hey dude im thinking between AMD phenom II x2 550 and AMD phenom II x4 940....i heard that on the 550 i can open aonter 2 cores and make it quad core...many ppl did that and running very stable so which one is better ?
Both are great processors for the money, but it really comes down to what you need. If you feel that you need a quad, then purchase the Quad-core. Otherwise the dual-core is a very viable option with the potential to become a quad core. You cannot rely on unlocking the X2 550's additional cores as not all of them are always functional (it really comes down to luck of the draw). So if you do go with a 550, being able to unlock the additional cores is more of a bonus than something to expect.
As for which one is "better"...really comes down to your particular uses and budget. The 550 will save you around $70 and if you're mostly just playing games then it will perform on par with the 940 (similar clock speeds, same architecture). The saved money may be better used towards a faster GPU or else just saved. However, if you plan on using any multi-threaded apps or perform any heavy multi-tasking, then the 940 will significantly outperform the 550.
I assume that you're building a system? Inexpensive Quad-Core systems are much more commonplace now, especially since AMD's Athlon II budget quad release. Send me a message and I'll be happy to help you out. What are your intended uses for the system and what is your budget?
@GameSinewPCs I'm thinking of buying the AMD Phenom 2 X4 955 black edition for $150 over at Tiger Direct. I will be using it for multi-threading games like Metro 2033, Arma 2, ets on Windows 7. Your opinion? I also think with some new fans, I may be able to overclock to 4.0 GHz
@necromorph956 The X4 955 is a superb CPU for the price, and coupled with a nice aftermarket heatsink (such as a Xigmatek Dark Knight, or other tower-based cooler) can be pushed up to and beyond 4.0Ghz. The actual overclock you'll achieve is based on many factors, but hitting 4 Ghz with these chips is quite common on a good motherboard with proper cooling. Just be sure you have a case that will fit the cooler. Also, understand that in-game fps is largely dictated by your GPU.
i ordered a laptop with dual core t4300 2,1 ghz and after a week my friend ordered the same laptop with quad core i7 1,6ghz what ur mean is my or the processor of my friend better
In most cases, your friend's CPU will perform similarly or else out-perform yours, but that is due to it using the Core i7 architecture vs yours using the older Core 2 architecture. Had his been a Core 2 Based quad at that speed, then yours would outperform his for most generalized applications. In either case, for multi-threaded (beyond 2 threads) applications, the Quad will outperform the Dual, depending upon the difference in clock frequencies and the software efficiency with multiple cores.
Additionally, there are other things to consider with laptops that aren't as important with desktop systems. For example, the Dual-Core system will probably be more energy efficient for daily tasks and will have a lower heat output than the quad core based system (assuming all other components are constant, which I doubt that they are).
How big of a difference is there between the Core 2 Duo E8400 and the Celeron Dual Core E3200? I know that the E8400 has 6MB of Cache and E3200 has 1MB but is that something to look out for?
Assuming that the rest of your system can support/does not bottleneck the E8400 and depending upon your intended uses, the E8400 will significantly outperform the E3200. While cache size does make a difference with most applications, the primary factors to consider are the architeture (uniform between the two) and clock speed (the E8400 is at 3.0Ghz vs the E3200 at 2.4Ghz). For an idea of anticipated gains expect anywhere from 20-60% improvement in performance from the E8400 over the E3200.
not having the appropriate driver support. So in the case of need for speed most wanted, it should be able to play on windows vista or windows 7 (which you can easily find motherboards that will support either of those cpus and both of those OS'). Just verify that your Graphics card/drivers properly support the game(s) that you intend to play.
Again regarding the two quad cores, no the older games are probably not going to take advantage of the additional threading capabilities (cores) and you may have to set cpu affinity to 1 core for the games to run without errors.
