For thonse thinking of going quad-core...

DO IT!

I just got my quad-core rig up and running, and let me say it is a BEAST! I have an Intel Q6600 (4 x 2.4ghz) with 4gb of DDR2 RAM, and it is amazing for post processing.

I do a ton of multitasking, and this processor is perfect for that. I previously had an Athlon 4800+ (2 x 2.6ghz), and although it could multitask well-ish, the Q6600 blows it out of the water.

For example, I was doing a multitask test the other day. I had Photoshop CS2 processing 20 RAW files, CombineZM stacking a 6-picture stack, and autostitch stitching a 13-picture panoramic. All three programs were processing simultaneously.

CPU usage - 83%. 1.2gb RAM free. My music didn't skip a beat, and my web browsing was as fast as ever.

It was... beautiful .


The processor is fast anyways, but when multitasking like that doesn't slow it down, it really makes it worth it. And, because of the Intel price cuts, the processor was only $299 with free shipping.

If you do go for it, make sure you load up on RAM. 4GB may seem excessive, but under heavy load it really becomes evident that lots of RAM can be necessary. If you're still using windows XP (like me) make sure you add the /pae switch so Windows can address about 3.4gb of RAM, instead of the 2.5gb without the switch.

Once I get Vista 64bit, I'll get to use the full 4 gigs!

Anyways, I just thought I'd share my experience.

Whoah. Quad core.. and here I am still using one processor I gotta build me a PS machine once I stop spending money on camera gear, posts like this just make me want to more

Yes, I'm actually building quad core now. Prices went down a bit on it.

Sounds great. Congrats.

I'm looking at a quad core now that intel dropped the prices as of july 21st.

The processor is amazingly versatile. I also use it to game, and I have seen wonderful improvements there too.

3DMARK06 - I went from 1,750 marks with my Athlon to over 3,800 with the Q6600. Supreme Commander nearly doubled in performance. On half-life 2, on the video stress test, I average 220fps at 1680x1050 with everything maxxed out.

I've been building computers for about 10 years, and this is the second largest improvement I've ever seen (the first largest was when I upgraded from 256mb of RAM to 1gb. I doubt anything can top that).

The raw power of this thing just amazes me. I'm sure I haven't even begun to tap into it's full potential, and multicore programs haven't even been perfected yet.

do you have it overclocked at all? I'm looking at the Q6600 and it's looking like it'll do 3.2-3.6 depending on stepping and mobo chipset. I have a cedar mill 651 right now, so anything I get is gonna be a big improvement, however I will also need new ram cause a 1gb kit doesn't really jam right now.

I'm so glad your happy with your system. I thought it was going to be a bashing QC thread and I was going to get pissed haha

pshaw ....


My Pentium4 1.3Ghz lets me prepare dinner, have dinner and wash dishes while doing its batch processing.


Top that dude.

danpass wrote in post #3622395
pshaw ....

My Pentium4 1.3Ghz lets me prepare dinner, have dinner and wash dishes while doing its batch processing.

Top that dude.

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.

With quad core, I'm already watching tv and my computer is shut off because I finished the batch process, made dinner and ate dinner and now...

I'm watching TV.

Oh, I have a dishwasher..

It's a generational thing guys, more is always better. Esp. for the gamers.

danpass wrote in post #3622395
pshaw ....


My Pentium4 1.3Ghz lets me prepare dinner, have dinner and wash dishes while doing its batch processing.


Top that dude.

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.

LOL _ thats pretty slow ...

I'm super happy with my recent Core 2 Duo E6700 chip. Baby will overclock up 25% with only a minor temp increase, stable too.

Tsmith wrote in post #3623024
LOL _ thats pretty slow ...

I'm super happy with my recent Core 2 Duo E6700 chip. Baby will overclock up 25% with only a minor temp increase, stable too.

LOL

Exaggerating a bit there, just making a joke out of it.

I clicked here because I am researching parts for my new tower. This will be my first build.

deadpass wrote in post #3622299
do you have it overclocked at all? I'm looking at the Q6600 and it's looking like it'll do 3.2-3.6 depending on stepping and mobo chipset. I have a cedar mill 651 right now, so anything I get is gonna be a big improvement, however I will also need new ram cause a 1gb kit doesn't really jam right now.

I haven't overclocked it. I usually don't anymore because it supposedly wears down the chips faster. I used to overclock a ton, but I only saw minimal gains and got a lot of BSODs (could have been the RAM, as I was watercooling my CPU at the time).

I think the stepping that overclocks really well is the G0 stepping, and mine is the B3 stepping. Plus, the intel cooler is loud! I'm going to get a Zalman soon, but I just wanted to see how well the intel one works. It does it's job well... just noisily.

Yeah, more RAM will do you well. 1GB is only about 600 after taxes (ie Windows use), and you'll start getting into your pagefile pretty soon with that.