Wolfdale or Yorkfield ?

[Cov]

Hi, I'm just about to order the necessary hardware parts for my first Mini iTX system.
The only item that gives me still headache is the CPU.

I'm thinking between E8400 (Wolfdale) and Q9550 (Yorkfield).

Surfing through the internet didn't bring me much closer to the answer.
The quad seems to be better for video processing (rendering & encoding) and some PC games (GTA IV).
The dual core seems to be more efficient.

Because I have an E8400 (C1) already in my mATX system, I feel more towards a quad for a change.
Now I'd like to find out the correlation between multicore and Window 7.

Does it take advantage of quads at all ?

 

[Zidane24]

Hi, I'm just about to order the necessary hardware parts for my first Mini iTX system.
The only item that gives me still headache is the CPU.

I'm thinking between E8400 (Wolfdale) and Q9550 (Yorkfield).

Surfing through the internet didn't bring me much closer to the answer.
The quad seems to be better for video processing (rendering & encoding) and some PC games (GTA IV).
The dual core seems to be more efficient.

Because I have an E8400 (C1) already in my mATX system, I feel more towards a quad for a change.
Now I'd like to find out the correlation between multicore and Window 7.

Does it take advantage of quads at all ?

I am very much asking myself the same question right now

 

[pparks1]

Windows 7 can take advantage of quad core CPU's. Although quite a number of software packages aren't geared specifically towards working any better with multiple cores...or more than 2 cores....so the difference might not be that great. With that said, I just built a machine with a Q9550....very nice CPU...I'm quite happy with it.

 

[Cov]

... I just built a machine with a Q9550....

Can I ask you what temps you're getting please ?

The E8400 (C1) idles, according to everest, between 35 and 38 degrees.
That's with Intel's crappy stock cooler and without using any thermal paste.
Using Intel burn test, it goes up to 66 degrees at full load.

 

[pparks1]

Can I ask you what temps you're getting please ?

The E8400 (C1) idles, according to everest, between 35 and 38 degrees.
That's with Intel's crappy stock cooler and without using any thermal paste.
Using Intel burn test, it goes up to 66 degrees at full load.

Certainly, I am running mine (Q9550) on a Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R with the stock Intel cooler as well. I'm running mine with a 276 x 8.5 setting, so 3.2Ghz instead of 2.83.

I'm idling between 31-35, and under full load I'm seeing 58-62 degrees. That's according to the CoreTemps64 application on Windows 7 64-bit

 

[lokiundergod]

I have an E8400 right now, and I've been really happy with it. If and when I upgrade, it'll be to quad core, though. I'd say even an 8500 since the price has dropped a fair amount from when I bought my cpu.

Whatever you get, I'd recommend investing in a better cooler. Just a thought...

 

[pparks1]

Whatever you get, I'd recommend investing in a better cooler. Just a thought...

I've been considering an aftermarket cooler...but in all honesty my temps are not a problem whatsoever. I guess I might be able to up my overclock more....but that comes at the risk of possible stability problems...so I don't anticipate going any higher.

 

[Cov]

... idling between 31-35, and under full load I'm seeing 58-62 degrees.

Thank you ! That sounds better than I dared to expect.

And yes lokiundergod, I will order these two CPU coolers.
One for the Mini iTX and one for the mATX system:

 

[pparks1]

I've read internet posts of people getting much higher than I am seeing......but it doesn't seem to be a problem whatsoever on my machine. Temps are fine, my fans rarely (if ever) increase in speed and I've never had a crash or lockup. I've been very happy with this CPU.

 

[Cov]

pparks1 ! I'm happy to speak with an Q9550 owner.
Please tell me, do you check the Task Manager sometimes ?
Would you know whether Speedstep kicks in usually and if yes, what the decrease is ?

With my Wolfdale's 3.0 GHz, Speedstep makes it go down to 2.0 Ghz.

And does it show how busy the 4 cores are when you do stuff ?
I ask because on my dual core, I can see very well that both cores are round about equally busy sometimes.
Having read that the usage of all 4 cores is very depending on the software that is being used.
That's why apparently the majority of PC games don't use more than 2 cores.

I'm rather happy that I won't have to be worried about too high temps.
Having two Wolfdales under the hood does not seem to double the heat.

And the few performance charts I could find about the quad, showing about 25 to 30% faster processing at certain tasks, encouraged me to go for the quad.
The E8400 (E0) cost here where I live 138.59 Euro and the Q9550 (E0) 194.83 Euro.

 

[Cov]

I know that's gonna be a little off topic, but have you found the SSD Intel Postville 80GB in stock at any shop near to you ?
Many retailers in my country have listed the 80, 160 and 320 GB drives on their website, but no stock yet.

 

[pparks1]

pparks1 ! I'm happy to speak with an Q9550 owner.
Please tell me, do you check the Task Manager sometimes ?
Would you know whether Speedstep kicks in usually and if yes, what the decrease is ?

