Verified answer

http://cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

This should give you all the answers to "OMG which CPU is better" questions.

It just says there is 4 cores for Quad-core, but the actual preformance isn't actually " 4 times better ", it's only a bit better. Speed isn't accumulative- there are just 4 cores so you could do more things at once without lag.

However, you can refer to benchmark scores (refer to link) to measure performance.

Quad core is as it sounds, stronger than Core 2 Duo however. A Quad core 2.4Ghz beats the Core 2 Duo 3.3Ghz.

Just refer to the speeds or model number- as it goes up the faster it gets. But when you get to the highest Core 2 Duo, the next one up is the lowest Quad core, which is the 2.4 Ghz model.

The fastest CPU right now is the 8-way AMD Opteron 8354.

For intel, it's Intel Xeon 5472.

FSB also plays a role on the processor speed-

faster FSB = faster processor.

Also, I don't think noticeable differences are noticeable for speed differences under 0.4Ghz.

For example, you probably won't notice much between a Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz and a Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz.

It is a crude estimation of computing power to say that you are getting twice or four times the GHZ out of multicores.It is a big improvement to have 64bit wide data lines multiplied by the number of cores,but there are limits to doing the increased processing and multi tasking because of the need to route all that data in the northbridge of the computer without collisions.

The "fastest" CPU's are about to hit the market as we speak

Rumors and preliminary reviews of preproduction units peg performance improvements as being in the double digits over the current Core 2 line of microprocessors, making it an exciting release indeed.

quad cores have 4 separate cores in them but the speed is not cumulative it just means that all tasks your computer is doing is separated which makes multitasking(using more than one program at once) easier since it doesn't bog down your computer.

Finding the fastest computer is almost impossible to say the fastest fsb to date is the AMD HT at 1600 MHz while Intel is at 1066 MHz but both have their ups and downs. I would recommend doing some research on them on AMD site and Intel's if you are planning on purchasing one.

I claim to be no expert, but dual core is like having 2 processors. It does not mean that it is like having 2 times the clock speed, that is the clock speed is always the same, but the processor is double the capacity, like 64-bit, just it is less taxing. The FSB is something that I would not mess with, just because it can fry not only your processor if you go wrong, but your Memory as well.