INTEL:
It’s sometimes harder to choose the right part at the budget end than it is at the high-end.
The cheapest Intel processor (the Intel Celeron 430) sells for a shade over $40, but this is a 1.8GHz single-core part. Ideal if you don’t have anything particularly challenging to throw at it, but the single-core is a pretty big weakness, especially to power a modern operating system like Windows 7.
If you throw a little more money at the CPU, say another $10 you can grab an Intel Celeron E33002.5GHz dual-core part. At around $52 this part offers not only an extra core but a lot more power.
Throw another $10 at the CPU and for around $62 you can get the Intel Celeron E3500 which is also dual-core but bumps the speed up to 2.7GHz.
Since we’re spending the minimum possible on silicon here, we need to keep the motherboard modest too. That said, it still needs to be a decent board in terms of stability.
These CPUs all need a Socket LGA 775 motherboard.
The board I’m going with here is the BIOSTAR G31D-M7 featuring the G31 chipset. It’s a very basic board but does offer limited on-board graphics in the form of an Intel GMA 3100 GPU - nothing special but if you’re not planning on gaming or HD video, it’s fine. Price is a very reasonable $39.
Budget Intel CPU summary
Intel Celeron 430 - Single core - 1.8GHz - 32KB + 32KB L1 cache - 512KB L2 cache - $40
Intel Celeron E3300 - Dual core - 2.5GHz - 1MB L2 cache - $52
Intel Celeron E3500 - Dual core - 2.7GHz - 1MB L2 cache - $62
Main Stream:
OK, going mainstream gives us some more money to play with. A lot more considering Intel’s top-end CPUs go for $1,000! Fortunately though, you don’t have to spend as much as you think you might.
Looking through Intel’s current line-up of CPUs and one stands out head and shoulders above the rest in the mainstream category - and it’s only a shade over $200.
The CPU I have in mind is the quad-core, 2.8GHz Intel Core i5 760. This is a fantastic CPU retailing for $210. The four cores give you flexibility to carry out complex multitasking operations and do heavy lifting associated with multimedia rendering.
However, if you think that two cores is enough and you’d rather have more horsepower, then for pretty much the same price you can pick up a dual-core 3.33GHz Intel Core i5 661.
Both the CPUs I’ve listed need the newer Socket LGA 1156 motherboard.
The board I’m going for to match these CPUs is the Elitegroup ECS H55H-I. For $80 you get a good solid board.
Mainstream Intel CPU summary
Core i5 760 Quad core - 2.8GHz - 8MB L3 cache - $210
Core i5 661 - Dual core - 3.33GHz - 4MB L3 cache - $210
High-end
High-end is where things become fun - well, as long as you think spending money is fun.
At the high-end is the king of desktop CPUs - the Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition. This is a monster six-core, 3.33GHz part that represents the absolute best of the best - it should, for $999! When it comes to CPUs, this one is the best of the best of the best … with honors!
The i7 980X needs a Socket LGA 1366 motherboard, and one of the best boards featuring this socket is the EVGA E758-A1. This is a super board featuring 2-way and 3-way SLI and Crossfire support, meaning you can choose to go with NVIDIA or AMD for your GPU.
High-end Intel CPU summary
Core i7 980X Extreme Edition - Hexa core - 3.33GHz - 6 x 256KB L2 cache - 12MB L3 cache - $999
AMD:
Just like I did for Intel CPUs, I’m going to give you a selection of AMD CPUs in the $50 - $60 price range to choose from.
At the low end of the price spectrum is the AMD Athlon II X2 240, a dual-core 2.8GHz part that retails for around $50. For a shade under $60 you can get the Athlon II X2 245, same as before except this one runs at 2.9GHz. Finally, for a shade over $60 you can get the Athlon II X2 250 which boosts the clock speed even further to 3.0GHz.
If you want to spend another $10 and take your budget to $70 then you can pick up the Athlon II X3 425, a triple-core processor that runs at 2.7GHz. If you are going to be handling multimedia on the PC, then this might be the better choicer of the set.
All the processors use Socket AM3 motherboards. A great board to complement any of these parts is theBIOSTAR MCP6P, which features on-board NVIDIA 6150 GPU for graphics. All in all a great deal for $40.
Budget AMD CPU summary
Athlon II X2 240 - Dual core - 2.8GHz - 2 x 1MB L2 cache - $50
Athlon II X2 245 - Dual core - 2.9GHz - 2 x 1MB L2 cache - $60
Athlon II X2 250 - Dual core - 3.0GHz - 2 x 1MB L2 cache - $60
Athlon II X3 425 - Triple core - 2.7GHz - 3 x 512KB L2 cache - $70
Mainstream
With AMD processors being significantly cheaper than Intel’s offerings, the mainstream segment of the market is at a lower price than it was when we looked at Intel CPUs. In fact, it’s around the $100 mark.
Two CPUs stand out in this range. First is the quad-core AMD Athlon X4 630 that runs at 2.8GHz and retails for around $95. This is a great choice for those looking for plenty of cores to handle demanding multimedia work.
If you’d rather fewer cores with more power, then you want the AMD Phenom X2 560 Black Edition, which while only being a dual-core part it hums along at a cool 3.3GHz.
A good motherboard to go with these CPUs is the ASUS M4A77D which is a solid, reliable board that offers those who want too tweak the chance to try their hand at overclocking - all that for under $80.
Mainstream AMD CPU summary
AMD Athlon X4 630 - Quad core - 2.8GHz - 4 x 512MB L2 cache - $95
Phenom X2 560 Black Edition - Dual core - 3.3GHz - 2 x 512KB L2 cache - $95
High-end
The high-end choice for those wanting to power their PCs with AMD silicon is a no-brainer. AMD has the six-corePhenom II X6 1090T Black Editionprocessor. This runs at a whopping 3.2GHz and retails for around $270 - an absolute steal! Think about it - six cores for under $300. That’s pure awesome.
A great motherboard to complement this fantastic CPU is the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula which offers plenty of tweakability to allow you to get the most from the unlocked Black Edition processor. This motherboard will set you back $220.
High-end AMD CPU summary
Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition - Hexa core - 3.2GHz - 6 x 512KB L2 cache - 6MB L3 cache - $220
