Noob question on M17X cpu

I'm planning on getting an M17X, roughly decided on the specs.. SLI Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M, blu ray reader, upgraded LCD, basic 4 GB RAM (can't justify the leap in price for the 6) but the CPU has got me a bit stumped.

It's between the Core 2 Quad Q9000 2.00GHz,1066MHz FSB,6MB L2 Cache and the Core 2 Duo T9800 2.93GHz,1066MHz FSB,6MB L2 Cache. I haven't bought a new cpu for years so duo and quad cores are new to me. Would the duo 2.93 be better than the quad 2.00? If so, by how much? And would it be worth the extra £190?


Thanks

 

There has been heaps of debates on whether Quad Core @ lower clock is better or worse than Dual Core @ high clock.

The answer is that it depends on whether the program you're running supports (fully utilize) all four cores or not. Generally for multi-tasking purposes I would say quad cores are slightly better. But if it was me I'd buy a lower clock P-series (way more power saving) and overclock it for cheaper price.

Up to you really.

 

It really depends on what you are going to be mostly doing with your machine. If its gaming, the dual core should be good, but I'd recommend the T9600 as better bang for your buck.

If you are doing video editing or 3D work, then quad core certainly.

 

I think anybody that has used both will recommend the quad hands down.