Ive been using the same pc since 2002 and now ive come to upgrade ive realised how far behind i am with technology, i was clued up when i got this pc (a P4 1.6 which feels like a zx spectrum at the moment) but everythings changed so much now, so i need peoples advice + info please.

how does the athlon fair against the pentium 4 now, ive noticed the actual clock speed of an athlon64 3500 is about 2.2ghz and the pentium equivilent is a p4HT 3.4, so music production wise is this clock speed difference significant or is the athlon performing in a differnt way and more powerful then its clock speed suggests.

i was originally planning on getting a p4 HT 3.4 based system but this new 64bit athlon looks interesting, am i right in understanding Cubase sx will run in the athlons 64 bit mode.
Any members of the forum producing music on athlon machines?, what are you thoughts about there performance etc.
i want to make sure im getting the most processing power music wise for my money, i dont care about games performance or anything like that as it will be a dedicated machine.


Im just a bit overwellmed by all the choice and new technology at the moment, any help or advice would be much appreciated :)