Jeff,
A 1.3gHz dual core will be slower than a 3gHz single core...if you can find a single core. I would be hard pressed to identify a single new computer that uses a single core processor. Actually, I just looked. Both HP and Dell still sell Intel Celeron and AMD Sempron single core computers in desktops, they're about 2-2.5gHz, but they are the most base models, and aren't appropriate for doing audio work.

The biggest thing with laptops is BATTERY LIFE! The slower the CPU, the less power it consumes, the less heat it generates, and the longer the battery life. For things that most laptops do, e-mail, word processing, web browsing, and watching movies, don't require a great deal of computational power, which is why a slower processor is showing up in new laptops instead of the blazing fast ones in desktops. But, you can run the computer for four or five hours, or even 8-10 hours with a Netbook.

If you're interested in getting a new computer to do audio, I still recommend a desktop. If there is some very urgent need for a laptop, find the most powerful, most cores and most memory that you can find, with the largest screen, and don't plan on using batteries.

Gary

Last edited by Gary Curran; 11/13/10 11:04 PM.
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!