Quad core Q6600 2.4Ghz or Core 2 duo e8400 3.00Ghz

I need help guys i have been runing Core 2 duo e6420 2.13Ghz for almost two years now, so it's time for me to change the cpu,here's what im confused about will a Quad core Q6600 2.4Ghz be good for gaming or a Core 2 duo e8400 3.00Ghz.

here's myrig
PSU - Thermaltake 500 watts
Mobo - EP45C-DS3R crossfire ready board
RAM - DDR2 1.00GBx2 (800 MHZ)
GPU - Sapphire HD4870 512 MB
CPU - Core 2 duo e6420 2.13Ghz
hardrive - samsung 320 GB
hitachi 160 GB
Monitor - Philips 17inch flat

Are you finding the machine slow? You could try overclocking your existing CPU first, should be able to get 3ghz out of it quiet easily. I really dont think its worth the upgrade.

+1 for chookman, try the OC first - then see what you got.

as far as the original question, if all you do is game (not a lot of multi-tasking) AND you don't overclock, then getting the faster cpu is going to be better than more cores.

conversely, if you DO multitask...like when i'm ripping dvd's while playing - you'll do better with the quad core. Either way, it's worth overclocking whichever chip you do end up getting. Keep the clock speed low enough to not stress the cpu (low temp, low volt OC) and whichever chip you pick will still last a long time.

IMHO, overclocking your cpu isn't harmful, making the chip work at high temperature and/or high voltages all the time is....

And a better heatsink.

Yeh but its a 25% increase, try that in your car and tell me if its faster... haha

You definitely need more ram, because I have close specifications to your computer.
e5200@2.5ghz dual-core(not core 2 duo)(not overclocked, because of the motherboard)
Same video card as you
2 more gigs of the same memory
550watt ultra lsp psu
Motherboard is stock(Gateway MS-7399)

Crysis uses 1.4-1.6gbs of memory on my computer. definitely consider getting more memory. "zedx" I think you are definitely correct about the ram upgrade.
Crysis is playable on my 40inch on 1080p high settings, no anti-aliasing.

Hey bro thanks for the idea but the problem is i have never overclocked a processor before and i tried finding some help for overclocking myprocessor.. myboard is Gigabyte EP45C-DS3R so need to know the steps for overclocking myprocessor on this board ...and yeah i will get a aftermarket cooler for overclocking so that i dont end up burning it..will waiting for the reply ...

so how abt i upgrade to one more stick of 2GB ram would to be a worth it ? and i will definitely overclock the processor but i have never done it before and need help

If you play games at that resolution then bottleneck is going to be your CPU.

Hopefully your board can take two more sticks of 1GB so you can continue to run in dual channel. Are you running a 64bit or 32bit OS?

2x 2GB Corsair $65 - $30 = $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145184 This is a decent deal after mail-in rebate.

Otherwise any pair of 1GB sticks will be $25.

If you need to know more about overclocking your CPU, your best to do a google search on your socket type. Its pretty easy to do once you become comfortable with it, but it can be time consuming and fustrating (constant reboots, lots of benchmarks, system freezes, some benchmarks run over night to determine longterm stability).

You should consider getting an after market cooler for your CPU if you do want to go through with OC'ing. Nothing too fancy something like the XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 ($37), as long as you have roon in your case to fit it. Your CPU is going to be your bottleneck in pretty much every game, but at the resolution your playing games that are out now will for the most stay above 30FPS durning the action sequences. However, if your not happy with your OC'ing on your current chip after everything is said and done. I'd recommend the Q6600, while it will under perform vs the E8400 in most of today's games it will probably have more life in future games.

Thanks for all the help guys i think i'll go for the q6600 meantime i have to wait to gather up the cash so what im planing to do is i want to overclock my e6420 frm 2.13 to 2.8 so myconcern is would it be safe to overclock myprocessor with te stock cooler and mypsu is thermaltake 500 watts so i guess i can overclock it cant i ?