What will Core 2 Duo offer to the 32-bit world?

After hearing about the possible delay of Vista AGAIN, I'm starting to think that I will not be upgrading to Vista until after I graduate from college. That being said, I probably will buy a desktop immediate upon graduation. Which means my upcoming laptop will be a XP machine for quite some time (if not for it's entire life).

Which begs the question: Since Merom has 64-bit capability, a capability I probably won't get to use...what other features will it have and do I want to wait for it?

 

when is the new release date for vista? im still trying to decide on cd or c2d too

 

If the article is right, and that is a BIG if...they say 2H 2007. I for one think it is very possible...but I have been known to stick my foot in my mouth before.

Link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=67771

 

Core 2 Duo is certainly not worth it if you won't be using Vista. Even if you will be using Vista, it will come in a 32-bit version. My advice to you is to buy a Core Duo machine now, and upgrade to Core 2 Duo in the future as prices go down. All current Core Duo machines will be able to upgrade to the Core 2 Duo chip anyway. The Core 2 Duo won't be that much faster than the current Core Duo chip to actually wait 3-4 months for it to start appearing in notebooks. Buy the Core Duo NOW and don't wait for Core 2 Duo, its not worth it. And you can still upgrade to it if you decide that you really want it. Hope this helps.

 

from the benchmarks seen the c2d at the same clock speed adds around a 10% increase in speed and benchmark scores

 

i think it's supposed to be about a 20% increase per clock

 

Supposed to be and is are two different things. They always say a bigger improvement than it actually is. And if the reviews are correct it is a moderate upgrade over the current chips.

The big improvement with Core2Duo is in the desktop, not the notebook.

 

actually, justin from xoticpc did some interesting photoshop benchmarks with the core 2 duo in the sager forum. i suggest checking it out.

 

So far, the benchmarks show a huge performance jump with Core 2. We're talking ~10-20% over the fastest current processors. In 32-bit mode. Using a bit less power than Athlon 64 (on the desktop), and comparable to Pentium M on the laptop.

I'd say it's fairly impressive, and well worth the wait. The 64-bit capability is just that, a capability, another feature on top of it. But even if you disregard that, it's still also the best processor available.

Or to put it another way. Athlon 64 has won some crazy share of desktop systems (I saw a figure that 80% of systems sold today uses it). Is that because it's a 64-bit chip? No, hardly anyone uses that. There are a few linux distros that are able to run 64-bit, but which cause hell with compatibility. Then there's Windows x64, which Microsoft prefers not to tell anyone about, and which again has a few issues with missing software support.

The vast majority use their 64-bit chips in 32-bit mode, because they also just so happen to be the best 32-bit chips on the market. Saying it's not worth it if you don't use Vista is, well, just plain wrong. The performance boost is the same in any OS.

Of course, it might not be worth it if you a) Can't wait, and b) Don't need the extra performance. But that has nothing to do with Vista or 64-bit

 

As far as vista is concerned they should have it out by 2007...its been in beat since last year and rc1 and rc2 should be soon here.

And for the core 2 duo people, I too am on the fence on whether to get one or just a beefy core duo. I will wait for the cutting edge people report the real world (not benchmark) gains and go from there. Granted my current cpu is great but I always want more, plus if I stick with core duo they will be cheaper due to core 2 duo comeing out....at least I hope