Need advice, dual core vs. quad core

[AlexAndAHalf]

Hey there everyone! Im on the hunt for a new gaming laptop and I was wondering what difference in performance that a quad core processor has over a dual core. There are many dual core laptops that I would love to buy, but if a quad core is well worth the extra money then I may consider it. The laptop would be used heavily for gaming and also for my college classwork and studies.

I suppose this can be summed up as "how much difference in performance is there between a quad core and dual core processor?"

All advice is much appreciated!

Thank!
-Alex

 

[jasonalwaysready]

not very many applications take advantage of quad cores. hardly any games.. mostly just video editing and compiling and such. i think that they may also be a bit harder on the battery life. i would stick with a dual core for a laptop. though the chip itself probably makes worlds of difference.

what did you have in mind for laptops?

 

[AlexAndAHalf]

Looking for a refurbished Asus from the G7 with a dual or quad core processor of at least 2Ghz and an awesome graphics card!

 

[Roark]

Newer games are starting to use 4 cores, and mmorpgs certainly like them.
That being said, I think the real hindrance for laptop gaming is the GPU, not the CPU.

Not sure on prices, but I like the looks of the Asus G73 series (Jh/Jw/SW) and G74SX.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Well, even a few years ago the G7 with some other number or lettering were great. So, they still are supreme.

He did say in his other thread that he was looking at a refurnbed Asus G73JH

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Personally I think a i5 25xx dual core and a good gpu would be the best solution for a gaming laptop but most companies seem to only offer high end cards with quad cores.

The HP Envy 14 is a nice option for a good portable laptop that is still capable of gaming however it's starting price of $999 is over your budget.

If you plan on using this laptop away from your desk I would avoid the Asus G7's, they aren't very portable and will not have very good battery life.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Well, with any "gaming" laptop, you won't want to rely on battery.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Well, with any "gaming" laptop, you won't want to rely on battery.

True but in a college laptop the more battery life you have the better.

Imo if you don't need the battery at all a small form factor lga1155 desktop could be a better option from a performance standpoint.

 

[crashdavis]

Hey there everyone! Im on the hunt for a new gaming laptop and I was wondering what difference in performance that a quad core processor has over a dual core. There are many dual core laptops that I would love to buy, but if a quad core is well worth the extra money then I may consider it. The laptop would be used heavily for gaming and also for my college classwork and studies.

I suppose this can be summed up as "how much difference in performance is there between a quad core and dual core processor?"

All advice is much appreciated!

Thank!
-Alex

Most games don't take advantage of quad core processing...I have an analogy for this.

Lets say a car comes out and uses compressed natural gas and its super kick *** and gets like 90 mpg.
Well..it matters little if no one sells compressed natural gas yet. In this case, the games and software are the compressed natural gas and that quad core is the new car.

Save your $ and get a top notch dual core, max out your ram, get the best video card and processor you can afford.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Newer games now are taking advantage of 4 cores. But if you aren't playing the latest, it's a waste.