Which is the faster processor?

Which is the faster processor?

a) Intel Pentium 4 with 2,800 MHz
b) Intel Pentium 4 with 1,600 MHz Dual Core

Thanks!

Hard to tell without knowing specifically what applications you would be running - for example a single threaded application won't benefit from the dual cores but a multi-threaded one will and may run faster on the dual core running at a slower speed than the single core running at the faster speed. Also performance is a system issue so also involves factors other than just the type and speed of the CPU - e.g. chipset type and speed, memory speed, video subsystem, disk speed etc. You would be better off looking at system benchmarks for systems similar to the ones that you are looking at with the different processor types and speeds.

ClubMan said:

for example a single threaded application won't benefit from the dual cores but a multi-threaded one will and may run faster on the dual core running at a slower speed than the single core running at the faster speed.

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Exactly, and I think it's going to be some time before programmers start writing applications with multiple cores in mind.

For the non-techies -

A thread is like a little program running on your PC. A processor can only handle one thread at a time. Because PC's are so fast, the processor can switch between threads so it appears as if many threads are running at the same time.

If a PC is "dual core" this means it can run two threads at the exact same time (no switching between threads is required.)

So if you had a program which counts to 100, if you ran this as a single thread it might take X seconds. It doesn't matter if it is a single or dual core machine, it will still take X seconds.

If you ran this as two threads (one thread counts from 1 - 50 and the other counts from 51 - 100) on a dual core machine, it would take roughly half of X seconds. Bear in mind if you ran this on a single core machine, it would take MORE than X seconds, as the processor has to switch between each thread as it can only run one thread at a time...

Hopefully I am making sense!

In conclusion, as most applications are not designed with multiple cores in mind, you are probably better off buying a fast single core computer. This will change as software developers start witing multi threads applications in a few years...

You also need to run a multi-core happy 64 bit operating system to get the benefits.

Thanks very much for that explanation Flax. That's a great help. Thanks

Flax said:

If a PC is "dual core" this means it can run two threads at the exact same time (no switching between threads is required.)

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Which, of course, could be two single threaded apps so I would not agree with only buying a dual/quad core CPU for running individual applications that are multi-threaded!

You're right ClubMan. My simple explanation didn't factor this in.

I would be of the opinion though that unless you are going to be running maths intensive applications (such as computer games), you probably won't notice any difference between an Intel Pentium 4 with 2,800 MHz and an Intel Pentium 4 with 1,600 MHz Dual Core.

Maybe the original poster could post the actual or indicative specs and prices of the two machines in question since this is more meaningful than just details of the processor alone. And also some idea of what they will be using the machine for. For what it's worth in general the current top of the range processor will come at a price premium so buying the next one down probably gives better bang for your buck.