[Hardware] Average Quad Core or high dual core?
polycounter lvl 19
I'm sorry if it sounds like a silly question but I'm not really good at analysing hardware specs.
I'm about to buy an Alienware M17X (YAY) with :
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000(2.00GHz,1066MHz,6MB L2 Cache)
4 gigas DDR3 (1333MHz Dual Channel)
Geforce GTX 260M 1 Giga Vram
etc.
I was really surprised to see that some dual core are more expensive than Quad (even with small frequency differences. Like Quad 2.00 Ghz VS Dual "Extreme" 2.56 GHz.
My goal is to have this as my main workstation at home (I won't have any office room anymore, so the laptop was the only solution
).
Would you choose a quad or a dual core to work wit Zbrush, mudbox, photoshop or any other graphical package ? It looks like having Quad core is better when you're working with multiple apps at the same time, but, really, I don't know. I thought I could ask here
I'm about to buy an Alienware M17X (YAY) with :
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000(2.00GHz,1066MHz,6MB L2 Cache)
4 gigas DDR3 (1333MHz Dual Channel)
Geforce GTX 260M 1 Giga Vram
etc.
I was really surprised to see that some dual core are more expensive than Quad (even with small frequency differences. Like Quad 2.00 Ghz VS Dual "Extreme" 2.56 GHz.
My goal is to have this as my main workstation at home (I won't have any office room anymore, so the laptop was the only solution
).Would you choose a quad or a dual core to work wit Zbrush, mudbox, photoshop or any other graphical package ? It looks like having Quad core is better when you're working with multiple apps at the same time, but, really, I don't know. I thought I could ask here
Replies
Since its a laptop though, heat is going to be your main enemy and this beast will quickly overheat. You're going to want to spend the extra cash on a really good lap fan/cooler.
I know you said you can only get a laptop, but for a workstation, I would still highly recommend you find the space for a desktop pc :P
Mudbox etc i think you'll see benifits with quadcore in mind. I think maybe some games you would see a little faster with the dual cores, but production apps should all run better on a quad core. Esp having say, MB and PS open at the same time.
As a side note, I made a few "VS" tests (with Toshiba Qosmio, etc) and I found AlienWare not that expensive for the "monster" you can get under your keyboard. It's definitly a little bit expensive, though, but more like 200$ than 1000$.