Quad Core Question

[wintermint]

I was asking my friend whether I should get a Phenom II x2 550 and try unlocking it to quad core or just buy Athlon II x4 620. They laughed at me x.x and asked why would I want to try unlocking the other two cores. They said people don't need quad cores and that.. not all cores are used at once.. can somebody shed some light on this please ;( im confused

 

[loneninja]

Depends on what you do with your computer, a quad core can be much faster than a dual core. There are a number of professional programs/applications that can bring a quad to its knees, than there are a vast number of applications that still only use 1 or 2 threads(cores).

 

[wintermint]

Depends on what you do with your computer, a quad core can be much faster than a dual core. There are a number of professional programs/applications that can bring a quad to its knees, than there are a vast number of applications that still only use 1 or 2 threads(cores).

Ahhh I need more info but thanks

 

[XD_dued]

phenom x2 550's have a good chance of unlocking, and they overclock better...so i'd probably get that. If you're into gaming then the 550 probably the better option, but if you're doing things like video editing then you'll need 4 cores.

 

[hunter315]

Highly threaded programs, like image and video editing appreciate the other cores, some games however prefer a fast dual core over a slower quad, take a look at this article, it addresses many of the differences that games prefer
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2439.html
HAWX appreciates the quad core, GTA IV really likes 3 or 4 cores over 2, but there are also games which show no difference with a quad over a dual and just prefer raw speed and cache like world in conflict

 

[wintermint]

What if I don't game much or do any video-editing or w/e :O I just do general internet use and some minor games like l4d ;x

 

[hunter315]

Then the 550 or the 720 would be better, especially as they have unlocked multipliers so you can easily tinker with overclocking, the 720 is a halfway point between a dual and a quad which will let it hold out longer as more games move to take advantage of quad cores.

 

[Zinosys]

Careful, though. Unlocking cores might not work 100% of the time... In fact, most chips that have locked cores are locked for a reason! (i.e. the cores don't work!)

If you do want to unlock the two cores, you might get unexpected results.

If I were you, I'd shoot for the dual core. Even if the unlock doesn't work, dual core should be fine. L4d (and most v@lve games) are known to produce great graphics with cheap hardware.

 

[wintermint]

Careful, though. Unlocking cores might not work 100% of the time... In fact, most chips that have locked cores are locked for a reason! (i.e. the cores don't work!)

If you do want to unlock the two cores, you might get unexpected results.

If I were you, I'd shoot for the dual core. Even if the unlock doesn't work, dual core should be fine. L4d (and most v@lve games) are known to produce great graphics with cheap hardware.

But both the CPUs are priced at $100 so wouldn't it be better to go for the quad core since it's more future-proof but most applications dont make use of the other two cores right..

 

[amnotanoobie]

But both the CPUs are priced at $100 so wouldn't it be better to go for the quad core since it's more future-proof but most applications dont make use of the other two cores right..

If you want to squeeze as much fps as you could with today's games, then the OC'd dual-core would do. If you are okay with the fact that you might be losing some fps, but it is still generally playable (30~60fps, depending on the card) then the quad-core would do. And as you said yourself the quad-core is much more future-proof.