okay, i currently have a celeron D 360 (3.46ghz, 533mhz FSB)...not that i have any real complaints with it (i know it's a low-end processor), but i find it lacking in some things (playing oblivion, multi-tasking, the usual and expected)

so i want to upgrade to a dual-core...my mobo supports core 2 duo and pentium D's, but i don't quite understand the differences between them performance-wise in what i'd be doing with them (i could google, but aside from the obvious 32/64 difference, i'm not entirely sure WHAT to google)


in terms of the pentium D's, and even though i'm not necessarily getting it from tigerdirect, why is this pentium D 925 (3ghz, 4mb cache) only $80:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2525999&CatId=2219

while the pentium D 920 (2.8ghz, 4mb cache) is $130:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1645071&CatId=2219

and then, what's the difference between those processors and the pentium E2160 (1.8ghz, 1mb cache) at $87:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3056625&CatId=2851

is it a price mistake on their part and then should i jump on the $80 proc? or am i missing something crucial? and then, is there any advantage for me (a casual gamer, doing nothing more intense than oblivion and some basic audio/video/photo editing) in getting a core 2 duo over a dual core?

sorry about the dumb questions...i haven't kept up with technology

[Edited on September 8, 2007 at 8:01 PM. Reason : oh, and btw, i searched but didn't find a thread that answered my direct questions]

9/8/2007 7:59:12 PM

core2duo E6400 http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4893650

9/8/2007 8:12:33 PM

yeah, i saw that on slickdeals...which is what inspires my question...i don't think i really NEED that much processor, and those ones i listed above are MUCH cheaper (for reasons, i'm sure, but i don't know WHAT those reasons are)

the pentium D 925 seems like a pretty damn good processor for $80...why am i wrong (and i'm sure there's a reason i am)?

[Edited on September 8, 2007 at 8:21 PM. Reason : .]

9/8/2007 8:21:28 PM

Pentium Ds, if my memory serves me, run hot and use a ton of power. The E "series" (I guess you'd call them) run significantly cooler and use less power.

That said, I'd buy the E2160 or an E4300. Should be fast enough for most uses, the E4300 can be grabbed for about $120 and both processors overclock well should you want to go down that route in the future.

9/9/2007 10:51:32 AM

Pentium D 925 - http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sspec=sl9ka
- 3ghz (is this per core, or the combination of both cores?)
- L2 cache: 4mb
- thermal design power: 95w
- thermal spec: 63.4 C
- $80 at tiger direct: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2525999&CatId=2219

Pentium E2160 - http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sspec=sla8z
- 1.8ghz (x2)
- L2 cache: 2mb
- thermal design power: 65w
- thermal spec: 73.2 C
- $86 at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036

okay, so someone help me understand this...the 925 uses 30w (30%) more than the e2160, but runs cooler and is almost 4 times the speed (if it's 3ghz per core) with twice the L2 cache...all for $7 less?

the only other differences that i can find are that the pentium D is OEM, while the e2160 is retail (but i don't need the hs/fan) and the e2160 is 64-bit...but what advantage is there for a casual user in using a 64-bit processor? i also don't have a 64-bit copy of xp pro (and i'm not running vista, even if i did have a 64-bit copy of it)

what am i missing? how is the 925 not a much better deal than the e2160 (save for the increased power consumption)

^ i think you're thinking of the old(er) pentium D's, which were at 130w, twice the power consumption of the e line

[Edited on September 9, 2007 at 11:36 AM. Reason : .]

9/9/2007 11:32:22 AM

The Pentium D is a dual core pentium 4 chip (2 cores at 3 ghz)
its old school architechure, that has a long pipeline, meaning it does less work per clock tick

to simplify it think about a person with big legs and short legs

The Pentium D has short legs, therefore to walk a mile they have to take lots of steps, but they take them very quickly

the pentium e2160 is one of the new core chips with a shorter pipeline

this chip has long legs, therefore it takes longer strides at a slower pace to walk a mile.

Overall all you really care about is how quick they can do the mile, in this case the pentium e2160 is actually faster.

[Edited on September 9, 2007 at 6:22 PM. Reason : dd]

9/9/2007 6:18:57 PM

^
go the Core2Duo route

9/9/2007 6:53:35 PM

^^ thank you...that really simplifies it for me, and i appreciate it...i think i WILL end up going with the e2160

9/9/2007 9:04:29 PM