Intel Core2Duo ... anyone got one working yet?

[Noviisi]

Hi,

Im going to build a Dual core Intel using the Qualified ASUS P5WD2 Premium board listed on Digi's compatiblity and either a dual core 3.2 or 3.4 intel CPU with 2 gig of ram.
Im about to bite the bullet and of course will post the results so everyone can see what this machine performs like.

D.

Hi!

Are you going to build Intel Core 2 Duo PC or Intel Pentium D (950)?
Is Core 2 Duo much better than Pentium D? If it is, why don't you buy Core 2 Duo?
(well, one reason would be, that it's not yet listed as qualified in digidesign pages.)
I hope they would test it soon. It would be interesting to compare the best AMD Athlon X2 machine and the Intel Core 2 Duo machine. Does anybody know if there is any ~100$ mobos for Core 2 Duo (Asus P5B deluxe and P5W DH Deluxe seem too expensive. And ASRock seems too risky for me)?
Any thoughts about the Asus P5NSLI (nVIdia nForce 570 SLI chipset)?

-n

[CarpeNoctem]

First benchmark results:

Davec I

- MBOX 2 at 128 Samples Buffer (lowest possible)
- separate 160 GB SAMSUNG SP1654N recording drive (ATA at UDMA5)
- CPU limit set to: 2 RTAS CPUs. 90 % limit
- other app settings: default


- 48 Tracks record enabled, recorded for 4 or 5 minutes (as long as it takes to smoke a cigarette )

CPU at 50 - 55 % utilization, no peaks, no red lite

My system is running FLAWLESS from beginning. No dropouts or whatever.

Hope that helps.

Thomas

[WayOutSound]

It is great to hear all is well with the E6300. I have a few thoughts on where to go with the new cpu's, and I am going there soon !

1. I don't think Digi has even qualified AMD's with AM2 yet, it could be a long wait for them to qualify the core 2 duo, and all the variables. If we think they will work, we will go it on our own. If you can't take some risk I would build an AMD. There are many qualified options, and many posts with happy working alternative builds to learn from.

2. Mother boards are limited, which could be good or bad. The asrock seems to be going well which is good, it is not high priced or leading edge which is good. From what I can tell the bulk of the chip sets are Intel, with 965 being most common. if they work there are the usual brands Including The Intel boards. If this chip set works, DDR2 800 ram is supported.

3. Asus has motherboards with both the intel 965 and nvidia 570, one of these seems like a great choice, but no one has used them as far as I have seen, the 570 board also runs DDR2 800.

4. I don't think I have ever seen a post by anyone saying Corair ram did not work on any machine,
of any flavor ? How about you ? 2 gigs seems like a shot ?

5. There are many 775 socket motherboards that do not work with core 2 duo, watch out !

Sorry for the long post but if anyone else has anything going, or even a thought on the motherboard or chip set choices I would love to know. If we are really the first I can live with it, And will make the best call I can, I will be ordering an E6600 this week and will share what I learn, here's your chance to help and maybe you can in turn learn from my mistakes. I am running an 002 rack with 7.1 and will be running dual dvi monitors. sata 2 drives, xp pro, and the machine will be dedicated to being a protools workstation, with no compromises for non recording hardware. Again I will be buying every component so the sheet is bare, anything goes, price is important but the goal is best performance for the dollar.

Special thanks to Thomas ( CarpeNoctem ) You seem to be blazing the trail, I hope you will keep us posted on your progress.

All you need is love, ah, and a fast cpu

Bob

[Noviisi]

if anyone else has anything going, or even a thought on the motherboard or chip set choices I would love to know. If we are really the first I can live with it, And will make the best call I can, I will be ordering an E6600 this week and will share what I learn, here's your chance to help and maybe you can in turn learn from my mistakes. I am running an 002 rack with 7.1 and will be running dual dvi monitors. sata 2 drives, xp pro, and the machine will be dedicated to being a protools workstation, with no compromises for non recording hardware. Again I will be buying every component so the sheet is bare, anything goes, price is important but the goal is best performance for the dollar.

