Im trying to decide which processor to purchase. Have narrowed it down to a P4 3.6 Ghz with HT and a 1MB cache OR a P4 3.2Ghz with HT and a 2.5MB cache. Have looked for benchmarks but have found difficulty finding any analytical comparison between the exact two processors in question. Im looking for raw performance here. On one hand the 3.6ghz cpu is appealing strictly for its high clock frequency, on the other hand the 3.2ghz cpu might be actually faster because of its very high cache load. So, which one should I choose? Thanks for the help! There are 10 types of people in the world, those who know binary, and those who don't.

The 3.2 GHZ would have the performance advantage due to the higher cache. 2.5MB is a great deal of cache therefore the floating point math would be better since more data instructions can be stored on the cache providing the ability to process more data in real time. Since more data can be stored on the cache, more information can be processed prior to the next incoming set of instructions. This is just my thoughts! Raymond Mackie Technical Support Mgr. rmackie@microtailors.com www.microtailors.com "Custom computers and prices tailored to fit you"

I agree too, megahertz may be a big part of the equation, it certainly ain't everything. For best performance some applications depend on floating point calculation, some on integer computation, some on data manipulation and others on throughput. Since the two systems in comparison here are relatively very fast in terms of megahertz, the 3.2Ghz with its 2.5MB cache has the edge, had that not been a factor, the faster processor would perform better. That L2 cache ensures your processor spends a lot less time waiting for data, hopefully as time goes by people will get more desensitized from the well too common line of though that more megahertz automatically equals better performance. B4 you criticize a bigger man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, you're a mile away, and you have his shoes.

in all reality you could just oc the 3.2ghz system and have the speed of the 3.6 and the cache of the 3.2. just don't clock too fast

Have you considered price/performance value? The 3.6/1Mb looks like it's going for ~450USD, whereas the 3.2/2Mb is ~900USD. Some situations will favor more cache, others faster clock speed, but there's no way the 2Mb version is worth twice as much as the higher clocked 1Mb CPU. Personally, the fastest I'd buy is an Athlon 64 3500 or P4 3.4/1Mb.