That may be true on some applications that have been poorly optimized for multi-threaded operating. Also, there is a tiny amount of overhead used in managing the other cores, but something crazy small. The i7 has more cache than an i5, so it should actually run better than the same GHz i5, assuming only 2 cores are in use.

Now, if a given game/application tries to use all 4 cores and results in poorer performance than if it had only used 2, that is the programmer's fault, not the processor's.

It's also worth mentioning that multiple core cpu's Don't offer much of an advantage because the way eve is coded prevents it from making use of more than one core

Since when? I play a lot of games and buy a lot of new releases. I haven't seen any games that require an 8 core CPU. I've seen many games that have stability issues with 8 core CPUs though.

?????

... It's not CPU that matters as much as RAM and graphics when you're gaming...

Why would I do that if what I have works just fine? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Because next gen consoles are using 8 cores to run games 30fps @ 768 resolution omg...

Rationalise to me how "perfectly functional and does the job as intended if not better" translates, in your mind, to "needs to be replaced". Because I would genuinely love to hear that.

It is not that simple. Fast CL10 ends up with less latency than a slower CL9.

for example:

CL9/2133 versus C10/2400

9 / (2133/2) = 8.4ns latency
10 / (2400/2) = 8.3ns latency

the 2400 has lower latency even though it is CL10

You didn't rationalise what I asked you to, you just went ahead and further conflated "RAM is more important than CPU for gaming" with "if...you valued RAM so much". I never told you how much I valued RAM, I expressed it's importance in relation to the CPU for gaming. You're clearly incapable of inhabiting my shoes if that's the kind of leap of logic you're going to make. RAM is important up until the point that you have enough, especially if you're on a budget. Why pay more for something you aren't going to use and/or don't need in order to get the same performance for something cheaper?

And Hasikan made the other point I was going to make but before I did, I wanted to understand why you seem to be of the opinion that I need something I don't actually need. It almost seemed obvious to me that the statement "my machine already performs better than I need it to" would be indicative of it not needing any replacements/upgrades. If you wanna throw money around for stuff they don't need, that's your prerogative, but too many people like yourself have it in their head that everyone has to have the latest 'stuff' just for the sake of having the latest stuff. It's dumb. The same types think they have to update everything all the time as well without even checking what the update is. My latest graphics card driver update does nothing for anything I use it for, so I haven't even bothered doing that.

Anyway, at the end of the day, my RAM works great, I even have a little more than I need cuz I never seem to use it all, for anything. It even has heat-sinks on it to help keep temp down. They're bright orange and reflect all the cool flashy lights inside the sports-car-like case I got.