Core 2 Duo or Quad?

[BlindObject]

I'm building a new rig very soon and I was thinking of either going Duo or Quad, except they're both the same price. The Duo I want is the 8500 at 3.16ghz and the quad is a 6600 at 2.4ghz. This new computer will be with me for a long time and I'd like to know which is better for it's money considering I'm going to do a good amount of gaming.

Suggestions?

 

[jhnroy]

Quad

I would recommend Quad if it same price as for it's Quicker than Duo and is the sort of thing if you planning on keeping it for a while also it will help with your gaming as you know its 4 processors acting as 1 meaning it processes 4 things at once or splits 1 thing between the 4.

John

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The E8500 is faster at everything except video\photo editing, which the Q6600 excels at. So unless you're looking to run something like Photoshop, 3DS Max or Maya, the E8500 is the better buy. It will last quite long too, seeing as not many programs take advantage of two cores, forget four.

 

[Appzalien]

On the otherhand, just because there are few games that take advantage of four cores, it doesn't mean that will remain the norm for long. If the Q6600 is of the G0 stepping type, its known as a great overclocker with only fan cooling (albiet not with a stock fan). So the Q6600 with G0 stepping should reach 3gig speeds with little trouble and be future proof incase games start coming out quad compatible.

 

[LinkedKube]

On the otherhand, just because there are few games that take advantage of four cores, it doesn't mean that will remain the norm for long. If the Q6600 is of the G0 stepping type, its known as a great overclocker with only fan cooling (albiet not with a stock fan). So the Q6600 with G0 stepping should reach 3gig speeds with little trouble and be future proof incase games start coming out quad compatible.

"With new cpu sockets dropping every 2 years and smaller nm cpus every 8-12 months you cant even use "future proof," for reasoning of buying a q6600.

By the time most games use 4 cores along with physx cards core i7 and new amd cpus will be very affordiable, Get the wolfdale cpu for now, two cores are fine for game even for a few years.

 

[BlindObject]

So many mixed opinions...

I'm going to pair the processor with either a 9800GTX+ or a GTX260, whatever the money can buy. I'm planning on doing mostly gaming and some photoshopping on the new rig. I wanna make sure I can play most games at High settings and future ones too.

Regarding the cooling I was looking at this . I'm not sure if I'd be able to overclock with this much, but I'd deff get a Quad if I can get up to 3ghz with this cooler.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I would recommend the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 instead of that cooler, provided you have space in your case to fit it.

And as for your main query, check out any review that compares the E8400\E8500 to the Q6600 or check out Tom's Hardware's CPU charts. The dual-core CPUs are much faster at anything not involving heavy video\photo editing.

 

[BlindObject]

I like that cooler, and even though I have a mid sized case I'm confident I can fit it in properly. If it won't I can always modify my case a bit. I like the idea of overclocking too.

I don't think I'm going to notice a difference when I'm using photoshop or video editing ( I don't even edit videos) in between the two processors. I just need the one who will give me more frames on games that will also last a while.

Thanks for the Tom's Hardware suggestion, also.

 

[klepto12]

the e8400 or e8500 are your best bet for gaming can be overclocked to like 4ghz or higher on air cooling they are also 45nm processors. the Q6600 is almost 3 years old and is getting a little long in the legs overclocks to like 3.2 maybe on air not really what you need. The E8400 is cheaper and can clock almost as high as the E8500 so i would recomend it as the best bang for your buck processor.

 

[BlindObject]

I see, I didn't know how old that quad was. I'll prob just move along with the duo and overclock it eventually.

 

[adweston]

That E8500 will absolutely slaughter that quad in gaming. They're not even reasonably close.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

I built mine with the Q9300 quad core because one of our UK trade rags recommended it value for money over all the others including the best duals. I don't do games but some graphics and it fair whistles through those. My son uses it occasionally for rendering images as it is the fastest thing he has seen for that. My money goes on quad, no question.

 

[BlindObject]

Any thoughts putting the e8500 against the q8300? Pretty much the same price.

Should I still go duo?

 

[klepto12]

if you are doing any rendering or encoding at all get the quad it will also game well to can overclock nice, but otherwise get the e8500 and clock that thing to 4.2ghz and call it a day. either way it will destroy what you have now you will be amazed at the difference in performance.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

If you can find it at a lower price, the E8400 is a better deal compared to the E8500. There is no difference in the chips, aside from the meager increase in stock frequency.