot of cpu power; i just dont know which setup is better. i am/will be using pinnacle ultimate on winxp pro. if anyone has any other suggestions on what i need to work on please reply.

right now, i have 2x 2.8ghz dual-core xeons and a crappy radeon 9250 and i transcoded Microsoft's Amazon 1080i sample to AVCHD in just under 20mins. i would like to beat that with the new system. and as i am building it for my church i am on a tight budget.

things i know i need:
fast cpu (for trans/encoding)
fast gpu (for rendering transitions)
raid0 2xsata2 hd
LOTS of RAM

 

People who work with videos a lot will most definitely benefit from having a quad-core processor. Video encoding software utilize multiple cores much more efficiently than other applications.

I'm not sure how a single quad core processor compares with two dual-cores though, but I'm guessing performance would be about the same assuming they use the same cores and clock speeds are equal.

 

thanks very much

i found a q6600 (nice and cheap) that is 64 bit but does not have hyper threading.
Q1) is wow64's emulation good enough for now until pinnacle ports to 64 bit or should i hardware it down to 32bit.
Q2) and is the lack of hyperthreading going to hurt me, as i know that it divides the process up for each processor. given that it [pinnacle] spanned across both my xeons i think its safe to assume it will be ok.

Q3) also, how was my encoding with my xeons compare to others, i cant find any other references

Q4) the increase in fsb (from 533 to 1066) and the decrease in cpu (2.8ghz(-x for 2cpu) to 2.4ghz) should even out right?

sorry for all the questions,

 

thankyou again,

final question (maybe ) does anyone have any objections to the ASUS Striker Extreme,

 

i plan to

 

well, to tell the truth, im still looking for a board, one that supports:
-q6600
-2x pci-e 16 (not for sli, but 2x vid card (4 displays))
-ddr2
-sata2
-overclockability wouldnt hurt
-must have good reviews.
-(1-2)x firewire
-raid0 support
-preferably 2x Gigabit lan and/or wifi
- not (mATX,microATX)


so far, ive only come across the
-asus striker extreme
-eVGA 680i (although ive heard some people had trouble with quads)
-asus commando

(if i can run 2 vid cards off of the following)
-? ASUS P5K DELUXE
-? ABIT IP35 Pro
-? ASUS P5K-E
-? Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4

and, i guess, the cheaper the better, i must have lost my head with the reviews for the striker and forgot who i was buying it for, thanks, lol

and if a mod could please move these to a new thread, i dont want to hijack this op's so much, and let me know where it will be

once again, sorry for all the questions, im new to encoding and building a pc for someone else (not me)

 

If you don't need SLI, avoid 680i. Any board with dual PCIE slots will do since you are not going to run CrossFire/SLI.

 

Questions are why the board is here and you have had some good ones

The Q6600 is a nice choice the only reason I chose not to go with it is the E6550 duo I got cheap and it O/C's well. If I go quad core it will be one of the new Extreme quads and only when the price goes down.

This is the mobo I chose they also have a P35 version which should work fine for you as you are not running CrossfireX. I may be so thats why I chose the X38 version with the all copper silent pipe (DQ6). It also supports the 45nM Intel quads coming out and is DDR2. I am not planning on buying another mobo for a long time. Hope this helps

GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview - GA-X38-DQ6

GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview - GA-P35-DQ6 (rev. 1.1)

 

thanks for the fast replies

ive looked at this board already, but threw it out as newegg threw it out, as it MUST have a problem.

if you say that it is a good board, ill trust u. but it is still kinda
pricey, so ill sadly have to say no.

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also,

what board are u talking about?

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my new board list: in the order of what i want
-ASUS P5K-E $147.78
-ABIT IP35 Pro $149.54
-ASUS P5K DELUXE $189.99
-Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 $178.00
-asus commando $205.09
-GA-X38-DQ6 $268.90
-asus striker extreme $249.00
-eVGA 680i $148.05 (although ive heard some people had trouble with quads, ?)

if someone can/wants to reorder it for me please do so, remeber its for my church so im on a budget

 

On the board regarding questions I was referring to this Forum its here for questions like yours.

On the Mobo no problems I have heard of but might be hard to get as Gigabyte is pushing the new X48 boards. Mine was one of 2 left at Canada Computers in all of Canada. The only big difference between the P35 and X38 is that the X38 has 2 true PCI-E x 16 slots where the second on the P35 is actually x4 and is cascaded so when you use it all the other PCI-E slots become inoperable (PCI x2 , etc). The Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 might be all you need the quality of the DQ6 series is better thats all .. its top of the line. You might not need it if your not O/Cing I will be.

While your at it this system is going to be CPU intensive as it is going to be used for graphics. A CPU cooler like the Scythe Katana2 I have here might be an idea. Its around 30 bucks and is a lot quieter than the stock Intel cooler.

Canada Computers - Cooling > CPU Cooling : Scythe KATANA 2 - 3 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler for AMD Socket AM2/940/939/754 & Intel Socket 775/478 (SCKTN-2000).