Is the Core 2 Quad 6600 worth the premium over the Core 2 Duo 6600?

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Thread: Is the Core 2 Quad 6600 worth the premium over the Core 2 Duo 6600?

  1. #1
    Tiger Shark
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    Is the Core 2 Quad 6600 worth the premium over the Core 2 Duo 6600?

    If I were to purchase a PC for playing mmorpgs, some multimedia, and general surfing and such, would the performance increase of a quad core really justify the price difference?

    I could use the extra 180 bucks for beefing up other components... Or just save the money and pocket it.


    I play WoW and plan on playing Warhammer Online when it launches. Other games I play are Supreme Commander and look toward playing Starcraft 2 when it comes out.

    Thanks for any input!
    --New Build 03/2008--
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    --Wife's "Silent" Dell XPS 420--
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    --Old Faithful--
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  2. #2
    Expensive Sushi Blargosaurus's Avatar
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    Supreme Commander is supposed to recognize quad cores and work with them. I've only read one preview of SC2 and I don't remember it mentioning multithreading at all.

    However, Since every processor on the market now has at least two cores I would expect more and more software to be multi core aware and I doubt coding for two cores, four cores, or 64 cores would be substantially different. Of course I'm not a programmer so what do I know.

    Current recommendations have been if you hardcore game you'll be better off with a faster two core processor than you would be with a similarly priced quad core processor with a slower clock speed. If you're doing more multimedia the quad core will be a better bet since more of those apps are multithreaded.

    Personally, I'm going to be getting a two core processor since most of my home computing is game related. I can always upgrade to a quad in a couple years when more games can use it.

  3. #3
    Mako Shark PriMaTe's Avatar
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    According to this article the intel price cut is supposed to take place on the 22nd putting the q6600 at $266

    http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...spx?i=3038&p=2

    According to this review supreme commander benefits from quad core

    http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...50aHVzaWFzdA==

    You may as well wait a week and go for quad core.

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  4. #4
    No, *MY* new girlfriend!~ OpStar's Avatar
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    I'd wait and go quad for the same money, its kind of silly not to unless you need the computer NOW!
    |i7 2600k @ 4.8Ghz|Corsair H100i w/ NF-F12s|MSI P67A-GD65 B3|32GB Corsair XMS3|GTX 780 SLi|Skullcandy Slyr|1x250GB Evo 1x500GB Evo 1x1TB Evo|3x32LN5300|Win 8 Pro|Corsair Air 540|eVGA Super Nova 1300GS|

  5. #5
    Tiger Shark
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    Sounds like a plan... I guess the real decision I have now is whether to get a 8800 gts or make the plunge for an 8800gtx, which would probably require a new case/psu (antec sonata II currently, I hear that the GTX does not fit).

    The E6750 sure looks interesting though also...
    --New Build 03/2008--
    Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz
    Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
    4GB Patriot Viper DDR2 800 4-4-4-12
    512MB MSI Geforce 8800GTS G92 OC
    640GB WD Caviar dual platter
    Lite-On DVD Burner

    --Wife's "Silent" Dell XPS 420--
    Core2 Quad Q6600
    Dell branded Intel x38
    3GB Hynix DDR2 800
    512MB Geforce 8800GT
    500GB Hitachi Desktar
    LG 6x Blu-Ray BD-ROM/DVD Burner combo

    --Old Faithful--
    P4 2.6
    Abit AI7
    1GB RAM
    Four mixed hard drives for 200GB total :P
    EVGA 6800GT
    Viewsonic 19" lcd

  6. #6
    No, *MY* new girlfriend!~ OpStar's Avatar
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    What monitor and rez will you be playing at? If its 1680x1050 or lower, the 320mb GTS is fine, if its 1920x1200 I'd go GTX if its in the budget, as the extra shaders are more worth the extra cost than the added ram of the GTS 640mb.
    |i7 2600k @ 4.8Ghz|Corsair H100i w/ NF-F12s|MSI P67A-GD65 B3|32GB Corsair XMS3|GTX 780 SLi|Skullcandy Slyr|1x250GB Evo 1x500GB Evo 1x1TB Evo|3x32LN5300|Win 8 Pro|Corsair Air 540|eVGA Super Nova 1300GS|

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