Which Route? Dual or Single

[dakotagts]

I do not plan to build a computer till around september, but I am trying to figure this all out over the summer.

I dont have a real buget restriction, but I am wanting to drop around $500 on the processor. Which one will give me versitility to encode dvd's, edit photos, and play most games at their faster times, without being on the cutting edge of technology. I will not be doing these tasks at the same time, so I guess I may not need the dual processor yet? unless it speeds those tasks over a faster single processor?

Again I am waiting till september, so what is high end that will be close to mainstream in september, and is there anything coming out in that time span that I will want to wait for?

Thanks for your input.

 

[FallenHero]

Conroe. September is gonna be a good month to pick them up.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Conroe (will be marketed by Intel as Core Duo) is what you want. And yes, a dual-core CPU will help you with encoding DVDs and photo editing. It'll help with some games too.