I3, i5, i7, core 2 duo, dual core, quad core,core 2 quad...?

The Itanium family is more advanced than the Core2 family... but they DO overlap. For either family look for maximum clock speed AND higher amounts of cache. If you are interested in gaming and possibly overclocking... favor dual core processors over quad cores.

Maximum CPU performance is also governed/limited by heat management. Few programs of ANY kind actually utilize more than 2 cores! So the extra cores usually just drain energy, and produce speed limiting heat.

That's why the Itanium family 'Turbo Mode' actually just involves shutting down extra cores so the remaining few can run faster. But if you can afford itanium class systems, try to go for nothing less than one of the i7-620 through i7-980X. The i3 and i5 have less cache and are lower in performance than most of the high end Core2 line that are now less expensive 'cause they are older.

But the simple answer is IF you care about performance and the maximum gaming experience... DON'T skimp on the processor or hard disk Performance (7200 RPM or faster with minimum access times!). The current 'best' choice is the i7-980X if you can afford one. The current Itanium CPUs are dropping in price to prepare for the 2nd generation Itaniums.

So if you can't afford an Extreme (Core 2 or Itanium) like the i7-980X, then look for a Dual Core i7-680, then a Quad Core i7-7x0. Make SURE whatever you get has at least 4MB cache or more. Here's a link to a handy CPU benchmark page... but ignore the price info, and realize that charts like this only provide a psudo-relative indication of CPU performance, just useful for comparison.

This is because CPUs are designed to rank well in benchmark testing... which REALLY aren't true indications of performance when running actual software. However graphic accelerator card benchmarks ARE true indications of graphic performance, since they test 'real' stuff like shaders and vertex processors. Once you pick a CPU or CPUs of interest, check out the Intel site for spec particulars, and a site like pricewatch.com, Newegg, or Amazon for pricing.

If all of this is too much... just get something with any i7-9 hundred series processor. And... personally, before I'd invest in an i3 system, I just stick with your 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo until the i7-980s or 980Xs become more affordable. I have an Alienware M17X with a i7-720, and ir ROCKS (for too much money and weight, for what it is.) http://www.cpubenchmark.net http://www.intel.com/products/laptop/pro... (Just enter any CPU into the search box in the upper right corner of this page) http://www.intel.com/products/processor/... http://www.pricewatch.com/notebooks.

Mainly you need a powerful video card not a processor. But if you insist, i3/i5/i7 technology is the new technology containing new features( yes they are better than duo or quads). I3 and i5 often come in 2-core processors.

While i7 is the "super baby" that offers 4-core processor :).

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.