Duo core or Quad core CPU, do we need them?

Question

I went to a PC shop to buy a personal computer. The salesman asked me if I need 'Duo Core" or "Quad Core" cpu power? I know they are good, new CPU technologues, but which microsoft office applications need them? why should I pay a higher price for the PC as compare to one with a single core cpu?

Answer 1

Both sides of the argument hold weight, but you will find that multi-core processors increase performance even if it's not by much.

Some are confused as to how the idea really works. A program doesn't have to be written in such a way for multi-cores to matter. You are correct in thinking that multi-core CPUs won't make an application run any faster if it's not designed to see more than one processor. However having multiple programs running at the same time, the operating system can divide the workload. Each can then run faster "together" than they previously could under one processor. When alone, you wouldn't notice much difference.

Also, the background services and processes that load with Windows are now being treated as separate threads that can all be shared by each core. The whole Windows environment in general runs more efficiently as a result. Therefore, it may still have the appearance that an individual application is running faster under two cores than it did under one without any special coding or updates!

Techman is a perfect example of all the misconceptions out there, or at least all the incomplete thoughts. Creative thinking doesn't mean they know what they're talking about. Dual-core is going to benefit you in all areas, not just gaming and multimedia. A fast single-core CPU is still fine if you get it a lot cheaper and don't really do much else besides web surfing and Office. But the Core 2 Duos from Intel are getting so cheap that they're worth heavy consideration. Even the slowest one out there will crush a 3.0 GHz P4 or Athlon 64 with ease. The benchmarks (which are all over the web - check Anandtech.com or TomsHardware.com) don't lie.

Answer 2

You don't need them. They are well suited for things like servers, where you have multiple computational processes running at the same time. That is seldom the case on a PC, and even if you are doing it (such as listening to a CD while playing YQ&A), the total processor bandwidth available far exceeds what you are using. The only time I have ever felt bandwidth limited was when printing something on my old inkjet printer, which takes a lot of bandwidth.

Answer 3

tech man doesn't know what he's talking about, at least not anymore. We havn't been able to accurately measure how good a CPU is by its clock speed for a while now. Although he is right about the fact that if your a average user, using mostly office applications, you do not need a dual core CPU.

Answer 4

Duel cores are nice but if your a gamer you want the quad
Also i use a server with 64 MB of ram, the only reason you would need a quad core is if you run walmart.com

Answer 5

Only if you're a big time gamer or running memory hungry applications, such as Flash or Photoshop at the same time

Answer 6

Considering that no office application takes advantage of dual core or quad core processors, then you are wasting your money. If you are an average office user and gamer, then look for the highest clock speed that you can afford.

If you are into multimedia editing, then dual core would benefit you.

For you, 3-4Ghz processor, 1GB RAM should be sufficient. You shouldn't be spending anymore than $1500 for a desktop computer with 19" LCD monitor. Don't let a salesperson talk you into spending anymore.

Answer 7

You can read here an article about the new quad-core processor form Intel:

http://www.helpero.com/news/Computers/Hardware/New-quad-core-processors-from-Intel_229.html

Answer 8

very true. I agree we techman!