yeah...Core 2 Duos are. I built my C2D system last week. Installed XP 64-bit and then i just ended up taking it off and puttin gon the regular 32-bit version because i couldn't get the stuff to work that well.
my vote is to wait for vista's 64-bit technology cuz IMO XP Pro 64-bit sucks and isn't even worth putting on for free (mine came bundled w/ pro for $5 and i don't use it.)
adn BTW my conroe stock is slighltly slower than a FX-62 and w/ a good mobo it was only $400 (US) total. So...no Intel's 64-bit chips are not expensive, at least for what you get.
