What is the difference...

I am confuzled...

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Core 2 Duo is a brand name by Intel - Dual-Core is a generic description meaning two separate physical cores in one chip package.

HTH,
Simon.

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Dual core is simply a generic term referring to any processor package with two physical CPUs in one. The Pentium D, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo and Athlon X2 are all current CPUs that have dual cores in one package.

The Pentium D is simply two Pentium 4 Prescott cpus inefficiently paired together and ran as dual core.

The Core Duo is Intel's first generation dual core processor based upon the Pentium M (a Pentium III-4 hybrid) made mostly for laptops (though a few motherboard manufacturers have released desktop boards supporting the Core Duo CPU), and is much more efficiently than Pentium D.

The Core 2 Duo is Intel's second generation (hence, Core 2) processor made for desktops and laptops designed from the ground up to be fast while not consuming nearly as much power as previous CPUs.


Note - Intel has dropped the Pentium name in favor of the Core architecture as Intel is restructuring and refocusing it's efforts to become number one again (and are doing a fine job, might I add).

The AMD Athlon X2 CPUs have two revisions, the first one is essentially very similiar to the Pentium Ds in that they are simply two Athlon 64 chips fused together, making power requirements quite steep (around 89 watts). The second revision is made more efficiently, like the Core Duos, with much less power consumption (around 65 watts).


There are, of course, other differences, but that is the gist of dual cores as it relates to Intel and AMD.

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Sir,

Is an "Intel Core 2 Duo/2.13Ghz 1066Mhz/2mb CPU" then "Dual core"?

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Is an "Intel Core 2 Duo/2.13Ghz 1066Mhz/2mb CPU" then "Dual core"?

Yes.

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Thanks everyone :)

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This is what I just purchased today online:


Thermaltake VA3000BNA, Tsunami 420W Black Aluminum Full Tower

ASUS P5B Deluxe/Wifi ** CORE 2 DUO/DDR2-800/PCIEX/SATA/RAID MOBO

Intel Core 2 Duo/2.13G 1066MHz/2MB CPU

Kingston 2GB 1GBX2 DDR2-800 Memory

Maxtor SATA 160GB -- 7200RPM 8MB SATA/150

Sony DDU1621 52X Black DVD-ROM Drive

ATI/SAPPHIRE X1800XT PCIEXP 256MB 2DVI/VIVO


I ordered this for my wife, but I will also be crunching with it.

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I believe a "Core 2 Duo" is called a "Conroe" and may be about 2.5 times as fast as crunching Seti as a D. At least one fellow with a Conroe was doing an RAC of about 3000 before he disappeared into thin air about a month ago. My D950 does about 1075 to 1100 in 22.5 to 23 hours. There may be other factors such as overclocking, memory, optimized cruncher, etc. Note that there are different Core 2 Duos, too. There is an extreme one, too, but that just may mean it's hyperthreadable and not too much of an advantage (or possibly a disadvantage) in Seticrunching. Some Conroes are not very expensive; Pricewatch has some info on this.

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This is what I just purchased today online:


Thermaltake VA3000BNA, Tsunami 420W Black Aluminum Full Tower

ASUS P5B Deluxe/Wifi ** CORE 2 DUO/DDR2-800/PCIEX/SATA/RAID MOBO

Intel Core 2 Duo/2.13G 1066MHz/2MB CPU

Kingston 2GB 1GBX2 DDR2-800 Memory

Maxtor SATA 160GB -- 7200RPM 8MB SATA/150

Sony DDU1621 52X Black DVD-ROM Drive

ATI/SAPPHIRE X1800XT PCIEXP 256MB 2DVI/VIVO


I ordered this for my wife, but I will also be crunching with it.

That looks good, I'd be happy with that;-)

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I look forward to the RAC increase for my team.

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Note that there are different Core 2 Duos, too. There is an extreme one, too, but that just may mean it's hyperthreadable and not too much of an advantage (or possibly a disadvantage) in Seticrunching.

Actually, the Core 2 Extremes do not have HT and it's unsure whether Intel will keep using this or not.


The only difference between a Core 2 Duo and a Core 2 Extreme is that the Core 2 Duo's have a locked multiplier and the Core 2 Extreme's have a range of multipliers, which seems to be the first time Intel is encouraging overclocking since the original Pentium Classic days.

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Note that there are different Core 2 Duos, too. There is an extreme one, too, but that just may mean it's hyperthreadable and not too much of an advantage (or possibly a disadvantage) in Seticrunching.

Actually, the Core 2 Extremes do not have HT and it's unsure whether Intel will keep using this or not.


The only difference between a Core 2 Duo and a Core 2 Extreme is that the Core 2 Duo's have a locked multiplier and the Core 2 Extreme's have a range of multipliers, which seems to be the first time Intel is encouraging overclocking since the original Pentium Classic days.

Thanks, OzzFan. ¡Qué interesante!

