I already know the difference between the two systems that I am currently looking at, but my dad (given the type of guy he is) wants personal opinions from tech wizards. I can't, no matter how hard I try, to convince my dad to get either one.

My dad wants to the difference between a Single-core CPU mated with 2GB of PC/PC2 memory, and a dual-core CPU mated with 1GB of PC/PC2 memory. The reason I say both types of memory is because I've read reviews everywhere that there is no noticable diffirence between the two. Oh, yea. Both the CPU Types we are looking at are 64-bit CPUs. Another thing, we are looking at the Pents because we are on a budget.

Thanks

Also, can somebody explain in layman's terms how multithreading works? This is not for me, it's again for my dad. He really doesn't see the benifit of multi-threading right now.

Might give you the link as well: Intel multi-threaded marketing flash.

Wow, thanks for that find Mr Alpha

It is hard to say anything without knowing more about the systems and budget, and what the machine is for. But I can say that seldom are Intels cheapest dual-cores worth it. The loss of single-thread performance in favour of multi-thread performance only pays of in certain specific situations. Also, generally AMD is a cheaper than Intel.

Mostly home use... Medium gaming, burning, word processing, Visual Basic (my dad uses it), chatting, heavy internet surfing... For our budget we are looking at a max of ~$500 w/o monitor. We are also looking for a CPU faster than 2.5Ghz. Also, I went to Newegg and their Pents were cheaper than the AMDs. I don't know how, but it is.

Which processors were you comparing?

Athlons and P4 64-bit/PD

Ok I have no idea how, but I just found cheaper AMDs. Around the same price range that I found that P4 630 in... But here's the thing, my dad won't settle for anything under 2.4Ghz. AMD or intel

When looking at newegg.com the cheapest Athlon 64 was $120 and the cheapest Pentium $102 at One Day Sale. The $120 Athlon will outperform the $102 Intel with a nice margin. Honestly, though, with a $500 budget, looking at Semprons and Celerons might not be a stupid idea.

I wouldn't mind a Sempron or Celeron, but once again, my dad just can't sleep right if he owns one. I really have no idea what he wants. But I will talk to him as soon as I can to see if he just wants to shave a little money from not getting a top-of-the-line-ish CPU.

EDIT: I just talked to him, he doesn't want a Sempron or Celeron.