Processor questions

[Qhoren]

I'm looking to buy a new laptop when I get back, specifically for gaming. There seem to be a lot of people on these boards who are more technologically savvy than myself anymore, so I figured I'd try asking this here.

Here's my question: Which would be better, a core 2 extreme at 2.8 ghz (the x9000) or a quad core processor at 2.67 ghz (the Q6700)?

I'm probably only ever going to run a game and maybe FRAPS at the same time.

Thanks in advance.

[Thrakus]

check tomshardware.com for benchmarks of the two chips to see which is a better performer.

As game tech stands now, quad core really doesn't help.
They have just now discovered the tech to utilize multiple cores, but not the quad cores yet.

Spending the xtra money just gets you some better multitasking, but most likely the dual core is a better performer overall.

but again, check the bookmarks first.

And GL

[GrilledCheese28 (aka Aruth)]

If it was me, I'd go with the one that costs less and consumes the least power.
I'd wager that actual in-game performance is going to be similiar enough between those two chips that you either a) dont notice, or b) notice, but don't care because the difference is only a few FPS.

[falconrye]

Yeah, MAKE SURE you want to get a laptop over a desktop. Desktops are go much cheaper and have better performance, especially for gaming. Laptops just aren't meant for gaming.

Although they can't utilize Quad Cores yet, they will be able to in the future. So you might want to consider a Quad Core for future-proofing.

I may be wrong on this one but that's just what I know.

[Qhoren]

I do want a laptop, I travel a lot and a desktop just isn't something I could bring with me everywhere I go.

Thanks for the input, guys.

[Thrakus]

and I agree on the future proofing much more heartily for laptops, since a PC you could always swap out the chips(I still think it's a few years before quad cores take over) the laptop is a nice hard paperweight once you get outdated.