I am puchasing some computers for a design group using Solid Works as a 3D development tool along with Viz 5 as a rendering engine. We also use all the Adobe tools.

My question is this. I was going to order the pentium 4 3.2 GHz EM64T processor. Will I gain any advantage (speed, useable life etc.) by spending an extra $550 to get the 3.6 GHz processor.

The rest of the pertinent data is 2GB RAM 1MB L2 Cache 800MB front side bus.

Hello and welcome to Techspot. I don`t think you would notice that much difference in speed between the 3.2ghz and the 3.6ghz therefore My personal opinion is to go with your first option and spend the rest on other peripherals etc. Regards Howard

Design software uses speed more than anyother generally speaking.So the fastest you can be for the longest period of time can only be justified by your pocketbook.For instance The Prescott is supposed to go past 4 Ghz in the next few months.It is a vicious circle.So you may not notice the difference between 3.2 >3.6 you will see a difference between 3.2 and 4. I really think it comes down to how much you can spend over what period of time.
Since you are making a signifcant investment there are suppliers that would alow you to test both CPU's to see if one makes any difference for your production level thereby you will have a better idea if the speed difference really affects your bottom line.
Good luck