Duo or Quad?

So I'm going through to see how much my new 9262 is going to cost, and I'm just wondering if it would be better to go with a 3ghz Duo or a 2.4ghz Quad? What are the advantages over the other?

 

well, it all depends on what you will be using the laptop for. As of now, im sure you would be okay with the dual core processor. The only reason you would really need a quad-core is if you were running it as a server, or wanted to run a crap-load of applications at once. Chances are you can save your money and be perfectly fine with the dual core.


~Poseign

 

I was looking st this myself just the other day. It is a difficult choice. So here is my thoughts on it. If you are looking at just gaming the 3g Duo is a better choice. If you are looking at using your computer for more than just gaming then the quad is a better choice. If you do a lot of multi tasking the quad is a better choice but the speed of the duo might make up some of the difference. But I am not sure about that. I have the 2.66 quad and it is almost impossible to bog down my system I suspect it is the same for the 2.4 as well. I have bogged down duo's and still do but I use my computers more than most. For gaming unless you are looking at the quake engine or the unreal engine games quad core doesn't really help out much. For video encoding and playing games at the same time the quads rule. Hope it helps some.

 

Once you turn to Quad you can't let it go. I am happy with it. I am able to run my application and also play games at the same time. If you multitaks I do some video encoding sometime.

 

Like dtechlogic says, multi-tasking is greatly improved on the quad, but the biggest strength besides multi-tasking is in professional applications: 3D design, photo-editing, CAD work, audio editing, and other high-end professional applications all benefit greatly from the quad-core architecture. By contrast, Crysis is one of the only games that fully utilizes quad-core, with the newest Source Engine revision (e.g., Half Life Orange Box), and the newest Unreal Engine 3 revision (e.g., Unreal Tournament III) capable of taking some advantage of the quad as well (but they still benefit from overall clock speed as much as anything else, so the E6850 is still a good choice).

 

I went with the quad for future-proof reasons. I am an avid gamer and although only the few games mentioned above take advantage of quad core, I think that by the end of 2008 there will be a lot more. Later this year and into 2009 quad core will be the norm.

P.S. it is already the New Year where I am at.

 

If your going with a 9262... get a quad...

 

Here is a great read on the topic To Quad...or not to Quad