Quad or Dual Core

[gamerxx13]

I am planning to build a new comp and was wondering what are the difference between the dual core and the quad.

What i want this computer for:
Gaming, everyday use, internet use, video rendering

What is the best? I also want to get the fastest processor I can for my buck. Is it good to go with a quad and overclock it to about 2.4, or go for the dual core and overclock it to 3.8. Which is actually faster. I know the quad has 2 more processors then the dual core but is it actually 2 times faster. From what I have heard from my friends, it isnt actually faster and getting a dual core at 3.8 is faster...What do you think?

Thanks!

 

[secretanchitman]

Q6600 and dont look back...overclock to 3.0-3.2Ghz and you'll be set.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

For everday and internet there will be no difference, for most games there will be no difference, for a handfull of the newest games there is a marginal performance increase with a quad. Video rendering can show large gains with a quad if the software being used is well multithreaded.

Most people are going with the Q6600 and overclocking it, with good aftermarket cooling you can usually overclock well over 3ghz and usually be within a few hundred mhz of the top clocked dual cores. And even though the extra cores may not be currently utilized much, multi-threaded apps are the future and will probably become the norm for gaming and everything else within just a few years.

 

[Quiksilver]

Just make sure you pick up g0 stepping of the q6600 so you make reap in the benefits of less heat and voltage needed to OC.

 

[gamerxx13]

g0, what do you mean by that? what is a g0 stepping? also do you think a e6750 overclocked to about 3.5 is faster then the q6600 overclocked to 3.2?

is this what you are talking about?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115017

 

[jonmcc33]

If you are going to do any multimedia encoding then more cores will be better than a slightly faster clock speed.

 

[JSK07]

Originally posted by: gamerxx13
g0, what do you mean by that? what is a g0 stepping? also do you think a e6750 overclocked to about 3.5 is faster then the q6600 overclocked to 3.2?

is this what you are talking about?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115017

G0 and B3 refers to the stepping on the chip. The G0 is the newer revision which uses less voltage and creates less heat. http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3066&p=5


An E6750 overclocked to 3.5Ghz is going to outperform a Q6600 3.2Ghz until it reaches a point where the extra 2 cores on the Q6600 come into play. At least that is my understanding.

 

[BoboKatt]

Either will do JUST fine. On the day that Intel dropped their prices and released the exx50 chips and also the G0 stepping quads etc., I ordered both the e6850 dual core and a G0 Q6600 as they were both the same price and I could not make up my mind.

Ever since, my e6850 has become my darling. Not only does it OC well, but it runs so flawlessly and so cool compared to other CPU's I?ve had. This is nothing against the quad core it's just that for what I do, I have yet to even utilize or note any benefit just yet from the extra two cores. Maybe they are being used, maybe not?. Still not sure.

The quad still runs hotter (especially for myself as I need to work out some cooling issues). I do agree as others have said to ?future-proof? yourself by getting a quad especially since it seems our general direction is strongly moving towards multicore optimized apps and games. Anyhow if you do go quad the G0 Q6600 is the way to go. It?s the sweet spot ? everything else just does not compare.

 

[Boyd117]

q6600, most games dont utilize the two extra cores atm, but you said you wanted to do video rendering which some redering programs utilize all four cores. OC the q6600 to 3.2 and your set, youll get outstanding rendering times and for games there isnt going to be a very big gap in performance between the e6850 and the q6600.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articl...y/core2quad-q6600.html

 

[kenrippy]

get your G0 stepping quad here and don't look back.

i went from a dual core amd @ 2.5ghz to a quad @ 3.6ghz and let me tell you, the video rendering/encoding etc. i do is cut from 2hrs, to 20mins on average. i use adobe premier elements 4.0 and it cranks with the quad system.

get some decent aftermarket cooling if you want to break the 3ghz barrier, they do run warmer than the dual cores.

 

[Big Fat Fish]

I have been thinking about going to quad core myself.

 

[Dacalo]

Either is fine, but might as well as wait for Q9XXX and E8XXX in January. I am

 

[Don66]

Originally posted by: BoboKatt
Either will do JUST fine. On the day that Intel dropped their prices and released the exx50 chips and also the G0 stepping quads etc., I ordered both the e6850 dual core and a G0 Q6600 as they were both the same price and I could not make up my mind.

Ever since, my e6850 has become my darling. Not only does it OC well, but it runs so flawlessly and so cool compared to other CPU's I?ve had. This is nothing against the quad core it's just that for what I do, I have yet to even utilize or note any benefit just yet from the extra two cores. Maybe they are being used, maybe not?. Still not sure.

The quad still runs hotter (especially for myself as I need to work out some cooling issues). I do agree as others have said to ?future-proof? yourself by getting a quad especially since it seems our general direction is strongly moving towards multicore optimized apps and games. Anyhow if you do go quad the G0 Q6600 is the way to go. It?s the sweet spot ? everything else just does not compare.

:thumbsup: Nicely put.