Buying: Older (Higher Spec) or Newer (Lower Spec)?

[Maschil]

Core 2 Duos don't have Hyperthreading (virtual cores) or TurboBoost (temporary, automated over clocking). Core i5s and i7s have both of these features. While Core 2 Duos may not be "outdated" in the sense that they still work decently well, they aren't much compared to i5s and i7s in terms of performance. If you're going to buy something older and higher-speced you don't want to go lower than an i5. Honestly, when buying a computer newer is almost always better. It's not like cars where an old car can still be fast. Old computers are just slow.

speak for yourself. LOL

ssd's make a bunch of difference.... right now im embarrassing my i5 which had a mechanical hard drive..