Processor comparison

[iolair]

I have two computers, one with a Pentium 4 running at 2.53Ghz, the other is called a "Dual E2180@2.00 Ghz". This I get from right clicking "My Computer" and properties on XP service pack 3. Can anyone tell me how the two compare? Is the Dual @ 2.00 Ghz equivalent to 4.0 Ghz? I'm just looking for raw speed comparison, as I'm running XP sp3, and as far as I know, nothing I run is for 64 bit processors or multi-threaded. TIA

Iolair MacWalter
Network Engineer

 

[MMSMSD]

A dual-core processor will THEORETICALLY give you double the speed but it never really works like that. When a specific program is MULTI-CORE compatible, that program will use both processors and give a 'typical' real-world increase in speed of somewhere around 30% - 50% over a single-core processor of the same speed.

In your specific case, the P4 will actually run FASTER than the dual-core if your programs are not capable of using both processors in the E2180. There are, of course, other factors (such as how much cache the processor has and how much RAM is in your system) but that's the general status of things. So, look at what programs you plan to run, check for multi-core compatibility, and go from there. For a quick glance of CPUs and their comparable speed, check out this URL:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/cpu-charts-2008-q1-2008/3DMark06-CPU,370.html

Personally (if I had to choose between them), I'd go with the dual-core. Hope this is helpful.

 

[strongm]

>In your specific case, the P4 will actually run FASTER than the dual-core if your programs are not capable of using both processors in the E2180

Actually it certainly won't.

Firstly, there are lots of processes apart from your program running on a PC. Multiple cores spread out that load, so an idividual program gets more CPU time (and thus runs faster) than it would on a single core.

Secondly, the Core 2 Duo architecture is faster than the old Pentium 4 architecture. Even if you were just running one core on your 2180 it would be faster than your Pentium 4; basically very roughly a Pentium 4 carried out 2 instructions per clock cycle (IPC), whilst a (single core from a) Core 2 carries out 4 instructions per clock cycle) - so a single core from your E2180 is almost twice as fast as your Pentium 4.

 

[iolair]

Thanks for the valuable info. I have 2GB of Ram on both machines, and both machines have an 80GB HDD, so in just about everyway, they're comparable. It seems the dual core does boot XP slightly faster, but as for work, I can't tell a difference.

Iolair MacWalter
Network Engineer

 

[MasterRacker]

If you're bored some day, download the trial version of PassMark or some other benchmarking program and run identical tests on each system. You might see something interesting.

Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]

 

[iolair]

I'll give it a try when I can. Thanks!

Iolair MacWalter
Network Engineer