need dual cores?

[bogyver]

I dont really belive that one needs to have a dual core system, I orgionaly had a sempron 2800 on a skt 754 board with a ai x1550 that would play back hd mpeg2 with out a problem.
Emmulation of the systems you mentioned should be no problem on any modren proccessor
I have since upgraded to a AMD Turion mobile (see sig) and a nvidia 8500gt to get better vmr9 playback
IMO unless your building a dual prupose system or are going to have alot going on in the back ground you dont need it.
I opted for a mobile proccessor becuase of heat, spent a little more money but it was worth it. I am currently considering buying a lower power 25 watt :eek:, faster turion to make comskiping the hd recording go faster, also i figure if your going to upgrade why not go faster, and generate less heat.
A good video card will help you with hd video and using pvrx2, alot more than a proccessor will from my experinces

[oostertoaster]

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it. I've done a little more hunting on newegg, and it looks like I can get a 65W Athlon X2 4000+ for $57, about the same prices as the 45W single core I was looking at. From what I've heard here, I think the dual core is slightly more important than the 20W savings (which I might be able to achieve by undervolting anyway) so I think I'll get the dual core.

[thisisnotadrill]

Don't forget that with AMD's Cool'n'quiet technology you really only see that 20W difference at full load

http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/cpu_mobo/amd/be2350/

check out this review. it has the 45W parts up against some 65W parts. there is indeed a 20W difference at full load, but at idle its only ~2W. You mileage will vary by your computer usage, but I dont think its going to be too far off to just simplify the relationship and say its going to be an approximately linear increase with load. so if your computer, on average, is only at 50% load the difference will be closer to 10W than 20. and if we are talking about an HTPC with hardware decoding for HD signals your average load will likely be even lower.

[Lindsay]

Good choice going with the dual core. They are just more responsive when doing multiple things. There is little price incentive to go single core so go for it.

[Caseyjones]

I use the Core2 6750 with a big Zalman Fan set at minimium speed (can't hear it)

I have never seen the CPU above 50% even playing HD content and the temperature varies between 25 C and 32 C max. If I was setting up again I would go for the next processor down perhaps even the one below that. Obviously CPU usage will depend on the graphics card you are using as well.

Forgot to add you are also have the capability later to go to quad core (should you need it )

[peterh]

Any thoughts on a 2.33 quad core as opposed to a 2.66 Dual; eg Q8200 against 6750 - not much difference in price?