New Quad Core CPU's

[Lawman82]

Not to sound dum, but why are cpu's going to four cores? In a personal computer desktop or laptop I can see the application of dual but Quad seem to me to be only used in business level, could someone help understand this.

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

Because they can ... there is nothing to understand here its about progress and money .. they make you think you need it and they sell it ..

 

[Sazar]

You can only clock processors so high before you have issues. Going to multi-threaded apps and os's is the way to go and people with dual and quad core (and soon, octal) processors will see the benefits. It purely depends on your usage to see how your mileage will vary. I personally NEED a quad core due to the nature of the work I do and all my video editing needs.

 

[Tuffgong4]

I hope this really drops the price of the Q6600. I want quad core with all my encoding and different things I do on my computer at once and it would be perfect in my system.

 

[ming]

Not to forget you can set different applications to use a single or a set number of cpu cores to release cpu resources for other applications.

 

[Taurus]

You can only clock processors so high before you have issues. Going to multi-threaded apps and os's is the way to go...

exactly. we're starting to see physical limitations on processor speed, so instead of pusing them to their limits and having heat and stability issues, they just pack more on a chip. this will be the trend in the future--more cores and more software taking advatage of it.

 

[Electronic Punk]

Tuffgong: I think the price point on the QX9450 is going to be similar to the Q6600 which is why I am hanging on

 

[Steevo]

I wanna see what the new 45nm fixed phenoms do. Plus AMD is also pushing for the R770 to be out mid to late this year.


I use dual core at work, and based off the loss of productivity on F@H and average loads I use 50% average of the dual core, and the majority of that is when I NEED the extra processing power, and when we look at my department turns out $10 a minute, and we only have three people, and most of our money making is done in a 8-9 month window. A $300 processor becomes a small expense compared to a few thousand of loss in productivity.

I was looking at the Q6600 yesterday on the egg. $269 w/ free shipping, and it is a drop in upgrade. Right now I have a E6400 running 3.2Ghz

 

[Lawman82]

I understand every ones point on this but it just so funny to me that the major PC users who only surf the internet or just play simple games would barely use a dual core would go crazy trying to pick out a new PC in a year or so, just funny to me.

 

[melon]

This article does a good job of showing what quad-core does and doesn't do:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2178788,00.asp

I have a quad-core Q6600 in my computer here, which was a conscious choice on my part, because of my work in 3D and motion graphics, which can utilize multi-core CPUs. It's all really a matter of what you do with your computer.

 

[Lawman82]

Thanks Melon.

 

[lancer]

i use an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz, it was about $1100 when i first bought it.

I do an enormous amount of video editing. I probably edit and encode in one week more than everyone on this board does in a yr. And the only program out there that can keep up with it is Cleaner XL. Now thankfully this program can use all four cores.

a comparison would be, i have two identical pentium d 3.2ghz boxes. my quad core can process about twice as fast as both of those boxes combined.

That's pretty staggering... whats more amazing is whilst it is encoding i still have fah open. i can still edit and i can browse the web or split other movies and ftp all at the same time and it is like having nothing open.

Thats why quad core... imagine, with quad core you truly can enhance the web... so it is not only about business or media usage. Just one machine with raptor drives or even just basic sata drives could be a homes, media center, server, nas, whatever.

 

[kcnychief]

Actually picked up the Q6700 this past Saturday - should have it and the rest of my system by Wednesday :lick:

 

[Erbmaster]

I was looking at the Q6600 yesterday on the egg. $269 w/ free shipping, and it is a drop in upgrade. Right now I have a E6400 running 3.2Ghz

Also worth mentioning the Q6600 SLACR or 'G0' stepping is incredibly overclockable.
Running at 95W compared to the 130W 'B3' steppings. Or the ludicrous wattage demands of the current AMD lineup, makes this processer signifigantly cooler both at native speeds or with an overclock. Even with a minor increase in the vcore it is still an energy efficient CPU.
The standard 2.4 Ghz is pushed to 3.2Ghz (33% increase) with little effort and little extra heat output. The current range of air cooling HSFs adequatly cool the extra heat produced by 4 cores with no problems whatsoever. Although if overclocking I'd still go for a Mugen or Thermalright Ultra etc as opposed to the standard retail HSF, However 3.6Ghz has been reached on a standard retail HSF

True, the 45's are right round the corner, and I think everyone wants AMD to have a better year than they've suffered previously.
But as the market stands currently, the Q6600 is the best bang-for-buck by a mile.

As more developers are embracing multi-core utilisation in their code, it seems multi-core processor arrangements are going to be the way towards higher overall speeds.

 

[Sazar]

I am waiting for my penryn proc and will either grab the new 3870 X2 or the G92 x2 gpu when it drops.

Move my current rig to the living room as an HTPC and chill

We'll see what happens.

 

[Steevo]

I am waiting for my penryn proc and will either grab the new 3870 X2 or the G92 x2 gpu when it drops.

Move my current rig to the living room as an HTPC and chill

We'll see what happens.

Some friends have been clocking the new Xeons and getting absurd clocks. 4Ghz with a few tenths higher on true voltage. 4Ghz quad coupled with 3870 corssfire or X2 would rox deh sox.

 

[Sazar]

I don't overclock personally

But I am definitely looking forward to the extra-cache and smaller die process for my next proc.

At the rate things are going, I might just sell my current setup en-masse and setup a 6600 based config and wait for nehalem for my primary rig.

 

[Jewelzz]

A friend just built himself a quadcore PC *shrug*

 

[Electronic Punk]

I thought you were waiting another year for Nehalem Saz?

 

[synical33]

I want a quad core!