I've currently got an intel based 3.2 Ghz, hyper threading computer with 2GB
DDR pc2700 ram Windows XP pro OS and am considering upgrading to an AMD
based 4200+ 64 bit, dual core 2.2 Ghz with 2GB DDR pc3200 ram windows media
center edition OS.

I want to know if the upgrade will produce a significant improvement in
performance, or is my current machine not that far off and i should wait for
hardware to improve more before upgrading. I'm not a video game player, but
I'm a serious tournament chess player and run software that makes use of the
full 2 GB of ram and can benefit from the dual core feature. I also like to
do alot of multi-tasking such as web-surfing while running windows media
player and maybe a couple of other apps at the same time.

Thank you in advance for your response.