Ok I am getting ready to build a new high-end system. Primary use will be gaming though I will do some image editing, web design adn CAD work as well. The big question is whether I go dual (E6600) or quad core (QX6700)? I know at present games are not utilizing the extra cores but I would like my PC to last 3 years or so. Vista (I will probably upgrade after SP1) is multithreaded so wouldn't it make good use of the quad? If Vista is multithreaded and I play a game that supports two cores then wouldn't I be using at least three of the four cores?
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Quad Core or Not
- Thread starter Crash55
- Start date
I'm a professional 3d animator. I built a quad core system for myself recently.
QX6700, 4gigs ram, Geforce 8800gtx, Intel Badaxe2 board etc etc...
I do a lot of graphics. Any cpu power i can get, i will take. Quadcore isnt even enough, but it is very fast. Extremely fast
I love it.
The problem is, Most adobe apps will not max out the cpu at all. You'll wonder why... but they dont. 3D apps will max the cpu when rendering. I find it very difficult to get the system or apps to use the cpu at 100% most of the time, (except for rendering).
Video editing in premiere does not use all of the cpu... Photoshop does not use all of the cpu. We're talking 40% core usage per core at most for these apps.
But again, if render something in mental ray through softimage xsi... i'll easily get those cpu's going 100% and i love that. I need all the power i can get.
Now the question is do you? and does this sound worth it? Photoshop is not going to use all of the cpu. It just wont. Games will not either. BUT, it is still nice to have a system with 4 cpu's if you're doing a lot at once.... Are you?
Are you gaming and running photoshop at the same time? probably not Are you encoding video while playing a game? If so... quad core's not a bad idea to have then.
Definatly the quad will run a system very very well. It'll handle vista easily. But most apps are not going to use it. So think very carefully about what you really use and need, and if they will work well on quad cores.
Photoediting can be done wiht a dual core just fine. It's not going to be much faster because like i said, PS uses 40% cpu at most on the quad. And i work with huge files...
Quads are killer if you have killer demands. I need to render as fast as possible, i need the responsive fast feedback while rendering/shader editing etc.
But in general, if i'm not rendering, the quads hardly ever get to 45% usage Thats cool in itself, but what are you willing to spend on that? I'm willing to spend the money for the quad cause i need the full on cpu usage while rendering.
If you primarly game? Go with a dual core, with a fast clock. If you're concerned with having a powerful system that can do just about anything and everything at the same time... go with the QX6700 but be realistic and really think about what it is you do on a day to day, and if your apps will use the qx6700. Again remember i said PS will not use it fully, even thouse PS supports multithreading.
QX6700, 4gigs ram, Geforce 8800gtx, Intel Badaxe2 board etc etc...
I do a lot of graphics. Any cpu power i can get, i will take. Quadcore isnt even enough, but it is very fast. Extremely fast
I love it.The problem is, Most adobe apps will not max out the cpu at all. You'll wonder why... but they dont. 3D apps will max the cpu when rendering. I find it very difficult to get the system or apps to use the cpu at 100% most of the time, (except for rendering).
Video editing in premiere does not use all of the cpu... Photoshop does not use all of the cpu. We're talking 40% core usage per core at most for these apps.
But again, if render something in mental ray through softimage xsi... i'll easily get those cpu's going 100% and i love that. I need all the power i can get.
Now the question is do you? and does this sound worth it? Photoshop is not going to use all of the cpu. It just wont. Games will not either. BUT, it is still nice to have a system with 4 cpu's if you're doing a lot at once.... Are you?
Are you gaming and running photoshop at the same time? probably not
Are you encoding video while playing a game? If so... quad core's not a bad idea to have then.Definatly the quad will run a system very very well. It'll handle vista easily. But most apps are not going to use it. So think very carefully about what you really use and need, and if they will work well on quad cores.
Photoediting can be done wiht a dual core just fine. It's not going to be much faster because like i said, PS uses 40% cpu at most on the quad. And i work with huge files...
Quads are killer if you have killer demands. I need to render as fast as possible, i need the responsive fast feedback while rendering/shader editing etc.
But in general, if i'm not rendering, the quads hardly ever get to 45% usage
Thats cool in itself, but what are you willing to spend on that? I'm willing to spend the money for the quad cause i need the full on cpu usage while rendering.If you primarly game? Go with a dual core, with a fast clock. If you're concerned with having a powerful system that can do just about anything and everything at the same time... go with the QX6700 but be realistic and really think about what it is you do on a day to day, and if your apps will use the qx6700. Again remember i said PS will not use it fully, even thouse PS supports multithreading.