I don't get why some people are stressing the importance of quad core CPUs so much... I remember about two years ago... Maybe more. I was arguing with some folks on this forum about how quad core CPUs are irrelevant for gaming because so few games truly utilize them Those folks said: "Just wait and see in a few years, your dual core will be garbage and quad cores will rule".
Few years passed and the overall situation is still the same. About 90% of games DO NOT benefit from quad core CPUs to any serious extent. (Serious extent to me being a game being unplayable on a dual core as opposed to playable on a quad core)
As a gamer on a budget the idea for me is this: "If a game "requires" a quad core CPU for good performance, I simply don't play it.". This could be a stupid train of thinking, but there is so few such games, it really doesn't matter, in a sea of other games that will run just fine on a dual core.
What is better? Avoiding that one game that needs a quad core, or spending $100-200 more on a quad core CPU? I think the answer is obvious. Why not play that one game a few years from now? It's not the only good game out there!
Besides, by avoiding such games, you are telling the devs that you wont have their BS, and they should probably spend more time optimizing said games for dual cores as opposed to rushing the quad core technology that so few games and apps benefit from.
Say what you want, but my 2nd PC is an overclocked e6300 Conroe, and it's just as fast as my overclocked 2500k in most applications. Games are a different story, but about 50% of all games run just as well on the e6300.
When it comes to my 2500k, there are plenty of people out there who say it's time to upgrade. But why?! There is not a single game out there that my 2500k cant handle at at least 40 fps paired with a good GPU. Why in the world do I need a quad core?
One particular game that comes to mind that everyone was touting a few years back as a game that really benefits form a quad core CPU is Supreme Commander. Does it benefit from a Quad Core? Maybe. But does it run perfectly fine on a dual core? Absolutely!
Do we play games to have them run "fast enough" to be enjoyable, or do we play them to compare the difference in fps with each other?
If I am running a game at 30fps and you are running it at 60fps does it really matter? 60fps may be better, but 30fps is plenty "good enough".
I think it is obvious, you get the quad core, as you did.
Now, for a few notes. FPS doesn't tell the whole tale. Sometimes the FPS doesn't change much, at least when it comes to the average. It is the hickups that get annoying and the minimums that stand out. People focus a lot on the average, but it is not when things are going well that we experience poor game play.
I also don't think most serious gamers are after good enough. We want to play at optimal conditions. For me, 40 FPS is nausea inducing, so I'm not going to settle for 40 FPS.
If you stick to 2 core systems, then those games which need/benefit from 4 cores will remain out of reach no matter how many years you wait. If you want to play them, and enjoy them, you have to fork out the extra $100 for a 4 core. Not only that, but if you do stick to the 2 core CPU's, how often do you have to upgrade? I don't seem many people still on Nahelim and Sandy Bridge i3's, because they won't hold out as long. Yet you see plenty of i5's and i7's, because they can stand the course of time. As a result, they actually cost less in the long run.
And that last bit about how dev's should optimize games for 2 cores is ridiculous. The reason the CPU is falling way behind GPU's is because dev's are not optimizing for 4+ cores. The more cores dev's optimizing games for, the more FPS we can enjoy. Games like Arma and DayZ are stuck at 30 and under FPS when you play multiplayer because they use only 2 cores.
And the fact that you haven't upgraded your i5 2500k and I haven't upgraded my i7 920 goes to show that more cores has a great advantage in longevity. When OC'ed to 4Ghz, they are still better than any i3 and most stock i5's today. These are great examples of why we recommend 4 core CPU's.