Excel 2003 recalc issue
 

I have 150 complicated Excel 2003 spreadsheets open with recalc set to
manual,plus Bloomberg which is providing real-time data via DDE to each
spreadsheet. All running on a fairly fast dual proc Dell with 4 GB of RAM.
The procs scream and peg out at 100% with each recalc for several minutes.
This did not happen with Excel 97 or 00. Do I need a quad core box? Can I
tweak Excel or my XP Pro OS?