Dual Core or Quad Core?

[Raypro]

Hello, I'm planning on buying a laptop next month with my quarterly bonus and had some questions.

My main use for this laptop is going to be for gaming and debating between a Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz w/ 4MB L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB and a Intel Core 2 QUAD Q6700 2.66GHz w/ 8MB L2 Cache - 1066MHz FSB. For the price difference, am I really going to need a quad core for playing games? I know they are better when you are going to be running a lot of applications.

Also, how hard is it to install another video card on your own in laptops? I'd like do SLI an 8800gtx down the road and never have played around with notebook hardware before although I can install desktop hardware no problem.

Is there a huge speed difference from running in Raid then just having 1 large 7200 rpm HD?

Windows XP and Windows Vista...Is there a noticeable difference with Direct X 10 in games? That's about the only reason why I'd want to switch to Vista.

and finally, does anyone have pictures of their painted laptops? I'd like to see the quality of the paint jobs for anyone that's gotten them. I'd like to see any pictures of any skinned laptops if you got them too :)

Thanks

[TheOaKMaN]

As for gaming, there are few games that take advantage of quad core performance. If your main reason is for gaming then the dual core would be better since it has much higher clock speed, but in the near future, all the new games will come out supporting the quad core performance and you will regret the dual core deal. I would stick with the quad core and + it is better for other programs that support multi threading. the quad core is much more "Futre Proof". PS: 4 cores are better than 2 anyways :lol:
I wouldn't realy mess around with installing the graphics card in the laptop myself since it is different than the desktop and the cards are different themselves.
DX9 and DX10 have a HUGE difference. DX10 looks so much better, nicers, and realer. you can find pictures on this website where they compare DX9 & DX10. I would go with vista since it supports DX10 although it is not yet a stable OS. i hope this helps a little bit :D
Im waiting for mine to come. CANT WAIT!

[robamb2002]

for a quick comparison of dx9/dx10 check out
http://www.xoticpc.com/directx-comparison-a-37.htmlhttp://www.xoticpc.com/directx-comparison-a-37.html

[Prasad007]

for a quick comparison of dx9/dx10 check out
http://www.xoticpc.com/directx-comparison-a-37.htmlhttp://www.xoticpc.com/directx-comparison-a-37.html'
That's a really nice comparison... worth viewing! But I guess it's a bit overcooked by comparing Halo with Crysis :P Thanks! :)

[DomzWRX]

Is that quad-core any quieter or louder? Or any worse on battery life?

[Lymn]

Hello, I'm planning on buying a laptop next month with my quarterly bonus and had some questions.

My main use for this laptop is going to be for gaming and debating between a Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz w/ 4MB L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB and a Intel Core 2 QUAD Q6700 2.66GHz w/ 8MB L2 Cache - 1066MHz FSB. For the price difference, am I really going to need a quad core for playing games? I know they are better when you are going to be running a lot of applications.

Also, how hard is it to install another video card on your own in laptops? I'd like do SLI an 8800gtx down the road and never have played around with notebook hardware before although I can install desktop hardware no problem.

Is there a huge speed difference from running in Raid then just having 1 large 7200 rpm HD?

Windows XP and Windows Vista...Is there a noticeable difference with Direct X 10 in games? That's about the only reason why I'd want to switch to Vista.

and finally, does anyone have pictures of their painted laptops? I'd like to see the quality of the paint jobs for anyone that's gotten them. I'd like to see any pictures of any skinned laptops if you got them too :)

Thanks

Intel, to my knowledge, does not make a mobile quad core at the moment. Which means that any laptop with a quad in it is using a desktop processor, thus I would generally say they run hotter, louder, and require more power then a comparable mobile duel core. (Loudness is based more on fan, but sense they run hotter, they would require more cooling.)