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The new Conroe/Core duo ect have got me a bit confused. Can someone tell me which would be faster. Comparing to almost identically priced chips.

both about £110;
Pentium D 945 -- (3.4Ghz FSB;800 2Mb)
Core Duo E6300 -- (1.86Ghz FSB;1066 2Mb)

How do these compare to each other?

What speed chip (Core Duo) would you need to get to get similar or better performance (not just for seti ect) than standard Pentium D's at about 3-3.4Ghz? I know you can get faster and cheaper D's but then their too slow or too expensive really.

The new Conroe/Core duo ect have got me a bit confused. Can someone tell me which would be faster. Comparing to almost identically priced chips.

both about £110;
Pentium D 945 -- (3.4Ghz FSB;800 2Mb)
Core Duo E6300 -- (1.86Ghz FSB;1066 2Mb)

How do these compare to each other?

What speed chip (Core Duo) would you need to get to get similar or better performance (not just for seti ect) than standard Pentium D's at about 3-3.4Ghz? I know you can get faster and cheaper D's but then their too slow or too expensive really.

According to user reports, a Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.66GHz, 1066MHz FSB) is much faster than a Pentium D running at about 3.4GHz due to it's ability to process more Instructions Per Second (IPC) and it's shorter pipeline (doesn't take as many stages to decode the same instruction) and it's more efficient L2 cache. Not to mention it consumes LOTS less power than a Pentium D at a higher clock speed.

Comparitively, the E6300 should be about as fast as a Pentium D 3GHz (roughly).

Basically, if you're looking to build a new system and have decent budget, go for the Core 2 Duo (Conroe). You'll be happy that you did.

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According to user reports, a Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.66GHz, 1066MHz FSB) is much faster than a Pentium D running at about 3.4GHz due to it's ability to process more Instructions Per Second (IPC) and it's shorter pipeline (doesn't take as many stages to decode the same instruction) and it's more efficient L2 cache. Not to mention it consumes LOTS less power than a Pentium D at a higher clock speed.

Comparitively, the E6300 should be about as fast as a Pentium D 3GHz (roughly).

Basically, if you're looking to build a new system and have decent budget, go for the Core 2 Duo (Conroe). You'll be happy that you did.

Thanks. Was hard to know how they compare because clock rates are completely different and they've scrapped the old numbering system. It OK saying 6600faster than 6300 and so on but that didn't mean much to me unless i know how either compaire in performance to those already out. 6300 maywell be little slower or faster but as you point out the new core is a lot more efficient. As long as i consider 6300 as similar in performace then i know what will be better than that and thus what would be suitable for an step up in next system.
Its like having to perform a currency conversion.
Not looking to built new system yet but i have been eyeing up a cheap upgrade but wasn't sure it would be worth it instead of waiting.

Surprised the ragne is so limited. E6300 1.8Ghz, E6600 2.66Ghz. Usually have more steps in the available products inbetween. And the hike in prices are huge if you look at better models than the E6300. Supply and demand i guess.

I just orderd the Core Duo 2, but don't know it it is a Conroe.

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The E6600, E6700 and X6800 have more L2 Cache (2 MB per Core), the E6300, E6400 and E6500 only have 1 MB L2 per core. This may also be a reason for the pricing. So, the E6600+ cpus will probably have a better performance on number crunching ;)

The E6600, E6700 and X6800 have more L2 Cache (2 MB per Core), the E6300, E6400 and E6500 only have 1 MB L2 per core. This may also be a reason for the pricing. So, the E6600+ cpus will probably have a better performance on number crunching ;)

Actually, with the Core 2's, the L2 cache is no longer on a "per core" basis. The L2 cache is now shared between both cores, futher improving efficiency (so as to not duplicate data in each cache, or when a write is done to same data in either L2 cache, they don't have to update each other's cache just to stay on the same page like with seperate L2 caches).

So the E6300 and E6400 have a full 2MB L2 cache, even if you were to disable one of the cores. Likewise for the faster models with 4MB L2 cache.

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I just orderd the Core Duo 2, but don't know it it is a Conroe.

All Core 2 Duos are currently Conroes. Conroe is simply the code name for it, as all CPU manufacturers give their CPUs codenames before they're released.

Such as the Pentium 4 had Willamette, Northwood and Prescott. The Pentium III had Katmai and Coppermine. Not all codenames are as creative, for instance, the original Pentium MMX was codenamed P55C.

Future Core 2 revisions might have a different code name.

PS - just a side note, but the correct term is Core 2 Duo. The only reason why I point this out is due to the fact that it's the second generation Core processor, so the 2 comes after the Core. "Duo" simply means it's dual core. Intel may later release Core 2 Solo processors that are single core based (or have the second core disabled to fill cheaper bins, or to bypass a defective core but still make money on the good one).

This is the case with the first generation Core processors - you can purchase a Core Duo or a Core Solo (distant cousin of Han Solo).

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Was hard to know how they compare because clock rates are completely different and they've scrapped the old numbering system.

Generally a Core 2 Duo CPU is twice as fast & uses half the power of it's equivalent P4 CPU.

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Grant
Darwin NT