Looking at Intel CPU's ... the hyperthreading CPUs seem to be the same price as the dual core CPU's. Is there any reason why I shouldnt go with a dual core?

 

My 1.83 core duo is noticeably faster than my 2.8 p4 hyperthreading

 

same exact system specs?

 

Can we throw the Extreme Edition in this mix?

 

no, completely different

but from my understanding hyperthreading imitates a dual core, which has some (small) drawbacks. Dual core is better than hyperthreading, all else being equal.

 

can't really have one processor doing what 2 processors are capable off. I rather have a 2X 800mhz core than one 2.4ghz core like my friend. The differences is huge think of it as having 2 computers in one computer

 

hyperthreading = one core pretending to be 2
dualcore = two physical cores inside of one cpu

the p4 has hyperthreading because its an inefficient design, hyperthreading is employed to make use of idle resources on the chip that would otherwise do nothing

but buying a dualcore p4 isnt even worth it. core2 duo is the best processor you can buy at the moment, while the price/performance ratio the athlon64 x2's (now that they've been massively price cut) will greatly exceed that of the p4's

 

i think that buying a p4 dual core isn't such a bad idea, i mean you can get one for like 90 bucks. It's some sort of a ganga.

 

Good review:
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5692