Originally Posted by
PTravel
A clarification: a single program written for a multi-core CPU can run parts of itself on each core, resulting in a much faster experience. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere are two programs that support multi-core CPUs.
To a lesser extent, the same is true for hyperthreading ("virtual cores"; dual core i3/i5/i7 have 4, most quad-core i5/i7 have 8)... for those whose experience with this was in the underwhelming form it took back in the Pentium 4 days, it's worth revisiting.
Originally Posted by DeoreDX
Honestly for what you just mentioned my $500 Asus K50 Core 2 T4500 laptop runs just as good as my $2k Dell Mobile Precision M6500 w/ i7.
I'd expect it would. Not likely to be as good on battery life as comparably-clocked i3 or Core 2 Duo of the same generation, but otherwise more than quick enough for general use.