p4 single core 3ghz vs core 2 duo 2.16ghz

The p4 is an single core 3ghz with 4g ram (only 3.5g of wich is usable).

Im wondering how that would compare (performance wise) to the core 2 duo with 2.16ghz cpu that I can put 8g of ram into.

Also, this is for 32 vs 64 bit systems that i am wondering about, as I read that that makes a big difference.

I am considering switching over to the core 2 duo...any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Depends what tasks you want to do...

I got a 20% performance gain from video encoding/decoding going from 32bit to 64bit with my Athlon64 machine.

My Core 2 duo 1.8ghz was approx twice as quick as my old p4 2.8ghz at video encoding/decoding.

Due to different architectures AND single vs dual core designs you will find certain jobs are far faster than others comparatively.

Cheers, Nick

 

I,m looking for an overall performance gain including gaming and multitasking. Im getting tired of the p4 sounding like a blender on high speed half of the time. Are there losses of performance I would see with the core 2 with some applications or does it also depend on specific mbs, chipsets etc? Keep in mind I will also have nearly 2x ram available with the newer tower.

I'm almost ready to take the leap, I'm just wondering if I'll be sacrificing performance in certain areas.

 

Also I think I'll be staying with 32 bit, as from what I understand 64 bit suffers in terms of software compatibility.

PS: thanks for your reply

 

No compatibility issues over here on 64bit. 64bit Windows runs 32bit applications just fine 99% of the time, only very specific applications won't run properly.

 

The difference is so big that its not even funny .

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/65?vs=92 ( this P4 is the "best" made )


But why a Core 2 duo ? Core I3 Sandybridge is in the same price range.


Ps: Hungry Man is right , 64 bits is fine with Windows 7.

 

This is from a Hardware manual. Note that the translation may not be entirely accurate since i used an automatic translator. Hope it helps.

Code:

In general, applications that share processing load in
multiple threads and therefore benefit from a dual-core processors are
editing applications and video compression, 3D rendering, editing
images (Photoshop, Gimp, etc..) and various applications for professional use.
Applications that work with a single thread and thus do not benefit
of a dual-core office applications are in general,
browsers, audio players and video and many games.
Note however that the use of a dual-core processor always helps when
you are running two heavy applications simultaneously. It may be that a
3D game presents no particular gain some FPS when running on a
dual-core processor, but undoubtedly the FPS will be higher if you decide
compress a Divx movie in the background while you play.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I took the plunge including 64 bit and am really seeing a really nice difference in performance. My only regrets are no Geswall (although I saw a link for a 64 bit that said not available yet), and no Dosblaster (if you want an easy way to run Dosbox it is Golden)

 

Re:
But why a Core 2 duo ? Core I3 Sandybridge is in the same price range?

Because its the next one on my salvage pile.

 

5 or 6 years ago that might have been true, but not today. Most 32-bit programs run just fine under a 64-bit OS. And those that don't are probably too outdated anyway and it is time to upgrade it anyway.

As for single or dual core, remember while some programs are not able to use 2 (or 4 or 6 cores), Windows is. And if the OS can take advantage of more advanced hardware, that typically results in better over all performance for the computer.

Just to ensure there is no confusion, it is not the CPUs that are limiting the amount of RAM here. That is, the P4 is not restricting RAM to only 4Gb. It is the 32-bit OS (and maybe the legacy motherboard design). And while you are able to use 8Gb with the Core 2 Duo machine, it is not because of the CPU, but because that motherboard and OS support 8Gb.