The E8400 will be a better choice for today's games, but the Q6600 may be a better chip in the long run when games and apps start utlitizing 4-cores more often. I'd get the E8400 if it were me.
None. The e8400 is good, but it's worth the extra money to get a quad core, so you'll be futureproofed. The q6800 is good, but the 45nm version of it (the q9300) is coming in a month. It's cooler, the same price, and has better overclocking capabilties.
Just remember though: dual core isn't bad. Crysis still supports single core CPUs, so dual core will be supported in even 10 years. The developers don't just say "Ok, let's make this game require 4 cores." They make a game engine that can scale the workload across any amount of cores.
Get the E8400. No point in future proofing. By the time four cores are getting utilized properly giving it a proper advantage over the duel core the Q6600 will be outdated.
Get the E8400. No point in future proofing. By the time four cores are getting utilized properly giving it a proper advantage over the duel core the Q6600 will be outdated.death1505921
Seconding this, especially if you plan on playing slightly older games that only support 1-2 cores. On the other hand if you are planning to do intense video/music editing on programs that support 4 cores the Q6600 may be a better choice.
[QUOTE="death1505921"]Get the E8400. No point in future proofing. By the time four cores are getting utilized properly giving it a proper advantage over the duel core the Q6600 will be outdated.General_X
Seconding this, especially if you plan on playing slightly older games that only support 1-2 cores. On the other hand if you are planning to do intense video/music editing on programs that support 4 cores the Q6600 may be a better choice.
Oh yeah, if you plan to do intense 3D editing or multi tasking the a quad will always be better. But not many people do this. Just from a gaming perspective get the E8400. Pointless getting the Quad just for gaming. It won't be utilised properly for at least a year or two. By then it will be outdated and I plan to upgrade from my E8400 in a year or two when quads are actualy utilised and give a decent boost.
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