Intel Dual Core or Quad

[blueagle78]

I'm thinking of building a new PC as my old one is getting quite slower for my needs. I can't decide whether to go for Intel Dual Core or Quad? I dual boot Ubuntu and Windows and run processor hungry applications like VMWare, Photoshop, Illustrator etc.. so need a machine with decent processor. What would you recommend?

[bigtomrodney]

A lot of applications aren't multi-core aware so when you go for a multicore application, you don't get the benefit out of just one application but rather the benefit from running several applications side by side without a performance hit. With that said I think the Adobe applications are multi-core aware but I don't know if you'd need three-four cores to render a picture

Personally I went for a quad core. It's not that I keep all four cores busy all the time but I do have a lot of overhead to play with. My system processes don't interfere with my desktop ones. I've had games running while music was playing, while file collections were being indexed and heavy scripts were executing....all without a slowdown. I have the Q6600 which isn't the latest processor by any means but it can be had at a low cost. There are much newer Intel Quads out that would be worth a look if your budget allows. The AMD Quads don't seem to be performing as well from what I've read so I've been recommending Intel for the past year or so.

[L4Linux]

I will wait for 6 months (at least) and get a Core i7!

Have you also tried GIMP and INKSCAPE? I am not a designer, but they seem pretty good!

[arnuld_aqua]

If I were you, I would go ahead and buy an AMD64 Athlon X2 dual core CPU 5400+ CPU with Gigabyte MOBO with 780G/SB700 chipset or even a 790GX/SB750 or 790GX/SB700, while not forgetting an Antec/Corasir case and PSU.

[blueagle78]

If I were you, I would go ahead and buy an AMD64 Athlon X2 dual core CPU 5400+ CPU with Gigabyte MOBO with 780G/SB700 chipset or even a 790GX/SB750 or 790GX/SB700, while not forgetting an Antec/Corasir case and PSU.

To be honest I'm not keen on AMD because I think their processor's are seriously lagging behind Intel dual/quad cores at the moment.
My current PC is running AMD and this time I want to go for Intel.
Guys what you think of Intel Quad Core Q6700 with Asus P5Q Pro motherboard?

[bigtomrodney]

while not forgetting an Antec/Corasir case and PSU.

Damn right! I have an Antec P-180 and it's the best case I've ever had. It has a seperate chamber for the PSU on the bottom and the air flow is super. That along with very low noise levels....well I won't be changing this case for a loooong time.

[arnuld_aqua]

To be honest I'm not keen on AMD because I think their processor's are seriously lagging behind Intel dual/quad cores at the moment.

I advised you about the specific CPU and MOBO by looking at the type of work you have in mind. Actually, there is nothing like Best Processor, perhaps Eric S. Raymond will help.

[Norotso]

To be honest I'm not keen on AMD because I think their processor's are seriously lagging behind Intel dual/quad cores at the moment.
My current PC is running AMD and this time I want to go for Intel.
Guys what you think of Intel Quad Core Q6700 with Asus P5Q Pro motherboard?

Here is my new config:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83
Gigabyte MB EP45-UD3P
OCZ 4GB 1066 RAM
250GB Seagate 7200
1TB Seagate 7200
LG 6X Blu-Ray burner
600Watt PSU with 42amp single lane

[blueagle78]

Out of nVidia and ATi who's got better support for Linux? I'm putting together my spec and I want to get a reasonable card but want one which would support Linux better.

I'm thinking about going for the following:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300
Gigabyte MB EP45-UD3P
Corsair 4GB RAM
250GB Seagate 7200

Haven't decided on case yet.
With regards to graphics card I'm not into gaming so the only graphics intensive apps I'll have is Photoshop, Illustrator, GIMP etc..

[bigtomrodney]

Well after the bad news of Novell letting go some of their Linux developers, including the guy working on the new open source RadeonHD ATI driver, you're back to the proprietary drivers. At this stage I think they're about level though in the past ATI has lagged. You can pick up decent graphics cards these days for little money anyway. I'd get one just because when you run Compiz you are letting your desktop be drawn by your graphics card and freeing up some resources on your CPU. Asides from that there are cool new extensions such as VDPAU which allow video playback to be managed by your graphics card too, giving better playback.

For me, I got the nVidia 8600GT and I can't keep it busy enough