I just got a new machine with dual core and I really like it. I don't have a lot to base comparisons on, but it renders nicely on Carrara. You can watch both processors render independently in the render room, and also in the sky preview and spot renders in the assembly room. Reminds me of watching Bryce lightning. The specs are as follows: 2.8 ghz dual core 800 FSB 2 gig DDR2 ram 160 gig SATA HD XP Pro Seems to render roughly twice as fast as my AMD 2800 processor. I do think the AMD chips are faster, but I got a good deal on this, with 19" flat panel & DVD combo burner the total was around $1500+. Patrick