Support for old games is based more on software than hardware in this case. Both chips are based on the X86 architecture and are therefore very similar in what they can do and how they work. So whether or not an "older" game like need for speed will play on your system is dependent upon your OS, graphics drivers and any other potentially conflicting software. However, indirectly these chips may have issues running the OS you need to run any older games due to a compatible motherboard not having
The Q9650 (3.0Ghz) and the E8400 (3.0Ghz) should perform nearly identical to one another when using software that isn't optimized to take advantage of more than 2 cores (Due to thread assignments and some other factors you may see a verrry slight advantage with the E8400). If you're seeing significant differences between the two chips then try flashing your bios for the Quad (the differences between the two chips should be negligible for 3Dmark benchmarks).
well i just test a q9650 and a e8400 in the same motherboard and guess what.. the E8400 are lot better than Q9650 thats what i see. (at least in 3dmark 03 05 06) more fps in dual core less in quad , more cpu power in 3dmark06 but less fps overall same score but in 3dmark05 and 03 what i see is awful even the cpu scores are lower with q9650 wtf//
Would you say this Pc should be upgraded in any way?
Dual Core Cpu 2.4ghz (Overclocked)
2Gb Ddr3 RAM
Ati Sapphire HD Radeon 4830
Etc...
dapoculos13 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
SOMEONE PLEASE AWNSER
wich one should i take :
AMD Athlon II X2 250 (Dual Core) 3x 3.0 GHz ATI Radeon HD 4250 4GB DDR3.
or...
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition (Quad Core) 4x 3.2 GHz ATI Radeon HD 3000 2GB DDR3
I CAN'T CHOOSE
PLEASE SOMEBODY ANYBODY
yojones14 1 year ago
Comment removed
yojones14 1 year ago
Comment removed
yojones14 1 year ago
got the Core I7 beast FTW
FSXHD92 1 year ago
hey dude im thinking between AMD phenom II x2 550 and AMD phenom II x4 940....i heard that on the 550 i can open aonter 2 cores and make it quad core...many ppl did that and running very stable so which one is better ?
thanks
kakanogomno 2 years ago
Both are great processors for the money, but it really comes down to what you need. If you feel that you need a quad, then purchase the Quad-core. Otherwise the dual-core is a very viable option with the potential to become a quad core. You cannot rely on unlocking the X2 550's additional cores as not all of them are always functional (it really comes down to luck of the draw). So if you do go with a 550, being able to unlock the additional cores is more of a bonus than something to expect.
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
As for which one is "better"...really comes down to your particular uses and budget. The 550 will save you around $70 and if you're mostly just playing games then it will perform on par with the 940 (similar clock speeds, same architecture). The saved money may be better used towards a faster GPU or else just saved. However, if you plan on using any multi-threaded apps or perform any heavy multi-tasking, then the 940 will significantly outperform the 550.
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
i think ill go with the 550 cuz i want to save some money and....i can sell it in any time for 70% of its price and buy quad...thanks
kakanogomno 2 years ago
Good luck, just an fyi, if you're looking for a CHANCE to unlock any additional cores, be sure to purchase a motherboard that is able to do so.
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
I assume that you're building a system? Inexpensive Quad-Core systems are much more commonplace now, especially since AMD's Athlon II budget quad release. Send me a message and I'll be happy to help you out. What are your intended uses for the system and what is your budget?
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
@GameSinewPCs I'm thinking of buying the AMD Phenom 2 X4 955 black edition for $150 over at Tiger Direct. I will be using it for multi-threading games like Metro 2033, Arma 2, ets on Windows 7. Your opinion? I also think with some new fans, I may be able to overclock to 4.0 GHz
necromorph956 1 year ago
@necromorph956 The X4 955 is a superb CPU for the price, and coupled with a nice aftermarket heatsink (such as a Xigmatek Dark Knight, or other tower-based cooler) can be pushed up to and beyond 4.0Ghz. The actual overclock you'll achieve is based on many factors, but hitting 4 Ghz with these chips is quite common on a good motherboard with proper cooling. Just be sure you have a case that will fit the cooler. Also, understand that in-game fps is largely dictated by your GPU.
