is a Quad processor worth it over Duo?

I am trying to decide on my first gaming computer, and am having a difficult time telling whether Quad processors are better or not. All of the GHz number I have seen on Duo processors are higher than the figures on Quad. Does the processor being a quad make up for the difference in statistics?

Hmmm don't worry so much about the ghz of the processor as the model (whilst Ghz can be important, most of the time a better model can outperform it). How much is you budget? I would go quad at this moment in time over a duo, as we hope to see more games support quad-core.

it hasn't made much of a difference in games over the past 18 months, but it's only a matter of time before 4 cores starts becoming necessary for good game performance.

i'd go for Quad if I could afford it. at the very least your system will be more futureproofed. going for a Duo when you can afford a Quad is just delaying an inevitable future upgrade really.

Go for quad of you have the money. As said you will be futureproof. Not many games have quad support, but almost all have dual core support. But that is now and future is near :D. It is a matter of budget.

If you have unlimited funds, then I would go for the best dual core you can afford (E8600 probably) then in a years time get a really good quad core or i7 (or i7 now if you can afford it). Unfortunately, most people don't have unlimited funds ;)

http://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Gamer-932GN-Gaming-PC/dp/B001ONFNLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237155620&sr=8-1

is the computer i am considering buying after reading your advice. worth the $1000?

Get the i7 version with 260 GTX for the same price from newegg.com

It's a much better computer (for the price difference)

Not worth it at all... that 9800GT is a rebranded 8800GT. If you can build yourself, you can get an awesome rig, if not, go with the recommendation above with the i7 and GTX260 (as long as it's the core 216 260GTX)

ok so that one is out then. i will check out that i7 but in the mean time

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227140

thank you all for your time, as you can tell i am fairly ignorant and new to shopping for a gaming PC.

my best advice is this, if u cant decide on the two go for an amd tri-core.

i am having trouble finding the i7 mentioned.

i found this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=i7+260+gtx&x=12&y=35

but it is way over my price range, i would like to stick to just around 1k.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340343%201050744915&name=Core%20i7

there you go ^_^

That where I come to the help of Ignorance. and with my word Information go and go. : Prepare for Benchmark wave
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807&p=9
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807&p=5
(Detailed Spec of a 295GTX + Fallout 3 at MAX With over 20 Processor Settings)


http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3520&p=7
[img]http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/multigpu4wayfeb09_022709070723/18429.png/[img]

Go for a quad processor. I have three computers using dual cores, But I just love my quad core computer, everything runs soooooo smoothly. you won't be dissapointed :)

I made the switch from Duo to a q9550. Best upgrade Ive ever made. Don't mind the critics that say a higher clocked duo surpasses a quad. Every single game ive played floats 100% of the games workload over all 4 cores in vista. Vista uses workload affinity to branch code over all available threads. Take a look at the numbers for a second: e8400 @ 4ghz is 8Ghz total. A q9550 stock clock is 11.32ghz. Overclocked it puts out15.2Ghz accumulatively.

Remember games like GTA4 were coded for 3/8 Core console systems.

If you have unlimited funds, then I would go for the best dual core you can afford (E8600 probably) then in a years time get a really good quad core or i7 (or i7 now if you can afford it). Unfortunately, most people don't have unlimited funds ;)

will952

[QUOTE="will952"]

If you have unlimited funds, then I would go for the best dual core you can afford (E8600 probably) then in a years time get a really good quad core or i7 (or i7 now if you can afford it). Unfortunately, most people don't have unlimited funds ;)

imprezawrx500

If you plannin to keep the computer for a while and want to stay the latest and greatest, then the quad core would prolly be the way. Also good for multi-taskin but the only person ive eva known to use that feature to the max played MMO's and wanted to stay online and play another simultaneously. There are very little games that would approach the max power of a quad core proccessor, so its really for a future purchase, but if you goin to do that, its prolly best to wait for the i7. As i understand with the new hyperthreading, it effectively gives the representation of 8-core processing so it would be well worth the wait and its not the most expensive thing with the 2.83ghz model commin out at $500 i believe (might be american actually now that i think about it).

If your just standard gaming and usage, stick with the dual. If your a heavy gamer or want this cimputer to really last, go for the quad, but prolly best to wait for the i7 to get the best value for money.

If you have unlimited funds, then I would go for the best dual core you can afford (E8600 probably) then in a years time get a really good quad core or i7 (or i7 now if you can afford it).

will952

If he had unlimited funds then wouldn't he just get a i7 now.

That where I come to the help of Ignorance. and with my word Information go and go. : Prepare for Benchmark wave
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807&p=9
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807&p=5
marcthpro

Why just one game. That review has many games that you have ignored.

Looks like a whole new ball game with Farcry2 where a 4Ghz dual core can't keep up with a 3ghz Core 2 Quad.

