Most trading programs at this stage are not written to utilize multicore processors, so sometimes the recommendation is to go with a faster dual core CPU. My question is if you are running a few programs that are cpu intesisve then a Quadcore is preferable? TIA
Depends upon whether you are running "several CPU intensive" apps at once. Rarely would you be running more than 2. However, quads have come down in price so that they are little more expensive than C2Ds... Quads and dual cores at the same price point have about the same performance.
The Q8200, Q6600, and E8500 are all priced about the same and all bench around the same. You certainly wouldn't want to pay a significant premium for one of these vs. the other.
But what i dont get is most duo core processors have faster speeds quoted than quad cores, so which is faster , better and why is quad usually more expensive e.g duo core @ 3.5Ghz, 6MB cache then quad @2.66Ghz, 12MB cache or am i being a tech idiot?
Most of the bench tests show the extra L2 cache doesn't make any difference because it's not used.. you know, like 4G of RAM in an XP machine. Quads are more expensive because 4 cores cost more than 2 cores to manufacture. Quads are a bit faster than the C2Ds of equal clock speed... even when each is primarily using only 1 core... the exact why is more techno that I know...
for most people, it does not matter... the CPU now a days are powerful enough to handle most day-to-day tasks without problem. Unless you have special needs or requirement, just buy what you can afford. I have a personal preference for quadcore, because my apps can use all the cores. Here's Tom's Hardware review. It might help you to put things in perspective. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/PCMark-Vantage-PC-Mark-Suite,812.html
Would anyone disagree with the following, with the exception of Tums and his situation? It's from TradingComputers.com: Dual core or Quad core? Trading software will not use more than 2 CPU cores; so a quad core will not run your charts faster. It is better to have two fast cores rather than four slower cores in most cases. Buying an F-19 (3.41GHz) dual core saves you more than $200 over an F-11 with a quad core (3GHz) and the faster CPU speeds will do a much better job of keeping up with high volume days.