Quad Core?

[Solari]

Alright chaps,

Currently running a C2D 6300 but bonus time is approaching and I'm wondering whether upgrading to a Quad Core CPU is worth it?

Will I notice any difference in games? I notice that at the moment, even the more demanding games I play aren't anywhere near maxing out either of my cores.

 

[XtAsY]

don't buy a quad core for current games because you will be disappointed. Only get one if you will be using applications to make use of those 4 cores. However, it will be worth going quad core sooner or later for the next generation of games. If you're not going to be doing heavy multi tasking or CPU intensive tasks such as CPU rendering, then there is no point in getitng one at the moment.

 

[Solari]

Prices are a bit high at the moment anyhow tbh but I was expecting them to drop by April as the new <nm processes are coming to light by the looks of things.

Fair enough.. I was under the impression that games would just spread the processing across the 4 cores rather than just taking affinity with 1 core.

Cheers

 

[XtAsY]

Some games will make use of 2 of the cores, but most of the time I think they will just be sitting there idle in todays games. Once games go multi threaded, then we shall see BIG performance gains

EDIT - Do you realise how awesome the E6300 is? An amazing overclocker, check out this article http://tomshardware.co.uk/2007/01/11/core-2-duo-overtakes-core-2-extreme-uk/page12.html

It can outperform an X6800 quite easily.

 

[NathanE]

Unreal 3, Crysis and other next generation game engines will make full use of quad cores as these engines have a proper multi threaded architecture. They aren't just single threaded engines outsourcing some tasks to other threads. What they literally do is create one thread per CPU/core in the system and then use a command execution design pattern that allows game logic/processing/rendering etc tasks to take place on any of those cores in a load balanced fashion. The result is a higher potential processing throughput if the game can place enough load onto the CPUs of the system. Judging by the way game physics is going that is certain to be true. This design pattern has been used by server and other high-end software for decades.

 

[lucifersam]

Im looking at getting a q6600 hopefully for a major system upgrade at the end of this month but i cant yet find a UK retailer who is stocking it, any idea when they will appear? I will be going quad core since I need this CPU to last about 3 years.