[Dream] Quad core or just Dual core?

[andrei.henry at utoronto.ca]

> Intel's dual core processors seem to average slightly higher, but they
> cost, like, twice as much. Anyway: Should I even bother going
> quad-core? I use my computer for music production, and don't run more
> than two (rewired) apps simultaneously, so I'm not really much of a
> multitasker. 

there are plenty of things going on in your system even when zero rewired
apps are running - system-level stuff.  being able to off-load the OS'
responsibilities on to a core and have others available for apps is a good
idea.  also, i'm not sure what sequencer you're using, but some are
optimized for multicore.  i'm willing to bet that when you bought your P4,
you thought to yourself "ha!  i'll never run out of processing power
again!".  so don't be too quick to dismiss a quad :)


> (Partly because the store I'll order my
> system from doesn't have the 64 FX's in store.)

thought: if they can't get what you want, you could always order it
yourself online and bring it in to the store.

> As for RAM: Do I really need more than 2048 GB?

no, two terabytes of RAM should just about do it ;)  i'm sure you meant
2048 MB, or 2 GB of RAM... 

> Are there other factors that I need to take into consideration for
> performance?

you might want to consider building your own - it's really not that hard. 
when i was shopping for my last system, i couldn't find what i wanted for a
decent price - so i scooted on over to www.newegg.com, bought all the
parts, and spent a weekend assembling it.  cost me half as much as the
closest pre-fab alternative, and i learned quite a bit about hardware too.

> I'm thinking about this graphics card from Sapphire
> (because it is cheaper than many others, and has two DVI plugs - in
> case I want to use two monitors) There is a lot of fancy details here,
> but it's all Greek to me:
>
http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=162&grp=3

first thing that i note is that this baby has a fan = extra noise...
something to keep in mind.  if this machine is truly for muzak only and
you're not installing Vista, you could downgrade a little - go for a
fanless 128 MB card.  but if you're going to be doing some gaming, then
that sapphire looks like a good choice

> And nobody needs to bother suggesting Apple. 

that's generally sage advice

<ducks>

'drei :)




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