Ie, if you see a spec says "Core 2 Duo (2.26ghz)" does that mean it has 2x 2.26ghz processors, or it has 2 processors with a COMBINED speed of 2.26ghz?

Same with Quad Core....

 

The Intel dual-core processor consists of two complete execution cores in one physical processor. Imagine that a dual-core processor is like a four-lane highway—it can handle up to twice as many cars as a two-lane road without making each car drive twice as fast.

Similarly, with an Intel dual-core processor, you can do more at once than ever before, without slowing down:

* Boost multitasking power with improved performance for highly multithreaded and compute-intensive applications
* Reduce costs and use less power with energy-efficient Intel dual-core processors built on Intel® Core™ microarchitecture
* Enjoy flexibility and the performance to handle robust content creation or intense gaming with multimedia-enabling technologies built in

The quad core has four processing cores and up to 8MB of shared L2 cache¹ and up to 1066 MHz Front Side Bus

 

I understand all that Dan (thanks BTW ) but what I don't get is the processor cpu clock speed quoted : when it says 2.26gHz does that mean it's total speed is 2.26 or is it double that?

 

Thrush, a dual core processor has 2 x 2.26hz cores both running at 2.26ghz. I have a quad core running a 2.4ghz on each core. I does not work out that dual or quad cpu are like the equivalent of a single 5.52ghz cpu etc...

As long as the software program you use is written for multi-core cpu's then they are almost unbeatable. I personally think the intel quad 6600 offers the best value for money(£150) I can encode a video, listen to music and browse the net at the same time. This is just not possible on a single core chip.

 

I can do that on my amd xp 3200 64 bit cpu running 2.2 ghz. I can encode a video and burn it uisng convert x to dvd, play music in winamp, read e-mail in microsoft outlook 2007 and surf the net in mozilla.

I've even converted a film and played fifa 2007

 

the biggest problem with the dual cores was the early ones where only 1.6+ ghz and as most if not all software written to date can only use 1 core it was basically like having two shit slow pc's running together, compared to a single core 3ghz+ p4, but now the duals are going up in clock speeds and with the new style stepping allowing for some very high clocks all of a sudden the new dual cores can run multiple programs at the same speeds as the original single cores

the new quads just takes things to another level.

 

Great guys, thanks

 

you got that 6600 yet chris ??

 

you decided ion a spec yet?

 

yeah .. just can't afford it

 

i'm all ears?? i may be haviong a rethink on mine

bought a new laptop though to tide me over for now till i'm ready to start buying parts.

 

AMD Phenom 9500 Quad Core 95watts AM2+ 4MB Cache 2200MHz Retail Boxed Processor

Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe WIFI-AP AM2 Sound 2 x GigaLan 1394 USB 2.0 WIFI-G ESATA ATX

ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card

Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory C5(5-5-5-18)

Aspire X-Cruiser Black ATX Windowed Gaming Case - No PSU

Pioneer BDR-202-RK BluRay Recorder 4x2x2x Serial ATA With Cyberlink BD Software

LG GSA-H66NBAL 18X SATA DVD±RW/DL/RAM - Black Bare Drive OEM

Antec TruePower Quattro 1000W PSU

Logitech Black MX Revolution Wireless Laser Mouse

Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM x 3

WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB SATA 10KRPM 16MB Cache - OEM

Cart total inc vat: Cart total ex vat: £1702.64

 

you earn too much money

im struggling at £800

 

You wana get yourself on the Dell website mate

My mate just orders an XPS 420

2.4 Q6600 quad core
3gb memory
8800 GT 512mb
2 * 320gb HDD's

Its got everything you really need tbh, including a spare PCI express slot, and its in a cool case

£584 including shipping with a years support, BARGAIN

 

But its a DELL

 

But for the spec who gives a flying fuck tbh.

The only part on it that i wud'nt 100% trust is the power supply, but will be fine with 1 * 8800 GT in

 

Why would I want a dell ?? I have no desire whatsoever to swich to an Intel cpu

Components
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6700 (2.66GHz,1066 FSB,4MB L2 Cache,Dual Core,VT) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM English - Genuine Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition SP2 (NTFS)(+ Media) edit
TOWER/BASE ORIENTATION Vertical Chassis Orientation (Minitower, W: 170,2 x H: 447.3 x D: 468.4 mm) edit
MEMORY 4.0GB (2 x 2.0GB DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 ECC SDRAM Memory edit
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB nVidia Quadro FX3450 Graphics Card edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB (7,200 rpm) Serial ATA II Hard Drive with NCQ edit
2ND HARD DRIVE Additional 500GB (7,200 rpm) SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache™ edit
3RD HARD DRIVE 500GB (7,200 rpm) Serial ATA II Hard Drive with NCQ edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 48X DVD/CDRW Combo Drive + NO Software edit
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES 3.5in 1.44MB Floppy Drive edit
Accessories
MONITOR Dell UltraSharp™ 2007WFP 20" Wide Black LCD Monitor (w/ Height Adjustable Stand) UK/Irish edit
SOUND CARDS Info, no Soundcard, no IEEE1394 edit
SPEAKERS No Speaker Option edit
KEYBOARD Dell Quietkey USB Black Keyboard -UK/Ire (QWERTY) edit
MOUSE Logitech® MX® Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse - UK edit
Services & Software
BUSINESS SUPPORT No Business Support Required edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE No Anti-Virus Software required edit
FIRST BOOT DEVICE Boot to Floppy Drive edit
Also included with your system
Dell System Media Kit No Precision Resource CD
Cables All SATA drives, Non-RAID, 1 drive total configuration
Shipping Documents {UK} - System Documentation (UK)
Quick Reference Guides Quick Setup/Ref Guide - Eng,Fr,Ger,Itl,Spn
Gedis Bundle Reference W11390xp - 390 BASE November
Standard Warranty 3Y NBD (Next Business Day) On-site (incl. e-Learning Pack) Service
Order Information Precision Order - United Kingdom
Miscellaneous - For Global Premier only MS Logo Label - Vista Capable

Price From £2,035.10
Includes VAT & Shipping
** Special Discounted Price **
No additional discounts apply.
Offer limited to 5 systems max
Buy Now,Pay January 2009*
Financing with Dell. A smart way to improve your cash flow!

 

wonder what motherboard it has.....

 

for that money it wont have many features.
that quad wont be a Go either.

oh eagle you know ebayer are selling OEM Q6600 now there about £10 cheaper then the retailed boxed ones

 

I'll let you know soon, its due to be delivered this week

Its got 2 PCI express slots though Just not sure as yet if it supports SLI

 

alot of boards have 2 pci's now anyway, just very few of them run duel x16 the cheap ones will run x4 and the slightly better ones x8