I'm also thinking about E6600 or E6400 Core 2 Duo. I think these processors are great.
The only real questionmark is the motherboard.
Have you something in mind?
Somehow I would like to go with Intel P965 chipset. I have heard people saying good things about it. Here are some mobos with P965:

- Asus P5B Deluxe (built in Firewire, TI chipset)
- Abit AB9 (has this mobo built in Firewire, what chipset is it?)
- Gigabyte GA 965P DQ6 (Firewire, TI)
- Gigabyte GA 965P DS4 (Firewire, TI)
(I would not buy MSI P965 Platinum, because it has built in Firewire with VIA chipset and I think this chipset can have conflicts with 002R).

--> Have anybody thoughts about these motherboards? Would any other chipset (cheaper) work better or as good with pro tools as P965?

WayOutSound : keep us posted on your progress!

-n

[eastwood1]

Hi I was going to build a dual core duo but I have had to sell out at the last minute because I couldnt get the motherboard for 6 weeks . Its now going to be an AMD but I would have rather gone the Intel route.
If any of you guys get round to building a duo core let me know Im sure this is the way to go and I may ditch the AMD if I see some nice results.
Its a shame I needed to sell out but PT7 needs dual and I have a lot of work to do and need a robust machine.
Keep me posted if the DUO lives up to expectations.

D

[WayOutSound]

I am right with you, the motherboard choice is interesting, and I believe the most important.
I also think the 965 chip set is the most obvious choice, The company I work for is building two cam workstations this weekend using 6400's and intel motherboards. I believe they got the 945 or 965 chipset, and I may get some time to look in on them later, I will confirm which model as well.
I have to run for a bit, but will check the boards you listed, I believe several are on my short list, I will also post the others I have been looking at as well as the other most likely components.
I'm glad to hear I am not alone in wanting to try to take advantage of what appear to be the most powerfull and afordable new processors since the athalons, by the way I like AMD.
It may be a bad plan, but I think it is more likely to rock, which is how we do it here !

The Beat Goes On, Bob

[mandeville]

Yes, these core2duo workstations (below) use the "975x Express" chipsets, and are recommended by Dell for protools application, I would like to also see them recommended by Digidesign.. however they seem to be slow at keeping the compatability list updated. So does one assume Dell has tested with software? My Dell 8600 works OK but I need more power..

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/g...page=33&~tab=1

[Noviisi]

Yes, these core2duo workstations (below) use the "975x Express" chipsets, and are recommended by Dell for protools application,

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/g...page=33&~tab=1

Interesting! Do you know anything else/more specific about the motherboards of those Dell PC's? (besides that it's 975X chipset).

Well, now we know that Dell has chosen 975X over the P965 chipset for their ProTools PC.

[WayOutSound]

This is very interesting, I have been researching motherboards today and had looked at both 965 and 975 chip sets. It's possible that Dell chose the 975 for their workstations because of better graphics capabilities. Almost all of the motherboards with 975s have dual PCIE X16 slots. This would allow the use of dual video cards, both SLI and Crossfire need this.

The real question is, do we need that kind of video power? And will the other Intel chips (945 and 965) do what we need for less? I actually thought Noviisi had good picks with the Asus P5B and maybe better yet, the gigabyte GA 965P DQ6. Both use the 965, which looks good because it supports DDR2 800 RAM and pretty much everything else we would need.

I'm gonna go back and look at all the 975 boards, assuming Dell has already tested these machines. I'm also gonna try to find out more specifics about their hardware.

Beware of darkness-- Bob

[muach]

I USE ACER LAPTOP ASPIRE 5622 WLMi, DUAL CORE THAT CAN NOT RUNNING PROTOOL VERY WELL , SO CORE2DUO PROCESSOR ???? IS DELL RELEASE THE LAPTOP WITH CORE2DUO ? IS DIGIDESIGN AN EXCLUSIVE PARTNER FOR DELL N HP THAT ONLY THEIR LAPTOP CAN USE PROTOOLS OR OTHER PRODUCT THAT RUN WELL ???? WHY ACER CAN NOT ???????? SOMEONE PLS ADV PLS ADV.......