[john_the_ultimate]

Amd is good for gaming but for multimedia and graphic related stuff, Intel exceeds (not by much). But dual core from both AMD and INTEL are good.
So if u r buying dual core CPU then opt for anyone, depending on ur budget.
Dual core is certainly future proof.

As for heating.....I have AMD64 3000+ (stock frequency 1.8GHz) running at 2.7GHz on stock cooling with idle temp. of 40-41C and load temp. of 52-53C.
So guess AMD surely runs cooler.
Before had Intel Prescott 3.0GHz HT......idle temp, of 48-49C and load of 65-66C.

One more thing I am running WINXP PRO 32-bit on it and also have used 64-bit version. So no problem with compatiblity with 32-bit and 64-bit version. Even vista runs fine on my friends machine (AMD64 3500+).