Yep, I agree that PowerPC's handle it better than x86 chips. Tis a shame Apple dropped them, not really any options for desktop use anymore.

I also agree that acceleration always helps. In my case when I'm playing back H.264 my CPU is pegged with very little margin for error. Again, no dropped frames but nothing going on in the background either. I haven't tested with HT disabled so I don't know how much that helps. I would guess that going dual core would allow for more headroom and decreased cpu utilization.

I guess it's time to start saving for that next upgrade.