Wolfire Games Forums

I shall soon be investing in a new computer. Specifically, an Intel iMac.
I am considering two models. The primary difference between them is processor power.

One is a 3.33 GHz dual core.
The other is a 2.66 GHz quad core.

So, for the purposes of gaming and day-to-day use, which is better?

Is it just a matter of adding the total GHz and going for the higher number? Or is it better to have fewer cores which are individually more powerful?

I am utterly clueless on such matters, so any advice is much appreciated.

If you have the option, go with around a 3.0 GHz Quad Core, assuming you want to be doing some gaming.

A Dual core is probably not enough, or at least isn't a good investment if you plan to keep the computer for a while, as most computers are being sold with Quad Cores for gaming, and it will only increase in the future.

A quad core is about average for gaming computers nowadays, but 2.66 is a bit low. You might see if you can overclock it, or shell out some extra cash for a better processor.

I myself have a 3.0 Ghz Quad Core, and it's sped right along nicely for the last 3 years. I haven't really had any slow downs, other than a few from my graphics card.

Is it just a matter of adding the total GHz and going for the higher number? Or is it better to have fewer cores which are individually more powerful?

It completely depends on the application. Most modern games (released in the last few years), some programs take advantage of multiple cores. Generally, if they take advantage of a Dual core processor, they'll also be prepared to use a Quad core as well. In that respect, I recommend more cores, as day-to-day applications that don't support multiple cores aren't the type that actually would need the extra speed anyways.

Hope that helped.

Well, I've had the same ol' 2006 iMac since, well, 2006. It doesn't have great specs, but it does what I need/want it to do. I run Source games (HL2, TF2, Gmod, Portal, etc.), I have it themed and tweaked to hell and back, I have an animated background running at all times, and I can do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkLbC_my5Lo

Considering my processing power is around half of what you're considering, I think you should be fine either way.

And in case you are wondering, yes, running Mac, Windows, and Linux all at the same time is totally useless, but you have no idea how fun it is to show it off to people.

Thankee muchly folks. Order placed!

Considering that my current machine is a 1.8GHz single core, I think this upgrade was long overdue.