Expert: Bobbert - 10/28/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hey bob my question is in your non bias opinion which of these processors in this config is the faster and more powerful choice?the AMD ATHLON 64x2 6000  3.0gh 134kb l1cache and 2gb l2cache.The other choice is a core2duo e6750 2.6gh its got a smaller l1cache at 32kb but a bigger l2cache at 4gb.They both cost about the same and both get really good reviews so is the l1 cache or l2cache more important and why?thanks

ANSWER: Ok, well some of your information has a few holes in it, for example L2 cache is reported in MB, and I can gurantee the Athlon64 x2 doesn't have 134 KB of L1 (it isn't a factor of 2, 128 KB would be more appropriate).

Generally those processors will perform about the same, cache size doesn't generally matter, at least not when comparing different processor families, because different processor families need different things from memory (cache is a form of memory).

For example, the Itanium 2 can ship with 24MB of L3 cache, because thats what provides it a good blend of performance and efficiency, IBM's POWER5 can ship with 128MB of L3 cache, because that provides it a good blend of performance and TDP, however the Itanium2 and POWER5 are fairly competitive processors.

Likewise, Athlon64 x2 and Core 2 Duo are fairly competitive products, at the same price point you're basically comparing apples to oranges, as they're likely to be very similar. Now, in some benchmarks that Core 2 is going to move a lot faster, however its not statistically signifigant to matter in the real world.

To decide between the two, look at the other options, does one platform (Intel LGA 775 vs AMD AM2) provide a better chipset or mainboard in the configuration? Is one offered at a signifigantly lower price? Do you have any brand affinity towards Intel or AMD? etc

-bob


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well the reason i thought that the cache was so important is because all the reviews of the core2 are always talking about how speedy it is and atributing that to how much cache its got.I like the fact that the amd's are so much cheaper than the intels.Do you know if there will be amd upgrades available for the AM2 platform or are they gonna scrap the AM2 all together?thank you for your help

Answer
Well, that bit about the cache is true, but you'd have to go into so much more depth on the Intel Core Architecture alongside a lot of depth on the AMD K8 architecture to really make sense of all of it, generally more cache is better, but this isn't always true, current CPUs on the market all seem to have achieved a good balance of cache:price:performance though.

As far as AM2, its ambiguous with AMD, the platform isn't dead in the water as of today, however in 6 months this may change, they want to launch new products this quarter, or next quarter, and theres talk of an extension of AM2 or something similar, or at least backwards compatability of some sort.

Honestly I wouldn't have any issues buying a Socket AM2 system today, yes it may seem like its going to go away, thats guranteed, but one thing AMD is good about is keeping old stock on the market until its gone, look at Socket 939 prices, I'd say with probably 75% confidence that AM2 will have CPUs available for at least another year, in some form, and that DDR2 will be available for at least another year.

-bob