I'm sure many of us here, being enthusiasts, have either dual core or quad core processers. And while quad-core seems to shine in syntethic benchmarks, the real world performance paints a very different picture . Of course, that's not the end of the story. Having quad-core enables u to run many apps at once, like torrents and gaming, along with say RSS feed downloading, virus scans, sytem utilities at full speed.

Has anyone found a piece of software/game that makes good use of the extra cores? Do u think that having 2 extra cores boosts productivity? Or is it just an over-hyped, over-expensive innovation from Intel meant to squeeze every last bit of enthusiast dollar they can get their hands on ? Let the world(or at least LYNians) know what u think!

P/S : My personal opinion is that quad core is worthwhile, mainly because it future-proofs ur cpu investment

nah...softwares still cant utilizes all four cores..

Errr like what TS mention as mainly because it future-proofs ur cpu investment?

hurmm.. if u a designer.. or someting like tat.. then u should change to quad core.. quad core r produced for heavy computer usage.. if u only used to play games or just watching movie n download anythings.. just stay with dual core.. much more, dual core also can handle much application at one time.. haha..

if you go video conversion and video burning

you see dffer when dual core cant do it

multiple (whether its dual, quad, etc.) core efficiency... this is a very interesting issue.

technology in hardware has advanced quite far. however software advancement has not been in pace. this is the results in the software not being able to take the advantage of the hardware.

in order to fully utilize multiple cores available on the processor, the software must be programmed in that manner.

but i believe that soon more and more programs will be coded with multi-core in mind.

well.. i have over 700 running threads on my OS, so i think additional cores are always welcomed

although I just everyday surfing forum, and 20% gaming only.
I would say Quad Core ftw too !

You can always join the Folding Community.

One thing about technology is that you shouldn't buy tech for future-proofing as it will be obsolete before you know it....

Dual-core at the moment unless you are doing heavy multitasking, using video/audio apps or apps that can take advantage of all cores e.g. folding......

For games, there are none yet that fully utilizes all 4 cores, except maybe crysis....

Quad is good for Graphic & Video Renderings.

price per performance, not worth the money

dual core still the middle ground

but personally i'm still okay with single core on XP....

Currently, I'd say Dual-Core. CoD 4 seems to take advantage of this (which is nice).

i can't agree wif this statement cuz future-proof got lotz of type... like i recommended 1 of my fren to get this spec last July:

Intel Celeron 420 1.6GHz
Abit IN9 32X Max WiFi(fire dragon)
2GB Corsair XMS26400 C4
Forsa 8600GT
160GB Seagate SATA HDD
Panasonic SATA DVD burner

this spec is not very high end... but it's kinda future proof cuz it's upgradable easily and don necesarily need to spend a lot... this Celeron OC to 2.8GHz Super_PI gt 28s n 3Dmark06 got 5.8k... not a bad investment... and i think can consider future proof also...

Depends some ppl prefer productivity rather than save cost.

Wow! That's future proof? Like you said, "lotz of type of future-proof"...... guess your definition and mine is different....

Future proof means it can still performs well with new hardware/software, where there's no need to upgrade just to cope with new stuffs.

depend wat u nit n demand for ur pc stats..

Some pretty interesting comments made by both camps. Single core supporters...dun just vote...we want to hear ur opinions.

When i say future proving, i mean that it saves u the hassle of having to upgrade ur pc so often. Coz after upgrade u need to go thru the trouble of selling the old parts again. I'm optimistic that we'll see more multi-threaded software and games released in this year and the next.

As my frined who work in a project that how to fully utilize a quad core for intel company, my friend say even dual core, there is also not much program or game that can fully utilize dual core yet ^^ so quad core for me is the future xD ( sorry my eng weak)