Considering a Quad Core

[aikbix]

I'm currently running my computer with a Pentium Dual-Core e5200 (essentially an underglorified Core 2 Duo) on a P45 motherboard. It runs pretty nicely, I have no complaints about it. But I was considering the prospect of upgrading to a Core 2 Quad.

Is it worth it right now considering the cost?

Would I notice much of a difference?

Thoughts? Opinions? Comments? Objections?

 

[Yami]

I had similar thoughts ~6 months ago of upgrading to a Core 2 Quad from my E8400, but found that either new or second-hand (ebay), many of the decent Core 2 Quad CPUs (the Q9*** series) are daftly expensive, usually still over £100 (~$150).

If you can find one for a good price, and are able to OC it a bit, I would say that it's probably worth upgrading to one. It depends on if you're going to use those extra cores, or would more clock speed help you?

 

[Trotter]

If you don't mind reinstalling you could go with an Athlon II x4 and a new mobo. Just get a AM3/AM2+/AM2 board so you can reuse your current RAM. Odds are you would come out cheaper going with that solution than buying a quad for your current board.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The Athlon route might be cheaper but it's worth keeping in mind that they are slower than the Q9xxx Core 2 Quads and have similar performance the cheaper Q8xxx Core 2 Quad processors.

 

[aikbix]

I was considering the AMD route if it left me better options for any future upgrade. I guess it probably boils down to what kind of deal I can get, the **** C2Q's are pretty expensive.