Intel Core 2 Duo : Different Sized L2 cache Performance Difference

[sushrukh]

The amount of second level cache, also known as L2 cache, has been varying quite a lot through the past few years. A large amount of this kind of cache improves the performance of the processor as the processor doesn't have to request information from the RAM as often, which is many times slower. In the stone age of computers this memory was located on the motherboard, and was then, as the demand for lower latencies and speed increased, moved closer and closer to the processor. Nowadays the L2 cache isn't just a part of silicon, it makes up a majority of the total number of transistors. This is one of the reasons it is not economically feasible to put as much memory as possible on a processor - the yield of processors without defects goes down as the amount of transistors goes up. But at the same time the manufacturing processes are refined and improve the yield of fully functional processors. A positive result of this is when the manufacturers launch lower-range processors with more cache as well as the higher-end models.


To elaborate further, you can remove all of the cache and make a really cheap processor. It will not only be very cheap, but also extremely slow. But how much does the second level of cache really influence and affect the performance of today's Core 2 Duo processors? We at NordicHardware have gathered three processors, with 4MB, 2MB and 1MB respectively, to investigate this more thoroughly.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/518/66568765bo1.png

More :- http://www.nordichardware.com/Reviews/?skrivelse=514

[Bio-Hazard]

All depends on the programs you run..............;)

[Acidtears33]

More cache wont give you a higher score if you are testing with an application that fits into 1MB cache to begin with.

I have seen these comparisons done on other sites that do a much more thorough job and can show that more cache helps a lot in video editing and audio editing and even in gaming.

In these synthetic benchmarks an 8600GTS is Faster than a 7900GT.
The real world says something very different.

[the_dope_chaud]

I agree. And I can tell you that my 3.4 e6600 4 megs cache is f*cking fast, its amazingly responsive and functional under load. 1000 times better than my old 4200 x2. Thank you, felt like bragging.
Damn I made a good buy !!!
benchmarks dont tell all the story eh...and anyways thats only 3 synthetic benchies, this article is a bit bogus if you ask me, and it looks like like shush didn't even post all of it.....

[sushrukh]

and it looks like like shush didn't even post all of it.....

It's not my article.So, i don't have the right to post the complete 10 pages long article here.When we post news/articles from another site, we post a few portions of it with the link to that website so that the rest can be viewed from the original publisher of the article/news.It also saves bandwidth of Bj3d. ;-)

[the_dope_chaud]

It's not my article.So, i don't have the right to post the complete 10 pages long article here.When we post news/articles from another site, we post a few portions of it with the link to that website so that the rest can be viewed from the original publisher of the article/news.It also saves bandwidth of Bj3d. ;-)

yeah but you article finished with"and we will finish with game tests" and no results....post cleanly if your gonna take someone else's work

[sushrukh]

yeah but you article finished with"and we will finish with game tests" and no results....post cleanly if your gonna take someone else's work

That "and we will finish with game tests" part was inside the picture/screenshot & i've not written it myself (try saving the picture & you'll know that particular part is inside the picture taken from the original website, i've not written it).

Btw, i think, i generally put much effort into posting news, like finding the link,using diffrent colors for the font taken from other sites,taking a screenshot & uploading them to the imageshack & finally post my thread/post so that my post can look a bit attractive.I've always posted news like this & i think i'll continue to do so. Please let me decide what i'll do with my own post.I've 1630 posts here now.So, i think i know how to make a post.Everybody is free to compose their own post as they like it should be.There are other persons who can decide which way of posting is right & which is wrong.Let them decide. :icon_tiphat: Thanks. :icon_tiphat:

[darkorb]

choad man take it easy, hes just posting news for all of us, to see if cache actually makes a differnece for us

if u dont like it, dont look at it..

[trueg50]

Thank you for posting this news.

I knew that the extra cache mattered for super pii, and other calculation intensive apps, but I never had any idea it mattered that much in games.

[sushrukh]

Thank you for posting this news.

I knew that the extra cache mattered for super pii, and other calculation intensive apps, but I never had any idea it mattered that much in games.

Thank you too.I'm glad that you have found it useful my friend.Welcome to our community.I hope you'll enjoy your stay here. :smile: