Duo or Quad?

[typicalgamer]

I can run GTA IV on my PC but not completely smoothly.

I want to upgrade my processor, but I can't decide between Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad. Of course, Quad is better, but Duo is far cheaper.

If I get a Core 2 Duo @2.66 GHz with 4 Mb cache, will the game run smoothly on the lowest settings, taking my other specs into account? Or do I need a Quad to run it properly?

Don't tell me to get a Core i7 or something like that, because my socket is LGA 775, thus it's not compatible with the Core i's.

[yoječ]

Upgrading current CPU to another C2D won't make much difference.

[typicalgamer]

That's not "another C2D" because my current CPU is a an Intel Pentium, and I want to upgrade to a Core 2. They are different processor families. The C2D in question has twice more cache than my current Pentium Dual Core. I wonder if that makes any difference in gaming performance?

[SlaveZer0]

go for the quad core, and also run a 64-bit OS and get more ram

[Oaty]

That's not "another C2D" because my current CPU is a an Intel Pentium, and I want to upgrade to a Core 2. They are different processor families. The C2D in question has twice more cache than my current Pentium Dual Core. I wonder if that makes any difference in gaming performance?

Doesn't change the fact that it's still only two cores when GTA4 likes to have at least three to run smoothly. You wouldn't see much difference at all upgrading to a duo. I used to have a duo myself and it ran GTA4 like a piece of sh*t. Bottlenecked my old graphics card so much that upgrading to my current i5 was like night and day with fps in gaming.

 

A quad core will last longer, but then so would upgrading the whole thing to more modern components. You'd be buying into an overpriced yet dead platform by upgrading your LGA775 processor, and this will become more and more evident to you when you start realising CPU heavy games still run like sh*t with a core 2 quad.

 

To be honest, you might as well just save up your money and use it to buy an entirely new up-to-date motherboard, RAM and processor when you can, instead of getting a new 775. Ultimately it would save you money and you would get so much more performance out of it.

Edited March 1, 2014 by OverTheBelow