Pentium M vs Core 2 Duo... will I notice the difference?

wsc · Post by **wsc** » Sun May 27, 2007 5:38 pm

I built a system a few years ago after gleaning lots of great info from these forums. I think I want to build a new system. I basically want something like an SD11-G5 except Core 2 Duo instead of Pentium M.

This system would need some flexibility.. some HTPC duties, plus light occasional gaming, and frequent CAD (both 2D and 3D).

Clock-for-clock am I really going to notice the difference in performance between PM and C2D?

Post by **MikeC** » Sun May 27, 2007 6:45 pm

Probably not... assuming you're starting with a good PM system?

I didn't notice any significant improvement going from a P4-2.8 system to an A64x2-5000 system. Aside from the far superior dual core CPU difference, the former was 3yrs old, the latter has all new components -- higher performance drives, faster memory, more powerful vidcard. It should be way more powerful than the old system in every way. Yet I think the most important gain was the Windows install on the new system -- when it was new. The old one hadn't been reinstalled in over a year and probably had some bloat. The new one is only a few months old for me, and I can already tell that it's not as snappy as it was before. The only cause I can attribute this to is registry bloat.

Max Slowik · Post by **Max Slowik** » Sun May 27, 2007 7:32 pm

I dunno, I think CAD will show a significant improvement, especially rendering 3D.

But if it's snappiness you want, there's nothing else that improves a system's response than striped RAID.

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Sun May 27, 2007 8:00 pm

Actually, it's seek time that improves snappiness and not bandwidth. An upgrade to a Raptor would improve snappiness more than RAIDing two 7200RPM drives.

wsc · Post by **wsc** » Sun May 27, 2007 8:13 pm

Mike, I'm using the system in my signature. It wasn't a bad rig when I built it 4 years ago, but it's getting pretty long in the tooth these days.

The way I see things, the closest C2D equivalent to the SD11-G5 is a Commell LV-677 with the DC input option (about $350) plus a decent case ($90-$150). That price increase is really my main sticking point... I could always go mATX instead. Too many choices....!

Edit: To complicate matters, 1.73Ghz Dothans can be had for a song right now on ebay...

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sun May 27, 2007 9:53 pm

any level dual core, from the lowliest brisbane to the highest c2d, outperforms anything single core.

2 cores is how all systems should have been. in pentium pro days, in dual celeron days, both were so much fun to use and the difference was immensely noticable.

yes, the second thing bottlenecking is your hardrive. get a super dense, 500gb drive with 16 meg cache on it compared to a 2-3 year old drive. difference is more than noticable.

Post by **MikeC** » Sun May 27, 2007 11:41 pm

OK, I apologize, didn't see the CAD thing; probably, for that, dual core is a benefit. I don't doubt that others may have noticed an improvement, I think it really depends on what the apps are... but for me, mostly with web publishing and Photoshop & DTP & audio, I really don't see any difference between my old P4 and this new dual-core A64X2-5000.

I'm not the only one to feel or notice this. Devon has said the same about his migration from an AMD XP system to a dualcore -- and he does video editing. Ditto a handful of people at tradeshows & conferences over the past year.