Systems Comparison - which is a better deal?

[jcondon]

I run a small business, and need an "off-the-shelf" solution for some fairly heavy-duty computing needs (data prep, table lookups, postal presorting). I have built systems in the past, but unfortunately have little time to work on projects like that anymore.

I found 2 ready-to-go systems that are fairly comparable (spec-wise and price-wise) and am looking for your opinions on which might be the best "processing bang for the buck" on my limited budget:

Compaq Presario SR1650NX (final price $579 USD)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2Ghz)
2000Mhz system bus
64k+64k L1
512k L2
1GB PC3200 DDR (system does not support Dual Channel) as 2x512MB, with 2 slots open(4GB max)
250GB SATA 7200rpm drive
Integrated ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 video chipset
CD and DVD drives
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Various software packages

HP Presario a1230n (final price $669 USD)
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (2.2Ghz)
2000Mhz system bus
64k+64k L1
1MB L2
1GB PC3200 Dual Channel DDR (system supports Dual Channel) as 2x512MB, with 2 slots open (4GB max)
200GB SATA 7200rpm drive
Integrated ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 video chipset
CD and DVD drives
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Various software packages

The first thing I plan to do for either machine is bump up the memory to 2GB (at least).

Note the main differences:
Processor speed
L2 cache size
Dual Channel DDR support

My main question is: are the main differences outlined above worth the extra $90, in terms of improved performance?? Is one machine more substantial/reliable/durable than the other?

Please note: this machine will not be used for any gaming, but for higher level data processing only.

Thanks very much for your opinions!

 

[One43637]

i would go with the HP, with the same reasoning you've already stated. yes, i think spending the extra $90 is worth it.