Fall Processor Pricing - Finding the Best Bang for the Buck

[Rob Williams]

If pondering an upgrade, the time to purchase a new processor is now. Both AMD and Intel are offering a great collection of models that fit all budgets, and we take a look to find the best options available. Whether it's a Dual-Core or Quad-Core you're after, there's undoubtedly a model that fits into your price range and won't let you down.

You can read the full guide here and discuss it here.

Have not read a CPU/price review in awhile as there have not been any on the main HW review sites, it was a pleasure to get a recap on the latest prices!

It would be great if you could also add a processing power/watt aspect to your analysis of "best processor".

I always look to build fast but very quiet machines by always keeping an eye on the thermal envelope. I've avoided quad cores because of this. Most of the time, the extra processors are just sitting there heating the case and doing nothing. With a cooler processor, you can ramp down the CPU fan and keep it all nice and quiet.

At the moment, I think the E8400 hits the sweet spot for crunching power at a TDP of only 65W.

This aspect would also be great for anyone building a home theater pc. Here you're best off with the coolest running processor that can just do the job well. Even better if you can passively cool the CPU.

ianwij

i would like u guys to suggest good mothjer boards also for the recommended processor....like for eg a mobo for E7200

[Rob Williams]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Have not read a CPU/price review in awhile as there have not been any on the main HW review sites, it was a pleasure to get a recap on the latest prices!

Thanks for the comments!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It would be great if you could also add a processing power/watt aspect to your analysis of "best processor".

Those are great ideas. I'll definitely implement them into the next pricing guide we do.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i would like u guys to suggest good mothjer boards also for the recommended processor....like for eg a mobo for E7200

That's a good idea... and one I'll have to consider in the future. The problem is that we don't always review budget motherboards, so it's hard for me to recommend a great CPU for a great price and then a $250 motherboard on the side. We'll have to expand our motherboard section and get a better feel for low-priced boards and then consider adding that information to our future guides.

Thanks guys, great ideas.

[IrvinJ]

Just what the doctor ordered. In the process of spec'ing out a new iNtel build and was very undecided, which processor to choose. Your hard work sure made my process of choice much more comfortable. Thanks.

[Rob Williams]

Glad the article helped! Enjoy your new rig.

I buy technology for a school system and I enjoy finding clear informative articles like this. Your analysis of the various CPU offerings provided some insight into the current CPU offerings and a glimpse of Intel's future. I will be stopping by to read further articles if they are similar to this one.

Thanks for the good work,

Robert T

Thanks a lot for giving the first definitively clear article I've seen in the last several net hours of being on the computer. My current laptop is the victim of one of my "horizontally gifted" friends, who sat on it. The screen has a growing black spot, the battery life is gone, cord's destroyed and God knows what else. I'm just going to start with a new laptop.

The sad thing is, I'm a mere mortal, and don't have the know how or the will to build my own laptop. Instead, i'm just shopping around at local best buy's and circuit cities for the best deal. I'm looking at under six hundred dollars for everything.

My problem is, with regards to your excellent guide and its comparisons, none of the CPU's in the papers are in your charts. In laptops, all I can find are AMD's turion processors and some Centrino Core 2 duo T series (as in T6400). Any recommendations on what I should look for in just the average consumer market? Or any way I can get a better processor into a new laptop without spending too much?

Thanks for your help, Ben.

[Rob Williams]

Hi Ben:

This article was focusing around desktop processors, not notebook processors, so this can't really be used for that purpose. Notebook processors are a slightly different breed, and the models are completely different. Notebook CPUs usually have lower frequencys, less cache, a lower front-side bus and of course, lower power draw. They're physically different too... a desktop processor wouldn't fit in a notebook CPU socket.

If you are looking to spend $600 or less, then it's hard to be that choosy. In that case, I'd just take a look at all the potential notebooks you'd be looking at, then compare their specs. I'm really not sure what kind of CPU you'll find at that price-range, but I don't really think it matters. At that price-point, CPU power isn't going to be the main concern... rather it will be features and the like. I think it would be much easier to get a decent notebook if you bumped that to $800. At anything lower, corners are really being cut.

Sorry for being completely ignorant. Thats what happens when I pretend to understand something.

What, in your mind, constitutes a "decent notebook"? I've been looking around, and think I can manage 3 easily, maybe 4 giggabytes of RAM and a 320 giggabyte hard drive. Aside from those things though, I really don't know what to look for.

Also, what type of corners tend to be cut in a cheaply made laptop? It seems every ad notes great harddrive space, or increased ram. I take it then that there is more to consider, when looking around? Beyond harddrive space and RAM capability, I mean.

[Kougar]

Well then, make a top 3 list of what is the most important for your laptop based around what you plan to use it for. Battery life, weight, portability, durability, and price are some considerations. Mostly, it depends what you plan to do with the laptop... ie gaming, lots of typing, rendering, a general jack-of-all-trades, or something that doesn't need a wall outlet every few hours....

Building your own laptop is not something I (Nor I think anyone else here) recommends... you will pay more to build your own laptop than what you can get off the shelf. Cheap notebooks tend to sacrifice durability and will feel cheap, many will have plenty of flex in their chassis/frames or minimal display protection which is bad. Lower end hardware is obvious, but things like a celeron processor also tend to have more power consumption than higher-end and much faster processors. They also tend to have slower 5400 or 4200RPM drives... a desktop drive rotates at 7200RPM, and the performance difference is very palatable to the user.