2 Dual core intel xeon vs quad core. Whats the difference??

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Level 1

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2 Dual core intel xeon vs quad core. Whats the difference??

I came across someone who's selling his mac pro 1.1 (aprox 2-3 years old machine) which hosts 2 dual core intel xeon processors 2.66 Ghz (4 total cores) with an L2 cache of 4 MB per processor and 3 gb of RAM. He is asking for 1200.00
I wonder:
1. is there a significant difference between the machine described above and the new 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500 series processor machines Apple offers?
2. Is 1200 a good deal considering its a 2-3 year old machine? how much would it cost me brand new?
3. I am planning to purchase the machine to use Logic Pro 8 (considering to upgrade to 9) which I currently run on my mac book intel core duo 1.8 GHZ. Which of the two machines will be optimal for it?

Thanks in advance for your time!

Intel Core Duo 1.83

Posted on Mar 22, 2010 9:07 PM

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Answer 1

trilobyte

Level 3

545 points

Mar 23, 2010 1:09 AM in response to zukodany

Using the scores on the GeekBench site, I show that a Mac Pro 1,1 2.66GHz gets a score of 4544.
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/218641

The Mac Pro 4,1 Quad Core 2.66GHz with all its Nehalem glory gets a score of 9256.
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/229504

Benchmark tests versus real-world performance, along with your mileage, may vary. But that should give you an idea of what kind of what you're getting. 🙂

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Answer 2

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Mar 23, 2010 6:55 AM in response to zukodany

Over priced and it will be FOUR years old come August.

Last Friday Apple Store Specials had 2008 4-core 2.8GHz (that is the MINIMUM I would go for, better support and choices in hardware and features) for $1999.

2008 8-core would be better of course and still only $2500.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro

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Answer 3

zukodany Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 23, 2010 8:39 AM in response to The hatter

Thanks for your VERY informative replies guys!
Had I opted to buy that machine from him (the 2xdual core mac pro 1.1) what price do you recommend I should ask for?
Thanks again 🙂

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Answer 4

Dudeson

Level 1

4 points

Apr 17, 2010 3:43 PM in response to zukodany

@zukodany: you should be aware that the above comparison is not useful in determining which is the better buy for you.. The Mac Pro 4,1 which scores 9256 is an 8-core, whereas the dual core xeon you are considering has 4 cores. So it's no wonder that the new one scores approx. twice as many points..

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Answer 5

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Jun 4, 2010 3:09 PM in response to Dudeson

The 8-core systems get much higher than 9K, and the 2.93 8-core gets 15-17K.
My Bloomfield 4-core 2.66 gets 8500-10k (with stock and mild overclock)

My dual dual-core 1,1 2006 4-core 2GHz gets a 3861 score. about what the Quad G5 got.

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