when all other specs are same..what diff does clock speed make

[sdot]

* when getting a cpu...and all other specs stay the same, how much of a
difference does clock speed make?
-becuase i am considering in the pentium d 900 series..it goes from
920,930,940 and 950...starting at 2.6 ghz all the way to 3.4ghz...i am
wondering if it is worth the extra hundred dollars to move up like .4
ghz or somethin...

 

[sdot]

also another question...i forgot where..but on some other post..i read
that for an fsb of 800mhz...clock speed of 3.2 works best..is that
true?? cuz than i would lean towards pentium d 940....if it doesnt
matter..then i could just get the 920 and save alot of $$

 

[Mike T.]

* when getting a cpu...and all other specs stay the same, how much of a
difference does clock speed make?
-becuase i am considering in the pentium d 900 series..it goes from
920,930,940 and 950...starting at 2.6 ghz all the way to 3.4ghz...i am
wondering if it is worth the extra hundred dollars to move up like .4
ghz or somethin...

OK, let's look at this mathematically. To upgrade from 2.6 to 3.0 would
give you about a 13% speed increase in the CPU. Does that mean your system
will be 13% faster? NOPE. The CPU speed is an important variable in system
speed, but it is just one of many. So your actual speed increase will be
something LESS THAN 13%.

So the question of whether buying a faster processor is worth it depends on
.. . . is the price increase for the upgrade MUCH less than 13%? If not,
then the 'bang/buck' ratio probably decreases with the CPU speed increase.

But then there are some builders who are looking for a few extra FPS in
their favorite games, and price be DAMNED. But if you are asking if it's
worth it, then the obvious answer is . . . NO. Don't waste your
oney. -Dave

 

[Mike T.]

also another question...i forgot where..but on some other post..i read
that for an fsb of 800mhz...clock speed of 3.2 works best..is that
true?? cuz than i would lean towards pentium d 940....if it doesnt
matter..then i could just get the 920 and save alot of $$

That hasn't been true for many years. In theory, it makes sense that a 3.2
proc. would be an even multiple of 800FSB, so maybe things would run
smoother. However, this ignores the fact that mainboard chipsets have been
running asynchronously for as long as I can remember (and I'm old,
unfortunately). When you've got several different components all running at
different speeds . . . and even worse, some components running at multiples
or fractions of the speeds certain other components are running at, it
quickly becomes clear that changing the multiple of the CPU isn't going to
make a damned bit of difference in system performance, other than maybe
increasing/decreasing the CPU speed itself.

For a simple illustrative example, your CPU is running at a multiple of
clock speed 800. Your RAM is running at a multiple of clock speed 200
(well, it's at 200, or DDR400). Without help, this means that your CPU can
NOT communicate with your RAM. Here's where the mainboard chipset comes in,
acting as a buffer/translator between the CPU and RAM. That
buffer/translator will be necessary, even if you increase or decrease the
CPU speed, because you are NOT going to drop the FSB of the processor all
the way down to 200MHz, or overclock your RAM by 300%!!!

Or the short answer, buy the Processor you want to buy. Don't worry about
the clock speed, pay more attention to whether your mainboard will support
the processor that you choose. Generally, you pick a certain processor.
Then you research mainboard chipsets that support it. Then you find a
motherboard with that chipset, and all other features that you want in a
mainboard. THEN you find decent name-brand RAM that is compatible with the
motherboard. Now you've got a matched set of CPU/mainboard/RAM that you are
certain will meet your needs. -Dave

 

[sdot]

wow..both of yur answers were very helpful...thanks alot...
i like the summary at the ending about picking parts for the
system...thanks again



i luv this discussion place

 

[Mike T.]

wow..both of yur answers were very helpful...thanks alot...
i like the summary at the ending about picking parts for the
system...thanks again



i luv this discussion place

no problem -Dave