Ask A Geek

Q: I am currently in the process of building a new PC for myself. I’m starting from scratch and looking for a CPU first. I plan on using this PC for the next 3 years or so with only upgrades to the graphics cards and memory (as needed in the future).

I do plan on using this machine for gaming (but nothing else that would really strain the CPU like rendering and such). Would it be better to go with a dual core or quad core? I will be spending the money on a good motherboard and graphics card but I want to know if the quad core will really prove to be worth while.

Q: I am building a computer and was wondering what processor would be better and Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66GHz or a Quad Q6600 2.4 GHz; they are both selling for the same price. I wont be playing any games on the computer, but will be using Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 and Photoshop Elements 5.0 to edit and create DVD home movies. I will be installing Vista Home Premium on the computer.

A: A quad core processor is a good solution if you are going to use multiple programs at the same time or if you will be using multimedia software. If you were going to be using your computer for video games then you would want to go with the faster chip and you would not worry about how many cores.

Either chip will be good but if they are the same price go with the quad core. When you get Vista familiarize with the setting for multi core processors. Having a dual or quad core processor is only useful if you set it up and use it properly. Think the difference between Tim Allen on Home Improvement and MacGyver.