What is the main difference between a dual-core 2.4GHz and a Quad Core 2.4GHz processor?

[Lewis]

Is there a huge difference between the two when regarding the speed of the processor.

[Laurence I]

they are roughly the same speed.
it only helps if the operating system allows you to use the extra cores, and if you run applications that can take advantage of them.

generally speaking you might also expect a slight difference in performance between them, and not always for the better, after all it takes more effort to control/manage 4 cores and the RAM that each wants to use. And the access to all shared devices like Video cards.

one thing you might get is a better CACHE.
That can make a significant performance difference.

[Matt]

Yes...and no...
Both the dual core and quad core will run at the same speed, if they are a 2.4 GHz processor.
A dual processor has two cores, while a quad has four cores.
A quad core is far more efficient and stable, however, than a dual core processor. Most applications require only one core to run, but in terms of professional software and games, they may require more than one core.
This is why quad core is better; a game or professional app will have extra cores to run perfectly, rather than a dual core processor, which would cause instability and lag.
In terms of opening up an application like Internet Explorer, they would open at the same speed.

[NBSN]

For this explanation I will just keep it very simple instead of getting into any technical mumbo jumbo. By having a quad core you get two more cores. So the applications/processes that are being performed by your computer is being split between four cores, instead of just the two of a dual core processor. So, you can be playing a game that uses two of the cores, while all of the background tasks your computer is doing such as windows update, virus scans, etc. will be using the other two cores. So your game will run better than if you only had a dual core processor because then your game and all of the background tasks would be running on the same two cores and having to fight for system resources.

If you are wanting to play games, edit video, or other intensive tasks, then it is better to have at least a quad core. However, if streaming video services such as Netflix, getting online, and using a word processing program is all you do, then a dual core is just fine. The newer versions of Windows have programs that take better advantage of more than two cores by splitting the workload between them, but it is up to individual software developers to have their particular software utilize multiple cores.

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[Aaron U.]

More cores...

[N/A]

Damn you're F'n dumb if you don't know the difference between dual and quad

[TKA1998]

They both run at the same speed in normal use (web browsing, word processing etc), but if you used photoshop or video editing software then the extra two cores in the quad core will allow you to navigate these programs a lot faster.