Quad processors - good or bad?

[mouthymum]

Hi

We need a new pc and have found some with quad processors.
Are there any bad points about these systems,
noise etc?

Also, is Fujitsu-Siemens a reliable make?
John Lewis have one of their quad pc's but the salesman rubbished it.
He was a bit offhand so I don't particularly trust his opinion.

Hoping someone can help, don't want to make
a bad decision.

Thanks

Quad processors are relatively new technology for high performance. One of the PC mags reviewed half-a-dozen quad machines a few months ago - and some of them had to be constructed by the manufacturers just for the test. I do not remember any generic bad points from the reviews, but as they are powerful processors they may get hot and need large cooling systems (fans) and therefore could be noisy. However that is a lot of supposition. I would not expect a salesman in a dept store to be an expert.

Fujitsu-Siemens is a good name, perhaps more common for office PCs.

When you have the price from John Lewis, look up the PC on the internet - it will be cheaper.

I have a quad core processor (cos we run some pretty hefty software sometimes) I love it. I'm running 4 climate prediction models at once atm with no noticable slow down. The fan does run a little nosier when they are running though.

However I wouldnt buy one just for the sake of it. I don't think you'd notice much difference for most general purposes. if you do video editing, computer modelling or hard core gaming then I'd say go for it.

careful when buying from the internet about delivery times. I ordered one from a company promising next day delivery. when it didnt turn up I contacted them and they said it would be two weeks. So i cancelled it and a local computer shop built one for not too much more in two days for me.

It partly depends what you want your computer to be used for. Quad processors aren't good for high-end gaming, and dual-cores are much better for this.

I would also be a bit dubious about buying a computer from somewhere like John Lewis. If you want a high-end computer, then get it from a computer specialist. I would recommend Mesh - I've got myself and most of my family computers from there over the last 5 years and they've been great.

naetha, why do Mesh describe their Xtreme GTA Quad Pro (2 quad processors) as "The gamers choice"?