Intel Core Duo Processor - Is it worth it?

[irbk]

So I'm looking at buying a new laptop. This laptop will replace my current 600 mhz Dell laptop as well as my 2.6 G Dell Desktop. So I'll be using both for pleasure (video games) and work. I havn't been following hardware since processors moved away from being easily able to compare processor A to processor B. Here is my question. Is an Intel Core Duo Processor worth the extra $$? Will a Duo 1.6 Ghz system out perform a solo 2 Ghz processor? If it were possible to compare apples to apples, what would a duo perform like in a single chip? I know that it's not doubled, but the duo performs at something more like 15 to 25% faster then a solo processor of the same speed.

Any input you want to give would be MUCH appreshated!

Thanks in advance.

 

[cdogg]

Duo is Intel's fancy name for dual-core mobile CPU's.

So to get an idea on performance, you need to read up on "dual-core" by doing a search on the net.

Here's a recent discussion:
thread602-1207325

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[irbk]

Yep, I knew that the duo was a dual-core chip. The thread that you supplied was some what helpfull. I don't do a lot of serious multi-tasking (as the thread mentioned, video editing and game playing) at the same time. Usually, if I'm doing video editing, I'm doing video editing if I'm playing a game, I'm playing a game. Don't do a whole lot at once. Except for when I'm coding. Now whem I'm coding I could have 3 to 6 different programs open all at once. This tends to bog down performance, espcially when 2 of the programs I'd have open are Adobe programs (illistrator and dreamweaver). In this instance, would the dual-core help? When I'm just gaming is the dual core much help? When I'm just video editing is the dual core much help? When it all comes down to it, is the dual core worth the extra $200 or $300 or should I just get a faster single processor with my $$?

 

[kmcferrin]

It depends on what you are doing in those multiple apps open at the same time. If you are applying a filter in Photoshop while compiling a program, then it would probably help. If you have multiple programs open at once but they aren't actually doing anything other than waiting on you, then it probably won't make a difference.

I would suspect that in your case the biggest slowdown is because you are running several programs that can be serious memory hogs, and that you're running low on RAM. This is just an educated guess based on the limited info you have provided though.

As indicated in the previous thread, there is no generic answer to the question "When I'm just gaimg/video editing/coding, will the dual core help much." It all depends on your applications. If they are multi-threaded then it will help some. If they are heavily multi-threaded they will help more. If you run several multithreaded applications simultaneously it will help the most, as long as they are all trying to process data simultaneously. But if they're just sitting idle taking up memory waiting for you to do something (as most programs do), then you're not going to see much improvement (if any) with dual cores.

 

[cdogg]

When the application your using isn't written to multi-thread itself - that's to say, take advantage of dual-procs - then unfortunately there's no real way to know how much you'll benefit. It's safe to say that you'll benefit somewhat, depending on the number of apps and how much CPU draw their taking now.

But regardless, it's the wave of the near future. With both AMD and Intel making them the standard, it won't be long until most apps will use some form of multithread processes. It's up to you if you want to jump on the bandwagon a little early.

From your description, however, I'd say you could likely use one now...

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884