[Brian Reyman]

I recently upgraded to an i7 processor (from an older dual-core) and use Premiere CS4 to edit my AVCHD footage. The difference is HUGE. My render times are 5 times faster in some cases and I can now playback the timeline completely smoothly, even with some filters applied. Prior to the upgrade, I was hardly able to play back more than a few seconds without problems.

Go for the i7 – it’s well worth it.