Fast Core 2 Duo vs Slow Core 2 Quad?

[thomasd221]

Hi, at the moment I have a core 2 duo e8400 @3.47GHz. I was wondering if a q6600 at around 2.8ghz would be better for playing games and general pc use?

Rest of system:

Asus p5w dh deluxe.
4gb ddr2
Geforce 8600 256ddr3. (to be upgraded)
FSP bluestorm ii

Would it be better? 😀

 

[amuffin]

I'd overclock your E8400 a bit more to around 4ghz. It shouldn't be a problem.

 

[cjl]

I'd stick with the E8400 - it's a good CPU, and the switch would not be worth the time or money.

 

[cuong]

Most games would benefit more from the higher clock speed of the E8400 rather than the extra slower running cores of the Q6600.

 

[jaguarskx]

Most games would benefit more from the higher clock speed of the E8400 rather than the extra slower running cores of the Q6600.

Especially since the vast majority of games only use 2 cores.

As for the handful of games capable of using more 2 cores (compared to the ocean of games only using 2 cores), the faster dual core would likely make up the difference in most cases.

 

[thomasd221]

Most games would benefit more from the higher clock speed of the E8400 rather than the extra slower running cores of the Q6600.

What about battlefield 3, the game i most want to play?

 

[thomasd221]

your e8400 has new stuff like sse4 I believe and is 45nm. q6600 is old gen 65nm cpu. You should look for something like a q9300/q9450/q9550 if it is compatible with your pc. I have a q9300 machine with 6850 and it goes well with it.

My 4 year old laptop has a more power graphics card then your desktop and that is a basic mid range 9600m gt 512mb gddr3 one in my 5930g. IMO you only need to upgrade your gpu to something like a 7750/6770 to notice big improvements and your cpu should cope with these gpus.

As i said in the description i'll be upgrading the graphics card to a gtx560 or 6870/6950.

What about a Q8300 O/C?

 

[BuddiLuva]

For a game like BF3, I would have said the more cores the better.

 

[thomasd221]

For a game like BF3, I would have said the more cores the better.

What about a Q8300 overclocked?

 

[guanyu210379]

1.
You will do just fine with Q8300. I can play BF3 without any problems...also with other games such as ME3, Skyrim, SC2 and Torchlight 2
The most important thing is, just do not forget to upgrade also your GPU.

2.
Do you plan to get something new or second handed?
I would not go for a new Q8300 or anything with LGA775.
Try to get used ones from e-bay.