What exactly is the cache?

I'm looking at the proccessors for my Vostro 1500, and they have either a 2mb cache or a 4mb cache. From what I know I think it has something to do with data being stored for a short period of time.

How could getting 4mb cache benifit me compared to 2mb?

Here are the options:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), English [add $100 or $3/month1]
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), English [add $200 or $6/month1]
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), English [add $300 or $9/month1]
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), English [add $400 or $13/month1]

Would going from that 1.8 to the 2.0 be a big jump? The problem I'm having is there are multiple packages of the same computer on Dell that you can customize. Well, I chose one of them and it doesn't have the 2.0, only the 1.8 and 2.2. But If I go to another package to customize it with 2.0 and everything else the same, the price is a LOT higher...

I won't regret the 1.8, will I? Or should I actually drop to 1.6?

Thanks.

 

Cache is temporary memory that the processor uses. The size of the cache only affects the performance of tasks which are very processor intensive. Normal, everyday programs will not benefit from a larger cache. For most people, a dual core processor is more than enough, as it can handle alot of processing, but the computer will stay responsive.

The upgrade to the T7300 is always good, as it gives you twice the L2 cache, and a slight increase in speed. However, its only worth it if the price is resonable. Paying something like $150 is too much, and that money can be spent elsewhere on other components, like the hard disk and RAM, which have a much more noticible effect on general speed.

 

I agree, too many people on these forums dont understand that your better of uprading ram (and spending less) and it will result in better performance than upgrading the processor.

 

Ok, I'll stick with the T7100 and 2GB of RAM.

Thanks.

 

Whenever I buy a laptop on Dell, I keep the memory to the lowest possible that they offer. Dell's price for memory is always more expensive. I got my M1330 with 1GB and upgraded it myself. I bought 2GB of memory on newegg for $97 and I now have 2.5GB. More memory for much less than what Dell was charging.

But yes, more memory is better than a faster processor, but you can get a better deal by not buying your memory from Dell. And you can use those $50 or whatever amount that you save by not buying memory from Dell, for upgrading other components.

 

What about the dual channel?

 

Yup.

Bottom line : upgrade the memory yourself and you get to have both.

 

There are several levels of memory used by the CPU. L1 cache is small but the fastest so the most important and needed data it keeps here. Then when thats full it uses the next fastest memory - the L2 cache. After that less important data is put in the RAM and then if it runs out of that it will use the slowest memory - your harddrive (Virtual Memory).

So in theory the larger amount of faster memory the CPU has access to the "quicker" the processor can perform. Real world results may vary

 

I don't know how this affects dual channel. But I checked in CPU-Z and under "Channel #" it says "Dual." It could very likely be that I am no longer in dual channel mode as a result of using memory with 2 different capacities and make. But it's only a matter of time before I buy another 2 GB stick so that I have a total of 4GB.

 

To the OP, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_cache#Multi-level_caches for more detail. I haven't read the entire article but many of the details were covered when I took computer architecture in college.

In order of decreasing performance: registers, L1 cache (if any), L2 cache (if any), L3 cache (if any), RAM, hard drive. Hard drives are orders of magnitude slower than RAM.

If you have an app or task that's been tuned to fit completely within the L1 or L2 cache of a given processor, it'll run likely run a heck of a lot faster than on a CPU w/less L1 and L2 cache.