Just a quick note on my setup. I've installed my memory (the Corsair, which is OK but not great) and the AMD chip and Motherboard:

ASUS M4A88TD-M ATX Motherboard $98
AMD Phenom II X2 3.2 GHz 2x512 KB L2 + L3 Cache Dual-Core $89

I figured I try out an option I'd seen on other forums of unlocking the cores on the AMD. AMD basically makes one chip -- a 4-processor Phenom II x4 ... if they disable the l3 cache, they call it an Athlon (dropping 30% off the price); if they disable one or two cores, they call it an x3 or x2 (knocking 25% to 50% off the price). It's all marketing so they can address different markets and pricepoints. Blackbox chips can be overclocked (the 3.2Ghz can be made higher ... in the extreme, they've gone up to 7GHz with this chip); blue and green box can't.

Fortunately, Asus has motherboards (e.g., M4A88TD-M) that override AMD's settings -- just flip a physical switch on the MB or go to the startup menu. It takes no time at all. I was able to turn on all four cores and overclock to ~3.5 GHz within a few minutes and everything is stable.

Realtracks and Realdrums compile in <3 seconds, even if I have RealTracks on all of the sequencer tracks. I checked and all four cores are being used about equally during this process -- I think that Win 7 does most of the load balancing and assignment of cores.

Anyway, if you are looking for a quick upgrade on the cheap, this is a great way to do it.

Last edited by westland; 10/24/10 12:58 PM.