AMD Phenom quad 3.2GHZ
16GB RAM (1333)
7200RPM 500GB drive
Radeon 5250 video
I have the CPU overclocked to 3.8 with no hitches. System does certain things lightning fast. Others still take a few moments, but waaaay quicker than my previous 1 core setup nonetheless. It opens up projects very fast all things considered, and i haven't had a serious processing problem w/ large projects yet (knock on wood!).
If you're upgrading from a dual core, quad core is defintely fast. I've never been on a dual core for extended time so I can't truly comment on the speed difference. But definitely get 3.0ghz and up, depending on what you can afford and what your mobo will allow. That clock speed does make a noticeable difference.
---------- Post added at 10:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 AM ----------
If anybody has an SSD i'd be interested to know if they notice any real-time speed difference with loading sample libraries and other hard-drive related things.