Which one is better

I can't figure out whether a Dual Xeon 2.4 Ghz is better than a P4 3.2 Ghz.

Is there a big difference between the two?

I will be using it for a webservers and both have 1 GB of RAM.

This belongs in Processer's, but anyway, here are some hints. The Xeon is a CPU specifically built for server applications. The P4 is built more for home use. 2 > 1.

True, 2 IS greater then one, but from what I've heard about multiple CPU mobos is that the OSes out for them dont utilize the other CPU, or at least not enough to note a performance increase, although you would think that having 2 (expensive) CPUs would improve performance. I had a friend build a dual-xeon box, but I'm an AMD guy.

If he's using it as a webserver and is using an actual professional multi-processing OS like Winblows 2003 Server with IIS or some enterprise Linux distros, he will certainly notice a difference. It's home use with non-multi-threading/processing OS's and applications where you will never notice a difference.

true, but who has server 2003

Who can't "get" a copy of server 2003?

I have a perfectly legitimate copy of Windows Server 2003, Longhorn, Virtual Server 2005, Windows XP Pro, XP Home, and quite a few other programs, all of which I paid nothing for. My secret? MS academic software exchange. Speak to your friendly High School Technology teacher to see if you have it.

Too bad the teacher that fits that description wont give me anything BEFORE he found out that I'm a hacker (oy what a funny time that was). I've got Pro corp but will get longhorn and server 2003 once I find a need for it. But as to the thread we're posting in, go with the Xeons. intel built those chips for one purpouse - servering. You're going to use them dual in a server application with a good dual-CPU capable server OS? Rock on.