09 quad vs. octo in real life in next 2 yrs?

[pcconvert]

Refurbished store lists 2.93 quad @ $2550. If I complete it I get this:

mac 2550
memory 3x4gb 870
ssd Intel 160gb 600
matrox hd 550

plus 2x1TB stripe for data

all together for ~$4700

2.93 Octo is $2500 more @2.93.

My thinking is that most apps today benefit from faster core rather then from their quantity. The selected few (FCP?) might use all cores (?) but what would be real life difference in running FCP and AE on 12GB quad vs. octo? Let's leave encoding out of this, I'd use matrox HD compressor for that.

Would setup above be ok?

 

[gugucom]

If memory bandwidth is an issue the octad will give you at least 50% more. No idea if that is going to hit you. It depends of the intensity of CPU use.

http://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/Framework.cfm?page=/Benchmarks/NehalemTests.html