Dual Core Processesors

Has anyone tested recent AMD and Intel Dual Core procesessors? What do you think? According to some documents, the pricing for these processessors should be the same at 64-bit level of pricing...

Few days ago I received HP server with Dual Core AMD Opteron Processessor. After loading Micros..., we actually did not see any difference compared to lower speed Celeron or Sampron based processessors. However, when we loaded FreeBSD on the first hard drive and Linux (Suse) on the second, we saw something that we have never seen before.... Speed, the balance multitasking application running side by side without putting any no stress on any of the two cores...

We will be running more tests in the next few weeks.. So far, it is the best processessor performance we have ever seen...

Levon

Not yet. I recently picked up a dual core capable MB from ASUS (P5WD2).

Now I want to get a Dual Core CPU, wipe out XP, and install Linux on it instead! Linux is all we use at work, I would never even consider Windows. This is for our web, email, etc. servers. Windoze for the PC Based DVR though.

Would just need to find a decent Linux compatible DVR card and software. Someone sent me a link recently, will have to check it out again. I think it was hikvision or something.

Let us know about the tests. Thx

Dual cores are closer to true SMP, so wiether or not you see a benfit to the app will be the same as if you saw a benfit with dual proccessors. It all depends on how many threads a program generates. For gaming at the moment, it will do next to nothing. (Most games are single threaded). For those running multiple databases, you'll see dramatic improvements. I've had a chance to play with a few of them and they are nice but not a must have for generally anything less then server class work. (So for what we do, yes. For grandma, no.)

I agree, the gamers should stay with the highest speed single core processessors, as the raw power is all they need... But there are few applications that take advantage of dual procesessors, thus the same apps do take full advantage of dual core....

Have you ever tried to burn a DVD (heavy usage of floating point) while running different applications in the background, i.e. Office Suite, IE and several others and saw your processessor clock cycle usage shooting off the roof and basically slowing down the computer?? I run these tests in a seperate bed with P4 and the same tests with this system and guess what? With dual core, it run these tasks with minimal stress on both cores...

We have one manufacturer who is testing this type of procesessor along with MPEG4 compression on their Video Servers (we are given a chance to "evaluate" their test bed). The initial tests with a single procesessors were disaster as the functinality was very shutty... But the new machine using a dual core.... It is amazing how fast and balanced performance it provides.

All these tests are done using Linux (Suse) with 64-bit version and activation of the script to recognize the dual core and take full advantage of their presence.

Levon

For most users the cost on the dual core gear isn't going to be worth surfing the web while burning CDs/DVDs. For apps like ours, we see benfits form dual procs/cores. Big DB's will see some benfits. In the practical short term it is alot more useful then say 64 bits. They aren't for general use yet is all I'm saying. Plus Intel screwed up how they handle memory with dual cores so you still run into bandwith limits to the ram.

Dual core whips the llamas ass.

I tested out the latest AMD dual-core processor and I must say, that thing is smoking fast. Don't listen to the people who say "dual core is for high end only." Both Intel and AMD plan to be 100% multi-core within a few years. This is the only way to keep up with Moore's law, which AMD and Intel live by. You can see just how fast the AMD dual core is by checking out our review here -> http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/processors/amd_x2/

Right now thier cost is too high to be anything but high end. In the future they will be standard. But right now they are just too expensive.

Right now thier cost is too high to be anything but high end. In the future they will be standard. But right now they are just too expensive.

I agree, right now people are looking for the cheapest PC available, especially with the cost of everything else going up. You can find a PC at TigerDirect for $250 now, brand new. Sure its not super fast, but hey, it will do word, browse the web, outlook express and MSN messanger .. what more does the average user need. Same goes for DVRs, most clients dont need all the features that require a super fast PC.

Well we hit a speed bump for speed but that doesn't stop proccessors from getting cheaper. The normal low ends that would have been bumped out of production have stayed in production.