any computer geeks out their can tell me the difference between the old quad core(Q9550) and the new (core i7 920)?
the 920 uses ddr3 sdram at 1066 mhz and the 9550 uses ddr2 sdram at 800 mhz. the 920 is newer technology the diff in price can be ?200ish.
the 920 is therefore faster and better technology but comes at a is a faster processor but slower in gaming because it has less cache
I'm still doing my studies, but without looking I'm sure that the core on a CPU is a maths processor called a floating point core. If you are into playing high end games or editing / producing videos or music you might need the higher powered tecknology However I'm reasonably sure that most of those machines are using a 64 bit wide bus, which a lot of software doesn't support. Personally I would seek advice about the best system to meet my needs and that is supported by the software I use, not just go for the latest tecknology.