Are Dual Processors worth buying?

[SyneWave]

 ;DI have been looking at these dual processing machines and would like to know if it is worth me spending my piggy bank savings on a new PC.

The applications I mainly run are:

Desktop Publishing, including image creation
Video editing
Web site creation and maintenance
Internet
Games
Music creation, editing and converting

Spec at the moment:

P4 3.0mHz 512ram
Radeon 9250
Delta 44

[patio]

Basically any video editing other than high end gaming is the most taxing task on a machine...i would say that coupled with a decent vid card you would be happy with your extra investment for years to come.

patio.  8-)

[SyneWave]

Thanks for your thoughts Patio.

I also wondered about how much ram I should invest in too - for this potential Dual Processor.

BTW
MACs are all about dual processing now, especially as they are biased towards music and graphic apps. So I can see why they would be desirable there.

So, I don't suppose anyone knows of a site/info area which contains an idiots guide to dual processing so that I can read up on the subject??

[patio]

1G of RAM should suit your needs...you could always bump it up to 2G later on when pricing flattens out a bit...

Guide below:

http://www.techweb.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=161300003

patio.  8-)

[honvetops]

I think a dual-core would be the "perfect" example of buying the right system for the applications he is doing.  The fit is perfect. Spend the money!

[Neil]

Is there anything a dual-core processor isn't perfect for?

[patio]

DOS 4.1...

[unlovedwarrior]

rofl

[GX1_Man]

Is there anything a dual-core processor isn't perfect for?

Overkill for word processing, e-mail, web surfing, etc.

[unlovedwarrior]

better over kill then underresourced where it takes forever to do anything

[GX1_Man]

The only place you see differences are in raw speed, based on gigahertz power, or multiple processor use, which is rare with current software.

I can type the same speed on a Word document with a Pentium I as on an Intel DualCore. DVD playback is a constant speed, regardless of processor. Net surfing is more dependant on connection than processor. Well, you get the idea.

For Games and Video Editing, as you listed, it can be quite helpful. Whether it's $1000 better depends on what you have now.

[Neil]

I thought the advantage of a dual-core is it can process more than one program's instructions at once - or perhaps two sets of instructions from the same program, however all but the most recent ones cannot do this. Since playing a game isn't multitasking, it's singletasking (I don't download etc whilst playing) as far as I can see a faster single core would be better than an indivudually slower double-core. Right?