Each intel core has 2mb cache allocated to it, so the 4/8 MB is pretty much just giving each of the processors its own space.
The on board soundcard apparantly supports 7.1
http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/21...3MHz_FSB_.aspx
That's pretty good, the videocard will pull its weight for quite a bit too. Like happydude said, it'll play the newest games, just don't expect to run crysis on max settings and 1900 x 1400 resolution
.