processor question

[brc]

hello, im wondering which cpu id be better off getting for gaming.. it would be obvious but i dont know how important l2 cache is

pentium 4 2.40A (533 fsb / 1mb cache)

or

pentium 4 2.66 (533 fsb / 512kb cache)

any help would be appreciated, thx

[hugo929]

not familiar with P4, I guess that if they have the same core, then 1M L2 would help more since their frequency difference is neglible.

[Mixeur]

They have not the same core.

pentium 4 2.40A (533 fsb / 1mb cache) is a prescott
and pentium 4 2.66 (533 fsb / 512kb cache) is a northwood.

Pentium 4 2.66 (533 fsb / 512kb cache) is better.

[hugo929]

[brc]

ok thanks, any chance u would know what kind of fps difference i would see between the two in games? lets say cs:source

[hugo929]

hard to say...

[brc]

hmm ok, i actually had both processors on-hand (been using the 2.4, friend gave me the 2.66 out of an old comp)

i tried the 2.66 today and theres a few odd things. first of all, the 2.66 was running about 13 degrees celsius higher than the 2.4, and from what i understand northwoods should run much cooler than prescotts..

secondly the fps change in css was rediculous, the 2.66 could barely hit 100fps in stress test and my 2.4 bounces off the 300 cap sometimes in stress test.. tried playing a game on the 2.66 and it was terrible, it's like night and day between the two of them

anyone know whats wrong? do i need to change something in my bios once i switch the processor? it read 2.66 ghz / 533 fsb in the bios / windows so im just clueless

thanks

[hugo929]

do you make sure your mobo support the cpu?

[brc]

yea it does

[brc]

anyone else have any idea?

[Bgugie]

The pentium 4 2.40A 533 fsb / 1mb cache prob your best bet, depending on your ram size and type, the cache on the cpu basiclly keeps your cpu from using your ram memory, so the bigger the cache, the better.

[bgugie]

you may need to update drivers? should not perform like that, at any rate, I would have expected the 2.4 to out preform the 2.6 due to the extra cache memory, the temp thing is beyond me, may should avoid heavy breathing during test =0)