Question About The Intel Core 2 Duo

[jbl1978]

This is my first time posting here, I have a question cause i'm about to build a kinda pricey pc (at least for my budget) so I want to get the most for my money.

Is it really worth spend the extra money on the Intel Core 2 Duo?
Does the 1066 mhz FSB & the 2meg L2 cache really make that much difference.
If you was going to compare it to a Pentium D Smitfield dual core what would be the result?
Would the duo out do the p-d in every aspect or just like gaming or like office programs and network?

Also when you run sata raid on (2) 80gb 7200rpm hard drive verses (4) 80gb 7200rpm how hard is the raid part to set up and is it worth doing it? Would it be more time and money effecant to just get one 10,000rpm sata hard drive?

I apperciate any replys, thanks John.

[Ob1]

This is my first time posting here, I have a question cause i'm about to build a kinda pricey pc (at least for my budget) so I want to get the most for my money.

Is it really worth spend the extra money on the Intel Core 2 Duo?
Does the 1066 mhz FSB & the 2meg L2 cache really make that much difference.
If you was going to compare it to a Pentium D Smitfield dual core what would be the result?
Would the duo out do the p-d in every aspect or just like gaming or like office programs and network?

Also when you run sata raid on (2) 80gb 7200rpm hard drive verses (4) 80gb 7200rpm how hard is the raid part to set up and is it worth doing it? Would it be more time and money effecant to just get one 10,000rpm sata hard drive?

I apperciate any replys, thanks John.

the intel core 2 duo i have read is about 30% faster then Pentium D and consumes less power ( helps saves on your electric bill) which also allows it to run cooler. yes a 1066 mhz FSB will make a difference as well as larger cache. its my understanding that the core 2 duo will outdo the Pentium-D in every aspect because of the larger FSB, larger cache.

if you are setting up raid you are going to need a hardware raid card in order to do it with xp. xp does not support software raid like windows server OS's do, as far as ease of setting it up, its not to painful, consult the hardware raid manual for steps on setting it up. if you use two HD the most you can do is either Raid 0 (stripped) or Raid 1 (mirror). i dont think its worth doing a 4 hard drive setup, you can get two large 7200rpm sata drives and make a system parttion and a data partition.

for the price of the sata 10k harddrives, i would recommend putting that money towards larger 7200 hard drives with a 16mb cache and take the money u save and invest it in more RAM for your system. check out this drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148140

here's a link on the intel core 2 duo
http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2duo/index.htm?iid=c2d+c2d

[newbuilder14]

Is it really worth spend the extra money on the Intel Core 2 Duo?
Well, that's up to you and your budget. I'd recommend doing so, since the e6300 is $180.

Does the 1066 mhz FSB & the 2meg L2 cache really make that much difference.
The 1066mhz FSB should offer a performance increase. As for the 2mb L2 cache, it is shared among both cores so that gives a bit of a performance boost.

If you was going to compare it to a Pentium D Smitfield dual core what would be the result?
The Core 2 Duo would perform better.

Would the duo out do the p-d in every aspect or just like gaming or like office programs and network?
Yes, hands down it's just a better processor.

[jbl1978]

Thanks for the Advice. Also would I need to purchase a 600w power supply or would a 500w be suffencient? I am planing to run a core 2 duo and 2 hard drives (sata) and a 512mb pci express. Not sure how many fans I will be running in it, it all depends on what type of case I purchase. Thanks again for the advice above.

[newbuilder14]

Which pci express video card? In your case I would consider this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931

Or something else from Antec, Enermax, Fortron Source, Seasonic, or OCZ.

[windowgazer]

Yes,there is a great improvement on the core 2.
I've recently built a 1.86 and despite no sata hdd.and no proper graphics card.
I find it's much better than my 3gig standard 775 machine.

[glc]

Keep it simple and use a single large fast 16mb cache 7200 rpm hard drive such as the Seagate 7200.10. RAID is a complication that doesn't really do much for you and can cause problems if one drive hiccups. The ONLY time I EVER use RAID is in a server, and I use RAID 5 with a proper hardware controller with its own cache ram, not an integrated controller.

Quality is a lot more important that the watt rating for power supplies. A quality 450 watt unit can run just about any single video card out there.

[windowgazer]

Nice piece of advice glc.
Why no second hardrive,or have I misunderstood you?

[chuck4456]

Component-wise, you would be (almost-but not exactly) using the same things. I just built a 6300 system and have it sitting right next to an 805 build that I did a couple of months ago. Side by side, the 6300 floors it. You won't be shelling out all that much more on a 6300 build, so I would go for that.

[glc]

What do you need a second hard drive for? If you want one drive for your operating system and programs, and another drive for your data files, that's fine, but don't make them RAID.

[jbl1978]

Another Question

Will this motherboard work with a core 2 duo and ddr2 800mhz?
ABIT AB9 Pro Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127004

[newbuilder14]

I don't recommend that one, it has been having some compatibility issues (like most P965 boards) and it seems that quite a few reviewers were having trouble. In the same price range I'd recommend an Asus P5B or Gigabyte DS3.

[jbl1978]

I will list all componets when I pick them all out to see if they work togather. Thanks again.

[windowgazer]

What do you need a second hard drive for? If you want one drive for your operating system and programs, and another drive for your data files, that's fine, but don't make them RAID.

Thanks for that glc,Im not conversant with RAID so you had me worried.
I always use two HDDs, the second one to store downloaded material until I get time to edit it.

[glc]

Then you don't need or want RAID - RAID makes 2 drives appear as one.

[jbl1978]

If it was you guys going to be running a core 2 duo and ddr2 800mhz what type of board would you sugest going with. Just about all of the board has either bad reviews on either bios not reading the memory or the raid not working with win xp pro with service pack 2. What do you guys sugest?

I would rather spend a few extra bucks if there is a better board out there than get one that aill not work. Thanks John

[Cricket]

I understand the ASUS P5B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030) is a good motherboard to go with.

:) Cricket

[chuck4456]

You keep going back to "RAID'ing. I didn't think that you were going that route. Get the Asus - use Corsair. Depending on your budget, I have had excellent results with the Sapphire X1600 Pro Video Card. You can move up from there, if you have the money.