Sandra 2005's CPU math tests show the current system's Core 2 Quad leading the previous Core 2 Duo system by around 100%.

Multimedia Extensions tests again show that twice the cores provide around twice the computing power of the earlier system's processor.

Four core processors can potentially make better use of Intel's high data rate FSB than dual cores, but Intel's chipsets also typically show better memory bandwidth than nVidia's. PC Mark 2005 showed the former system's memory performance as superior, but Sandra 2005 has a much greater bias towards our new build. Because of this difference, it's probably a good thing that we use both of these applications to test memory performance, rather than relying on one or the other.