This is going to be long and i will need a lot of explanation because i am a first timer and i will appreciate any support. Basically i need guidance on what to buy-dual core or quad core. I understand duals are in right now but will soon be replaced by quads for gaming. First-what is the major difference? Say i have a core 2 duo and core 2 quad both at 2.6 GHz. Does each core have a speed of 650 MHz in quad? (speed divided by 4) and 1.3 GHz in dual? (speed divided by 2) Or does each core has 2.6 GHz in both cases? Assuming a game requires 2 cores. The quad core allocates the two and gives the other 2 for other processes. Does the game have 1.3 GHz in quad and 2.6 GHZ in duo? Or does it have 2.6 on each core in both cases? If so, do i have an overall speed of more than 2.6? Another question: games require speed. Assuming i have a pentium 4 2.8 and core 2 duo 2.8, why would the core 2 duo be better? you know because they both offer the same speed to the game. People say you need more cores so that the extra may support the other processes like photoshop. I have two questions on this. One, i don't Photoshop i just use photoscape occasionally and surf the net, download movies, listen songs, work on MS office and of coarse, game. Do i need quad core? Two, when i close my firefox, and photoscape and any other program, doesn't the process end and the other cores do not have to support them? I mean, there is no process so why buy a quad core to support them when you game? If this the case, i want to buy a dual core for my dual core requiring games. So what is the best dual core processor keeping in mind money (i am low on budget-a bit too low so im leaning towards the dual core) and gaming performance and also seeing i only want to play dual core requiring games. Is it the intel core 2 duo e8400? And what is the best quad core processor keeping in mind money and gaming performance. is it the intel core 2 quad q6600? Again im extremely low on budget so i have a question. Can i just buy a good motherboard with the processor (without the ram and all) and put it in my current pentium 4 CPU? Or can i just buy the processor chip and place it in my current motherboard, although there is a problem in this: I have removed my pc casing but i cant identify if there are PCI e slots in it. What i see looks like just a PCI. How do you know if you have a PCI e slot? also if i dont have a pci e, can i add one separately with/without professional help. Do i need professional help installing a motherboard in a CPU or a processor chip in a motherboard? Now for the final question: Do you think gta 5 will run on dual core or quad core processor when it comes out on pc and what will be the assumed speed it will require? Thats all (finally) Thank you very much in advance. I trust Toms Hardware for an answer (a rather long one) thanks for your precious time in advance.