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807&p=7

For the time being just stick with dual core. There are only a couple of games that support quad core right now. Just make sure to get a Motherboard that supports dual and quad so you can upgrade in the future if needed. But, like someone else said earlier, if you have unlimited money, I guess you can go ahead and get a quad core but you will have two cores just idling while the other two are hard at work while gaming.

i see you had a link for ibuypower computer at a retailer site. If you are to go for a computer for companies such as ibuypower or cyberpower you will be better off ordering straight from their site. The warrenty will be managed better and you can configure better. The wait will belonger though.As for the duel core or quad I would go with a quad for futuer applications.But I would put more attention and resources into video card and power supply for a gaming computer.

don't listen to anyone that tells you to get a dual core over a quad core.

they are people who have a dual core, want a quad, but can't afford it..so they rationalize to themself and to others why a dual core is better.

I would opt for quad over dual any day of the week. When i build my next pc next year, ill be going for quad.

rock_solid wrote:

don't listen to anyone that tells you to get a dual core over a quad core. they are people who have a dual core, want a quad, but can't afford it..so they rationalize to themself and to others why a dual core is better.

Well to @ Rock_Solid Again according lot of Benchmark a E8600 4.0Ghz will Offer better Fps then Q6600 at 3.2/3.4Ghz in most of the game How Ever for About same price for USA Only you can get a Q9550 / Q9650 Since the Start of January a huge price drop was done There for it is Better to get a Q9550 / Q9650 Over E8600 at high Overclock but Take note the Q9650 must be ALSO Overclock (to 3.8ghz+) In order to Defeat ? Do You claim i state Fake Statement ? I use Benchmark I'm not fanboy of anything I use Benchmark

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807&p=9 (Fallout 3) (unaffected By quad) Affected by Core i7 965 Overclock at 3.3GHZ+
But any core i7 920 / 940 / 965 / 975 Overclock ataround such rate would give Same result in FPS As they mostly the same Architecutre for QPI & Cache

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807&p=11 (Left 4 Dead) (Quad core Superior) by +12-15fps (note q9450 & higher if overclocked)Else Only Got In Underpower against Q9650 and nor the other Quad core which Left you say the Core 2 Duo wolfdale E8500 / E8600 Overclock are high power

I'm just currious Tell me Why a E8600 at 1920x1200 At @ 4.0GHZ Over a Easy Overclock ? and Performing Better then Q9650 at 3.6ghz within a 295GTX setup And they used 4GB DDR3 1625mhz 7-7-7-20 On both cOre 2 duo / Core 2 Quad Setups

But it True if you can afford a Q9550 / Q9650 there no need to go for E8600 as in vast of majority Q9550 / Q9650 Overclocked will Catch up to Equality of a dual core E8500 / E8600 4.0ghz+ Overclocked : But In over 3 Games in the Benchmark it shown different ?

and to @teddyrob IV replyed to you longtime ago It was not only one game but Two game =) Then il proceed With Two GAme
But it just that the post will be Longer just made sure you read =)

the ghz on a procesor tells you the speed of the individual cores. So to find the overall speed of a processor you multiply the speed of the cores by the nubmer of cores. So a 2.5ghz dual will have an overall speed of 5 ghz ( 2.5 X 2 ) but a quad will have an overall speed of 10 ghz (2.5 X 4)

Also the Ghz isnt the most important facts when looking for a new processor. You also need to finda relatively new one with a good architecture as many newer models are more efficient than the older ones.

the ghz on a procesor tells you the speed of the individual cores. So to find the overall speed of a processor you multiply the speed of the cores by the nubmer of cores. So a 2.5ghz dual will have an overall speed of 5 ghz ( 2.5 X 2 ) but a quad will have an overall speed of 10 ghz (2.5 X 4)

joshuahaveron

Well, quads are certainly more future-proof, but completely unecissary atm. I'd suggest a relatively cheap high end c2d.

If your buying new then go quad!

don't listen to anyone that tells you to get a dual core over a quad core.

they are people who have a dual core, want a quad, but can't afford it..so they rationalize to themself and to others why a dual core is better.

rock_solid

[QUOTE="rock_solid"]

don't listen to anyone that tells you to get a dual core over a quad core.

they are people who have a dual core, want a quad, but can't afford it..so they rationalize to themself and to others why a dual core is better.

TheDuffman26

[QUOTE="TheDuffman26"][QUOTE="rock_solid"]

don't listen to anyone that tells you to get a dual core over a quad core.

they are people who have a dual core, want a quad, but can't afford it..so they rationalize to themself and to others why a dual core is better.

Daytona_178

Well, quads are certainly more future-proof, but completely unecissary atm. I'd suggest a relatively cheap high end c2d.

flclempire

What about Supreme Commander and GTA IV?

I went up from a 5600x2 @2.6Ghz to a Phenom II 940 BE @3Ghz and the boost seems pretty good. OS boost is the most noticable, and more stability.

if youre a max overclock guy looking to get the most out of the cheapest components possible and youre only interested in gaming, you can still savesome moneygoing for dual core. meanwhile i go for gentler overclocks (no voltage increases just highest stable multiplier/bus speed)and am constantly encoding stuff in divx so for me a quad i7 was a no brainer. it just depends on your budget and needs.

if youre a max overclock guy looking to get the most out of the cheapest components possible and youre only interested in gaming, you can still savesome moneygoing for dual core. meanwhile i go for gentler overclocks (no voltage increases just highest stable multiplier/bus speed)and am constantly encoding stuff in divx so for me a quad i7 was a no brainer. it just depends on your budget and needs.

krylon36