Mark’s Site

Current Setup

I got my new PC setup on a pretty slim budget about 6-12 months ago, that gave me a good motherboard (quad core compatible, 1333FSB, solid capacitors, all the trimmings), along with the lowest model Core 2 Duo processor, which at the time was an e4300 1.8Ghz, and it has served me very well.

I did get that particular CPU because everyone was raving about its overclocking abilities, but after numerous attempts I can’t seem to get things running well with any overclock. Things seem fine at 2.4Ghx, but them I go to start the machine the next day and it fails to turn the monitor on, or the fan will just rev up to max and nothing else happens. I end up having to reset the CMOS everytime, which as you can imagine is REALLY annoying. So this leads me to questions ….

1. Do I just forget overclocking and accept the e4300 as a decent core 2 duo at 1.8Ghz? (either I have a bad batch of e4300 for overclocking, or I suck at overclocking (but at such a small OC going to 2.4, I don’t see how I could really go wrong)
2. Do I look at going to Quad Core and finally getting a decent clock speed upwards of 2.4/2.6Ghz?

Enter Quad Cores

I’ve heard many great things about quad core, primarily the fact that they OWN dual cores (understandable why). My friend has a quad core desktop machine and a dual core laptop (that has a similar CPU to my e4300) and the quad beats it by 40 seconds in a super pi test over 1M, which is insanely good.

More questions …

Is my setup slow now? No, but I have noticed it slow down quite a few times under load when I am in full developer mode (which is most of the week). What is developer mode? I’ll have SQL Studio open, Visual Studio 2005 open and compiling every 10 minutes or so as I code … I’ll have a remote desktop connection going (or two - one to my local server, one to live), iTunes going in the background and several Firefox windows open, and sometimes an IE window open as well. And on other days, substitute SQL Studio and Visual Studio for Zend and two SSH windows. I’ll also have both MSN Chat and Skype open and Gmail open. You can understand why things would slow down, and why I am considering a good quad core investment.

Which leads me to think that I WILL get a Quad Core, sooner than later, but this leads to more interesting questions, such as which quad core to go with? Intel have released their new range now of Q9xxx quad cores which have the new 45nm process technology (better energy and processor power/technology), and various reviews show slightly better results over the Q6xxx range (as you’d expect of 1+ year of development), but this also means that massive price drops of the older Q6xxx series!

SO … do I pay more now for the new 45nm technology, which gives me slightly more power, better energy efficiency, or go with an older chip at a REALLY good price (like HALF the price of the new Q9xxx series)? I mean let’s face it, in another year, the ‘expensive’ quad core now will be replaced by yet another version, which will force IT to drop in price …do I just want to ignore all that and say, ‘All I want is a Quad Core, regardless of latest/greatest?’. If that’s the case, then the cheaper Q6600 is definitely the way to go. They haven’t yet, but should have a price drop to around the $220 mark (AU), which is definitely in my ‘happy’ price range. (unhappy price range starts at $260)