I run CoreTemps and I believe that it shows me what the speed of the CPU is running at. Yes, SpeedStep is kicking in and it drops the CPU multiplier from 8.5 to 6.0. So, 376 x 6.0 = ~2.2Ghz.

With my Wolfdale's 3.0 GHz, Speedstep makes it go down to 2.0 Ghz.

Yeah, I think SpeedStep usually drops to 6.0...so that sounds about right.

And does it show how busy the 4 cores are when you do stuff ?

Again, CoreTemps tells me this information. I'm currently running it as a gadget...so it's always on my desktop.

When my box is busy, the load is going around my cores. Sometimes, 1 is busy...sometimes 2 are busy. Then a few seconds later, 2 others are busy. It's extremely rare to see all 4 of them busy at any given time.


I think part of the key is having a case with good airflow and clean wiring. In my case, my PSU is in the bottom of my case and is separated from the top of the case. I also have a rather large case (Antec P182). And I tried my best to keep my wiring to an absolute minimum and out of the way. Here is a pic of the clean layout.

 

[mikinho]

With Windows 7 supporting (pseudo) parrelling processing and .NET 4 (PLINQ) making it extremely easy even for novice programmers we should see quite a few applications benefiting from quad cores. Most games are currently being developed with multicore CPUs in mind as well. If you are planning to keep the computer for a while then go with the quad.

 

[pparks1]

I know that's gonna be a little off topic, but have you found the SSD Intel Postville 80GB in stock at any shop near to you ?

No, I haven't. However I have very few shops near me, (i usually mail order) and I'm not smitten yet for SSD drives...so I haven't ever shopped around for one yet.

 

[Cov]

pparks and mikinho ... thank you !! yeah, it's gonna be the quad for me.
I think it's funny how the software decides to use this core and next time a different one.
Making it appear as if they're chosen by random.
Yeah, good airflow is important. When I check the heat sources in my mATX system, I frequently find the IGP heatsink to be the hottest spot while the CPU heatsink is always cool.

 

[Cov]

Alright, have just placed an order for the CPU Q9550 (E0) for 189.90Euro = $ 268.- = £ 163.-

YAY !!

Thanks for your help again !!

Edit: When it arrives, I'll be the lucky owner of Wolfdale & Yorkfield.
Now I feel like selling my E8400 (C1), to get the (E0) Stepping instead.

 

[DJG]

Here's my Win 7 core activity doing routine "housework": IE8, Outlook, several RAID, mouse/keyboard and UPS monitors, etc. on a Core i7 920 ...

 

[lokiundergod]

I've read internet posts of people getting much higher than I am seeing......but it doesn't seem to be a problem whatsoever on my machine. Temps are fine, my fans rarely (if ever) increase in speed and I've never had a crash or lockup. I've been very happy with this CPU.

The temps posted aren't really accurate, anyway--by admission of Intel. I just couldn't get the stock cooler on right. :roflmao:

 

[bhuulo]

Depends what u want to do with it... For gaming Core2Duo is better but for applications Quad Core is better. but why Dual Core in the poll and not Core2Duo

 

[Cov]

Have just ordered my new parts last night ... finally ...

Well, I would have prefered 2 x 4 GB module over 2 x 2 GB ones, but they don't seem to be in stock anywhere.

Then, I'm gonna build the 140 mm fan from Scythe into the front pane of the PC case.
Only problem is going to be, how to get an accurate circle cut into the aluminium.
Never done this before, hmm ..

Once I had a fan with blue LEDs built in, the PC case looked so awesome at night.
That's why I'm gonna try to put these blue LEDs from Revoltec in the new PC-Q07.

And regarding the mouse, I had tried so many mice in my life (I mean PC mice, doh !).
But to be honest, I always come back to this Basic Mouse as it seems to be tailored for my hand.
That's maybe just a question of taste.

The Xilence CPU cooler is not the strongest one around, but there are not many coolers for Mini iTX existing.
Besides this, it has propper fixing on the motherboard and not the stupid push-pin solution, that can bend the board.
Had loved to get Thermaltake's MeOrb but that was not in stock.
Maybe I will get that one later.

Ahhh, and my new Quad ... I was so unsure but thanks to you guys I could finally make my mind up.
I'm gonna see if the quad is gonna work in the Mini iTX system.

The HDD ... the new Samsung F2 drives seem to be rather nice with their new 500GB platters.
They suppose to run cooler and quieter, but at the end I decided for WD because of the consistent good reviews.
Reliabiltiy is very important in regards to storage devices as you know.

I would have love to get an SSD, but the new Intel Postville are just hitting the market these days.
AnandTech: >>> Intel's 34nm SSD Preview: Cheaper and Faster? <<<

I'm so looking forward ...

Yay !!

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