Well, I had a Dell, and then Kidd got a hold of it. The only thing left from that system is the processor and the CD/DVD Rom Drive - I have a new hard drive, new video card, additional memory (can't remember if we kept the old and added or just replaced it entirely), new power supply, and a spiffy new large case with lots of fans. I know I will have to upgrade the motherboard when I get a new processor, but I'm hoping I can do so in such a way as to keep all the other components that are all < 6 months old.
Is it worth it to go with quad core at this point or would a dual core be sufficient? I know the faster the processor the better, but is there an arbitrary number that I should not go below?