I need more cores. That is for sure.
Rendering is my hobby, and a good render used to take over 12 hours on Pentium 4.

(Try Vue full scene rendering with Ultra High quality.)
It was reduced by literally half when Athlon X2 was introduced.
It was further reduced by Core 2 duo, and then Core 2 quad.
Still, 4 cores take more than an hour which is still a PITA to work with. My dual Barcelona system scored similar to Q6600, so, I didn't bother using the platform except for WCGing.
Now, my dual E5410 is in making, I should be able to get rendering done in less than an hour.

Though it will only be a matter of time that I become dissatisfied with 8 cores. I suppose that's where Nehalem comes in, and perhaps I can get rendering done in a half hour?
Oh..., dear lord. My dream is perhaps within my reach.
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