Core 2 Duo VS. Core 2 Quad

Taken From: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2quad-q6600_12.html

Core 2 Duo is a dual-core processor while Core 2 Quad is a four-core processor.

Comparison made between Core 2 Quad Q6600 VS. Core 2 Duo E6850. Both processors priced about the same on the market.

"According to our tests and numerous overclockers’ reports online, quad-core Core 2 Quad Q6600 processors can overclock up to 3.6GHz with proper air-cooling. In this case they can perform better than Core 2 Duo CPUs overclocked to their maximum. Moreover, we see this tendency even in those applications that are not optimized for multi-core processors and that are getting fewer day by day. As we saw there are very few tasks left, where overclocked quad-core processors cannot outperform overclocked dual-core CPUs. They defeat their rivals not only thanks to twice as many computational cores, but also thanks to twice as large L2 cache.

So, we think Core 2 Quad Q6600 seems to be a much more attractive offering these days than Core 2 Duo E6850.

However, those computer users who do not want to mess with processor overclocking may think differently. In this case Core 2 Duo E6850 with 25% higher clock speed (3.0GHz vs. 2.6GHz) performs better in a lot of applications, including games. Moreover, it is also more economical. As a result, the most optimal choice for a system working at nominal speeds would depends a lot on the type of tasks it is intended for.

Nevertheless, we shouldn’t forget that most upcoming applications and games are being designed with multi-threading in mind. That is why Core 2 Quad Q6600 may be a more promising solution even if used in its nominal mode."