L2 cache what is it and what is the difference between ...?

Question

I am looking at a lovely computer and wanted to know which processor to get...

They are both the same except...

One is £270 more and has 12mb L2 cache

the other is complimentary and exactly the same but with 6mb L2 cache...

Firstly what is L2 cache... same as normal cache?

and secondly

the first processor is Core 2 Quad Q9650

the second is a Core 2 Duo E8500

now obviously to be that much more in price it must be good, but I'm not very technical and to me all i can see is cache difference?

I'm using it as a gaming console so will need to be good. Help?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Checkout the website for more info on L2 cache. As far as the processors go, one is quad core the other is a dual core. There is enough difference in that itself. Moreover, the two are based on different architectures also. If you can afford the quad core, go for it. Hope this helped you.