Which would you take

[Hardcore Student]

I have currently built this configuration:
CPU AMD Athlon64 3500+ BOX, Sck AM2
MB ECS RS485M-M, sAM2, ATI RS485, VGA, SATA,
(2x)DDR2 512MB PC4200 (533MHz) Kingmax
HDD HITACHI HDT722516DLA380 160GB SATA300 7200rpm 8MB
DVD+RW/-RW AOPEN DUW1616L PRO CHAMELEO, Dual Layer, 16x,
Leadtek GF 7600GT TDH, 256MB, PCI-E, TV-out, 2 x DVI
Mode Com midi tower Step 207, 400 W, USB 2.0
LABTEC Ultra Flat Keyboard, HR / 967486-0100
Labtec optički miš USB/PS/2 /911530-0914
Monitor Samsung SM 703MS 17'' CRT; which costs about $875.
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But i've been thinking about this:
MBO ASROCK, s. 775, CONROE 945G-DVI, i945G, BUS 1066 MHz, VGA, serial ATA II, 7.1 Sound, 1 Gbps, DDR 2, mATX
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Intel® Core(TM) 2 Duo E6400 2.13 GHz, 2MB LGA775,
BUS 1066MHz, Conroe, BOX
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(2x)DDR2 512MB PC4200 (533MHz) Kingmax
HDD HITACHI HDT722516DLA380 160GB SATA300 7200rpm 8MB
DVD+RW/-RW AOPEN DUW1616L PRO CHAMELEO, Dual Layer, 16x,
Leadtek GF 7600GT TDH, 256MB, PCI-E, TV-out, 2 x DVI
Mode Com midi tower Step 207, 400 W, USB 2.0
LABTEC Ultra Flat Keyboard, HR / 967486-0100
Labtec optički miš USB/PS/2 /911530-0914
Monitor Samsung SM 703MS 17'' CRT
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For about $1000. is it worth an extra money?

 

[mikeblas]

I think the Core 2 Duo chip will be faster. Whether it's worth $125 more depends on the application and your budget. There's no universal "value per computing power" that we can compare against.

 

[sleepeeg3]

Get the Core2Duo and twice the RAM. Cheaper single core versions are due out soon. (Jan?) Hopefully dual core takes off with Vista.