is getting dual core really necessary,i'm on a budget buying a new comp for my 15 year old?

Answer 1

But of course! He/She can't possibly play the best games without it. While your'e at it, get them a 2 GB video card and a good line of credit.

This aside, depends on the purpose of the computer.

Answer 2

No, dual core isnt needed, for a teen pc. it simply divides chores for juggling more tasks at once. I have dual core pentium 830, a reasonable chip, but notice no difference surfing or in regular use. Only when I do photo editing, or desktop publishing multimedia tasks, do things load quicker.
It may not matter, as a lot of chips are dual core anyway...and since buying mine, dual core 2 has come out "40% faster" so its all here today, obsolete tommorow.
My kids use my old (ish) crt monitor (recent new monitor, £6,ebay) windows ME 750meghrtz AMD chip, 250Mb Ram memory, (2x) 6 gigabyte hard drive tower pc, and it does messenger, internet, with video, pictures, everything...for £100 out the local paper, 12 months ago. Even i use it, and the difference between my £1000 dell, and £600 laptop, for surfing is zero. A pc of this spec will not run windows xp, however.
May I suggest dell, if on a budget, £300 gets a useable pc, or second hand, but be careful, there's some real old junk for the money, as I found, before finding my bargain. The flat panel monitor may also be a lot of the price on a budget system, dell do however do credit, BUT please make your own choice, as I found the pc ok, but nothing to sing about. Easy credit, delivery, and an average deal, is a realistic resume. Good luck, dont be blinded by science when choosing!

Answer 3

Is the child careful and responsible? Then go with a 64-bit processor of your choosing. There is not a need for a dual-core, unless they are deep into video editing and/or multi-tasking, i.e. running several programs at the same time. A middle of the road single core 64-bit processor should be fine. If the child is a bit clumsy you may consider a refurbished laptop? If your wanting a laptop. Not too large of an investment, and if dropped, not too great a loss. Desktops are had for a reasonable cost in a standard configuration, with a single core processor.

Answer 4

Dual core is only necessary if you intend to use the computer for video editing or image manipulation kind of stuff. However, having said this, I do graphically intensive work on a computer without dual core and with. The difference being, the dual core processes the stuff faster. Go for a Dell with pentium processor (fastest speed you can afford).

Answer 5

I'd say no, its not. Its great for video but then you're looking at a very expensive system. Don't get a games machine, get him to stick to using a games console for that.
You can get a 3.6 gig Pentium or AMD chip, a gig of RAM and a 160 gig hard drive with a 19" CRT for around £600. You don't say what your budget is, but of you're looking at a dual core then I'm guessing around the £600 mark.
Don't get a Dell, they're made from budget components. I had my system built by a microsoft certified engineer and its great.
This link is to a typical 'decent' desktop. Don't forget to budget for a desk, a proper chair, a scanner and printer, and a camera.
As for the printer I'd get a budget Epson C66, you can use budget compatible ink with no problems. If you want photo prints go to somewhere that'll print htem for you like Jessops or Snappy Snaps, its cheaper, you won't waste ink and paper on bad prints, and they're better quality.

And don't waste money on a security suite. Here's all the software you need;

Answer 6

As the proud owner of said dual core processor (an early P4 830) i would say yes, the price difference is'nt that much and it will run lots of tasks with ease. In my experiance a 15 yr old will want to run MSN (several conversations), explorer (several instances) Itunes and a word processor at once. The dual core does with ease, and will run a game too, so go for it, you won't regret.

Answer 7

You will only get your dual core advantage if you buy the software to take advantage of it.

Microsoft Word, Web Browsing, and Email, will show NO improvement. You only gain a small advantage because Windows will run seperately from the software. Put the money into RAM.

A video game build to take advantage of dual core technology will show improvement.

Answer 8

No. Computer programs have not caught up to the technology in computers so almost no programs will use them.

You actually need very little in computer power unless your kid plays video games. If he plays video games then he will get maximum performance from the cheapest 3gHz chip with a 512 graphics card. Also, he will need 2 gig of memory. That's top of the line, mind you. You could get away with 2 gig of memory with a 245 graphics card and a slower processor, but the machine will be obsolete in a couple of years.

Answer 9

Don't believe the hype.

Unless you are doing video editing or encoding you don't need a dual core. Single core processors should be dropping in price shortly, hold on for a month or so.

Answer 10

No, dual core is too advanced and too costly. Plus they have had syncronisation problems causing run time errors & freezing up your programs.

Stick with a cheap package depending on what its for...

At 15 i had 50p a week & a curly wurly a day ; )

Answer 11

i doubt a 15 year old really needs a dual core processor. maybe if he skipped a few grades and already has a job that requires massive CPU usage, then yes. but that is not likely. dont waste the money.