GameSinewPCs 1 year ago
i ordered a laptop with dual core t4300 2,1 ghz and after a week my friend ordered the same laptop with quad core i7 1,6ghz what ur mean is my or the processor of my friend better
mykor2 2 years ago
In most cases, your friend's CPU will perform similarly or else out-perform yours, but that is due to it using the Core i7 architecture vs yours using the older Core 2 architecture. Had his been a Core 2 Based quad at that speed, then yours would outperform his for most generalized applications. In either case, for multi-threaded (beyond 2 threads) applications, the Quad will outperform the Dual, depending upon the difference in clock frequencies and the software efficiency with multiple cores.
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
Additionally, there are other things to consider with laptops that aren't as important with desktop systems. For example, the Dual-Core system will probably be more energy efficient for daily tasks and will have a lower heat output than the quad core based system (assuming all other components are constant, which I doubt that they are).
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
Most informative video on this topic!
Thanks
tumbler83 2 years ago 2
How big of a difference is there between the Core 2 Duo E8400 and the Celeron Dual Core E3200? I know that the E8400 has 6MB of Cache and E3200 has 1MB but is that something to look out for?
JorgeHGPR 2 years ago
Assuming that the rest of your system can support/does not bottleneck the E8400 and depending upon your intended uses, the E8400 will significantly outperform the E3200. While cache size does make a difference with most applications, the primary factors to consider are the architeture (uniform between the two) and clock speed (the E8400 is at 3.0Ghz vs the E3200 at 2.4Ghz). For an idea of anticipated gains expect anywhere from 20-60% improvement in performance from the E8400 over the E3200.
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
Quad is better then dual core becaouse 2 tasks is not enough
Kristof19192 2 years ago
Hmm, thanks. That was very helpful.
Since I want to be prepared for next-gen MMO's (Aion, The Old Republic) and shooters (Modern Warfare 2) I was planning to purchase the E8400 (3.0Ghz).
Although the recent talking about Quad cores being superior to Dual ones made me a bit confused. I'll just go for a Dual Core for now.
Animelovahr 2 years ago
does intel quad core or amd quad core support old games like nfs most wanted??
skywalker115na 2 years ago
not having the appropriate driver support. So in the case of need for speed most wanted, it should be able to play on windows vista or windows 7 (which you can easily find motherboards that will support either of those cpus and both of those OS'). Just verify that your Graphics card/drivers properly support the game(s) that you intend to play.
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
Again regarding the two quad cores, no the older games are probably not going to take advantage of the additional threading capabilities (cores) and you may have to set cpu affinity to 1 core for the games to run without errors.
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
Support for old games is based more on software than hardware in this case. Both chips are based on the X86 architecture and are therefore very similar in what they can do and how they work. So whether or not an "older" game like need for speed will play on your system is dependent upon your OS, graphics drivers and any other potentially conflicting software. However, indirectly these chips may have issues running the OS you need to run any older games due to a compatible motherboard not having
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
The Q9650 (3.0Ghz) and the E8400 (3.0Ghz) should perform nearly identical to one another when using software that isn't optimized to take advantage of more than 2 cores (Due to thread assignments and some other factors you may see a verrry slight advantage with the E8400). If you're seeing significant differences between the two chips then try flashing your bios for the Quad (the differences between the two chips should be negligible for 3Dmark benchmarks).
GameSinewPCs 2 years ago
well i just test a q9650 and a e8400 in the same motherboard and guess what.. the E8400 are lot better than Q9650 thats what i see. (at least in 3dmark 03 05 06) more fps in dual core less in quad , more cpu power in 3dmark06 but less fps overall same score but in 3dmark05 and 03 what i see is awful even the cpu scores are lower with q9650 wtf//
Nitrous321 2 years ago