Question about duo processor

[rowech]

I seem to remember saying someone saying (not here) that a 1.7 gHZ duo processor is the same as a 3 gHZ processor. I'm not believing that but do you get better performance? For instance, if a game says you need a 2 gHZ processor, would it run on a 1.7 gHZ duo?

[Peregrine]

Yes, that's the whole point, a duo processor is essentially two processors in one.

[Ryan S]

I seem to remember saying someone saying (not here) that a 1.7 gHZ duo processor is the same as a 3 gHZ processor. I'm not believing that but do you get better performance? For instance, if a game says you need a 2 gHZ processor, would it run on a 1.7 gHZ duo?

There is no game available today that will not run on a Core 2 Duo processor.

Processor speeds can be very misleading as a modern 1.8 ghz processor is going to dominate a dual core 3ghz Pentium.

[cartman]

One way to visualize it is to compare processor cores and speeds to lanes on a highway and speed limits. It's not exact, but helps convey the idea.

Think of the number of cores on a CPU as the number of lanes on a road. Think of the clock speed on a CPU as the speed limit on the road. If a 1 lane road has a lot of traffic, then you probably won't ever be able to hit the speed limit. The two lane road, while not being able to go as fast, has a better chance of having less traffic in your lane. Your overall average speed would be higher than the same amount of traffic on a one lane road, even though the maximum speed is lower.

[Ryan S]

Even then, it is not an exact science.

At work we have dual core 2.8ghz Pentium D processors. The 1.86ghz Core 2 Duo 6300 I use at home outperforms the Pentium D by quite some distance.

The best way to differentiate between processor perfomance is to look at reviews and benchmarks. There are so many variables, it means that processor speeds (and speed ratings on AMD chips) are not worth much unless you are comparing models within the same range.

[rowech]

That makes sense actually. However, if I'm looking to play a 2.0 ghz game and my speed limit is 1.7, it'll be a no go so it looks like no company of heroes.

[Ryan S]

Ignore the speed rating. It really does not give you a true idea of a processors performance these days.

A 1.8 Core 2 Duo will play Company of Heroes with ease (over 40fps at 1600x1200 and all graphics maxed out if you have a graphics card which can handle it)

[gstelmack]

It actually gets more complicated than the highway example above. Think of it this way:

Clock Speed = speed limit
Core Count = # of separate roads at that speed limit
Architecture = # of lanes on each of those roads
Performance = how many total cars can travel the route in a given period of time

If you think of it that way, you can see that a Pentium D has fewer lanes than a Core Duo, so the higher speed limit can be mitigated by the lower lane count. And adding another core is like opening a whole new route that can offload some of the work and thus improve overall throughput, although the cars need to be aware of the extra route and factor that into their planning (otherwise they'll ignore it and keep choking up the one single road, wasting all that beautiful asphalt).

This goes back to when AMD stopped putting GHz numbers and instead used model numbers that corresponded to the GHz of an Intel Processor that had equivalent performance.

Vista has a new model for this where it tests your processor and assigns it a score, and then you can compare that score vs game requirements to see if it really meets the criteria. A 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo can run any 2 or 3 GHz game just fine.

[rowech]

Vista has a new model for this where it tests your processor and assigns it a score, and then you can compare that score vs game requirements to see if it really meets the criteria. A 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo can run any 2 or 3 GHz game just fine.

How do you test that?

[gstelmack]

Control Panel -> Performance Information

under Vista only.

I will say that my wife's 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo gets a notably higher score than my 3.0GHz Hyperthreaded P4.

[rowech]

Control Panel -> Performance Information

under Vista only.

I will say that my wife's 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo gets a notably higher score than my 3.0GHz Hyperthreaded P4.

That's a nifty little feature. My processor, RAM, and HD ended up being 4.6, 4.5, and 4.5 respetively for the new laptop we bought. Graphics though will probably be a problem. 3.2 and 3.1 for graphics and gaming.

[terpkristin]

For non-Vista users, there's a website you can go to that will tell you how your computer performs and if it can handle games. I can't recall the website off the top of my head, but it was discussed here before.

/tk