How do you tell.......

TDK1044 · 04-03-09, 07:21 AM

Hi Gurus,

I have a question for you:

How do you work out in this day and age what is a fast processor and what isn't?

It used to be very easy...a few years back, you had something like a Pentium P4 3.0 processor, and you knew that it was faster than a P4 2.6 and slower than a P4 3.6.

But how do you know which of these is the best?

AMD Athlon™ X2 5600+ Black Edition (2.9GHz/65W)
Specifications - Processors

AMD Phenom™ X4 9850+ Black Edition (2.5GHz/125W)
Specifications - Processors

AMD Phenom™ II X4 940 Black Edition (3.0GHz/125W)
Specifications - Processors

Sorry if this is a stupid question to you guys, but these days I have no idea how to assess a good processor from a bad one.

Dowly · 04-03-09, 07:24 AM

Aint the naming of today's PC components just great?

TDK1044 · 04-03-09, 07:27 AM

Yeah. People like me need a conversion chart!

Dowly · 04-03-09, 07:30 AM

I'm no expert myself, but if I'd have to pick one of those, I'd take the last one. 3.0GHz and I THINK it's quad core (X4). The first one is outdated, as I own AMD Athlon X2 6000+ which I bough 2 or so years ago.

TDK1044 · 04-03-09, 07:34 AM

So the GHz is still the number to look at as a general rule?

Dowly · 04-03-09, 07:37 AM

Aye, that's what I use to see what to get. And of course the number of cores it has. Duo core is naturally better than a single core CPU and quad core is better than a duo core one.

04-03-09, 07:21 AM	#1
TDK1044 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 2,674 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	How do you tell....... Hi Gurus, I have a question for you: How do you work out in this day and age what is a fast processor and what isn't? It used to be very easy...a few years back, you had something like a Pentium P4 3.0 processor, and you knew that it was faster than a P4 2.6 and slower than a P4 3.6. But how do you know which of these is the best? AMD Athlon™ X2 5600+ Black Edition (2.9GHz/65W) Specifications - Processors AMD Phenom™ X4 9850+ Black Edition (2.5GHz/125W) Specifications - Processors AMD Phenom™ II X4 940 Black Edition (3.0GHz/125W) Specifications - Processors Sorry if this is a stupid question to you guys, but these days I have no idea how to assess a good processor from a bad one.

04-03-09, 07:24 AM	#2
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,005 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Aint the naming of today's PC components just great?

04-03-09, 07:27 AM	#3
TDK1044 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 2,674 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Yeah. People like me need a conversion chart!

04-03-09, 07:30 AM	#4
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,005 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	I'm no expert myself, but if I'd have to pick one of those, I'd take the last one. 3.0GHz and I THINK it's quad core (X4). The first one is outdated, as I own AMD Athlon X2 6000+ which I bough 2 or so years ago.

04-03-09, 07:34 AM	#5
TDK1044 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 2,674 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	So the GHz is still the number to look at as a general rule?

04-03-09, 07:37 AM	#6
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,005 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Aye, that's what I use to see what to get. And of course the number of cores it has. Duo core is naturally better than a single core CPU and quad core is better than a duo core one.