Which PC should become my main system

Hi:

I've been using PC #1 for a few years and just bought #2 to network in as a music client. But I'm wondering if I should shift #2 to be my main system and put #1 into service as the client. If I do, I'll have to spend time moving files and loading tons of software into the new system. Want to see if it's worth the effort and aggravation. Assume that the dvd drives will be the same. System 1 has add on sound and video cards; system 2 will use the onboard.

I sometimes run Photoshop. do a lot of music listening, burning, ripping, etc., but no gaming. Not sure if I have all the info needed -- one system has Sisoft Sandra, other Auslogic System info.

Thanks for leading me to the right choice.

PC #1

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.20GHz
Speed : 3.20GHz
Performance Rating : PR7034 (estimated)
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 16kB Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 2MB ECC Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe USB FireWire/1394
MP Support : 1 Processor(s)
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : AT/AT COMPATIBLE INTEL - 697
Mainboard : Intel Corporation DG965RY
Total Memory : 2GB

Chipset 1
Model : Intel Corporation ??? (29A0)
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 200MHz (800MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : Radeon X1300/X1550 Series
Sound Card Creative SB Audigy 4 (WDM)

PC #2

Processor Name: AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual Core Processor BE-2400
Videocard Name: NVIDIA GeForce 7050 PV / NVIDIA nForce 630a
Installed Memory: 1,790.48 MB


Physical Processors: 1
Logical Processors: 2
Processor Vendor: AMD
Processor Name: AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual Core Processor BE-2400
Additional Name: x86 Family 15 Model 11 Stepping 2
Popular Name: Athlon X2 Dual Core Processor BE-2400
Frequency: 2520 MHz

Cache Level I: 128 KB
Motherboard Vendor: Abit
Motherboard Model: AN-M2HD(MCP68)
Installed Memory Modules: 4
Supported Speeds: 70ns,60ns
Supported Types: Standard,EDO
Supported Voltage: 5V
Maximum Slot Size: 32MB
Memory Socket #1: A0
Memory Size #1: 0MB
Memory Speed #1: 5ns
Memory Type #1: Other,Unknown,EDO
Memory Socket #2: A1
Memory Size #2: 0MB
Memory Speed #2: 5ns
Memory Type #2: Other,Unknown,EDO
Memory Socket #3: A2
Memory Size #3: 1024MB
Memory Speed #3: 5ns
Memory Type #3: Other,Unknown,EDO
Memory Socket #4: A3
Memory Size #4: 1024MB
Memory Speed #4: 5ns
Memory Type #4: Other,Unknown,EDO
Video Adapter Name: NVIDIA GeForce 7050 PV / NVIDIA nForce 630a
Video Memory: 512.00 MB
Chipset Name: GeForce 7050 PV / NVIDIA nForce 630a
BIOS Name: Version 5.67.32.24.03
BIOS Date: 08/06/07

Yea, PC2 is a better system. For starters, it has two REAL cores, none of this hyperthreading stuff. Second, although the speed is actually slower, the K8 arch is clock for clock faster then netburst. 2.5GHz on the K8 should be faster then 3.2GHz on the Netburst arch. It won't be blow your hair back faster, but it should be a bit quicker.

As long as you can put a real video card into PC2, go for it. If the video card from PC1 won't move over, or PC1 lacks onboard, you should probably keep things the way they are. (or buy a cheap $20 video card, servers don't need GPU power.)

that's not a bad option, but i dont think the OP is planning on spending any money.

for working with audio files, having a real dual core cpu will help. more processing power. and it should provide a smoother overall experience.

i wouldn't be able to bear knowing that theres a faster system than my current one within reach that isn't doing anything that an old pentium 3 machine could do just as well.

Sata vs IDE doesn't matter for the most part. Drives are only just now able to fill ATA100, they might be fast enough to fill ATA133. Your 60GB drive however is rather old, with a low density per platter. This means the drive heads need to spend more time waiting for the spot on the platter to come around then if it was a newer drive. A newer drive will beat your older 60GB drive, but not because its SATA.

I would look at the Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB. It's fast and reliable but a little louder than some 1TB drives.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/15363/1
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