I dunno about you, but if you only build a system every 5-6 years, I say step up to the plate. Get something that will last you another 5 or so years at the minimum.
With that in mind, I say go quadcore and get 6GB+ of RAM. If you're wondering why go this route. It's because:
1) Adobe CS3/CS4 can eat all the RAM that you shove into it (I run XP64 with 6GB of RAM; on CS3 it runs well; on CS4 it's taxing the system)
2) Multi-tasking. I like the ability to do multiple things at once (e.g. photo processing, video encoding, etc. at the same time; or opening up hundreds of pictures in Adobe Camera RAW)
3) HD encoding - if you're considering any of the HD handy cams out there (home videos; processing/encoding for blu-ray)
I'd go with the i7 chip with all the RAM that you can cram into whatever motherboard you go with. Use onboard sound and video (or get a cheap video card that's hdcp capable).
With that in mind, I say go quadcore and get 6GB+ of RAM. If you're wondering why go this route. It's because:
1) Adobe CS3/CS4 can eat all the RAM that you shove into it (I run XP64 with 6GB of RAM; on CS3 it runs well; on CS4 it's taxing the system)
2) Multi-tasking. I like the ability to do multiple things at once (e.g. photo processing, video encoding, etc. at the same time; or opening up hundreds of pictures in Adobe Camera RAW)
3) HD encoding - if you're considering any of the HD handy cams out there (home videos; processing/encoding for blu-ray)
I'd go with the i7 chip with all the RAM that you can cram into whatever motherboard you go with. Use onboard sound and video (or get a cheap video card that's hdcp capable).