I've had my computer for a while now, and this seems to be about the right time to get a new one. I've been hearing a lot about Intel's new generation CPU's, and I've got Vue 6I related questions.

My current system is:

Windows XP Home SR2

2.53 GHZ Pentium 4

2 gig RAM

256 meg ATI Radeon 9600 AGP Video Card

       

The typical system everyone seems to be offering now is:

 

Windows XP Media Center (most offer free upgrade to Vista when it’s released)

2.13 GHZ Core 2 Duo E6400

2 gig RAM

256 meg ATI or nVidia Video Card

   

Questions:

1. Does Vue6I see the Core 2 Duo as one processor or two?
2. If two, does Vue6I automatically use both, or do I have to set up a render cow?
3. Do I need a 64 bit OS for Vue6I to fully utilize the power of the Core 2 Duo?
4. If I get a system like the one above, how much speed increase should I expect to see over my current system?

Any information I can get is most helpful and appreciated.

 Thanks!

I'd rather stay in my lane than lay in my stain!

Not sure about Intel's dual core, but with my AMD 64 4800+,  Vue does show it as two processors.  I don't know for sure if it's utilizing both, but the speed increase is quite noticeable.  And No, you do not need a 64 bit OS for Vue to utilize the cpu (unless you have more than 2Gb Ram).  

I run a E6600 CoreDuo system with a Intel 975XBX sys bd + 4gb ram and a QuadroFx board.

This system simply fly! It's much faster ( ~ 30 / 40%) than the previosly already fast AMD X2 4400+
And is extremely faster than any P4 based system, including the D dual core version.

Vue5 infinite and 6 take full advantage of both cores when it's time to render.

You simply need XP home or Pro 32bit version.

From the preliminary benchmark I made there is NO speed difference between 32 and 64bit op.sys. with the current Vue6 release running some supplied demo scenes. Other user opinion welcomed!

I own exactly the configuration you mentioned in your first post. My old PC was a Pentium 4 2,53 GHz with only 512 MB RAM. So for me the speed of my new compuer is a HUGE difference compared to my old one - however, when talking about Vue I don't know if it's just my PC that's performing better or if it's also the rewritten rendering engine of Vue 6.

In any case I absolutely recommend the new Intel Core 2 Duo. And yes, Vue recognizes both CPUs.

SpacegFX, dis you get the 64bit version of Vue? Or the 32bit?

Thanks all! This is just the kind of information I was looking for.

I'd rather stay in my lane than lay in my stain!

Running 64-bit doesn't get you more speed necessarily, but it will give you better memory usage.  If you have 4GB, you can use all 4GB.  All my 32-bit system uses is 3GB of the 4GB that I have on the board. 

www.lingriffin.com

@bruno021: I got Vue6 Infinite, the specs say: "Enjoy better memory management, a native 64 bit architecture and improved efficiency in managing large scale scenes." I run the installer in both the op.sys. without problem, during the week end I will run some heavy scenes benchmark.

One last question.

If I get a new system, will I get any benefit from using my old system as a render-cow?

 

Thanks again.

I'd rather stay in my lane than lay in my stain!

I have a quad processor, 16 gigs of ram and a 1 gig video card...and Vue still crashes!! If you are trying to render a scene with both displacment maps and SSS - vue will go down faster than a girl on prom night.

If you are getting a Core 2 Duo, make sure to overclock it. I'm running my E6400 at 3200MHz right now.