what is the best processor?

[v3rob11]

wondered which was the best processor on a computer these days, intel duo, AMD or intel pentium?? i'm lost! pls help....

[fo3nix]

"Best" is quite a subjective term.

However, dual core processors are "better" than single core ones in many ways.

Given this, try and go for the dual core processor -- Intel Core 2 Duo, etc.

AMD was leading the race a few years ago, but it seems that Intel (especially in low power devices like laptops), is now beatig them again.

[vehelpfulguy]

As fo3nix says, depends what you mean by "best".

Do you mean "I want to build a powerful server and money is no object" best, or

"I want to buy a PC for my use at home but have a limit of �500" best.

Also, do you mean for a desktop PC or a laptop PC?

Desktop PCs and laptop PCs use different processors so what is "best" in a desktop may not be "best" in a laptop.

Sorry to throw back so many questions but your own question was too vague.

It is like me asking "what is the best car to buy".

If you are a millionaire the answer will be different from a person who just want a family car to run around town.

[markysngc]

to put my 2 pence in...

Unless you are planning on using the computer to do stuff which involves serious number crunching you will often see a higher increase in "real world" performance from investing a bit more money in other parts of the system, like more RAM, faster hard drive or better graphics card. Although the CPU is the core of the computer all parts contribute to the overall performance.

[vehelpfulguy]

But assuming you want a PC or laptop for home use then as fo3nix says, the Intel Core 2 Duo are the "best" at the moment.

Here is a list of the current Intel CPUs, both for desktop and laptop

http://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea /eng/319641.htm

So the "best" desktop CPU is the E8500 (but note the CPU alone costs over �175)

The "best" laptop CPU is the T9500

If you do plan to buy a PC or laptop you can look at that list above and work out how powerful it is (the list has the faster CPUs at the top of the list)

Intel are gradually dropping the Pentium name and although there are some dual core Pentium CPUS they are not as good as the Core 2 Duo.

[fo3nix]

And after saying all of this, if you just want to search the net and type the odd Word document or edit a spreadsheet, then it doesn't matter what processor you get these days.

Same with RAM. 512MB or ideally 1GB RAM is enough for simple usage.

This changes dramatically if you start doing more serious photo editing, and especially with video editing and high-end gaming.

[SlackAlice]

And then there's Quad core too!

[v3rob11]

thanks for answers, sorry, yes i have around 500 quid to spend but was wondering which of the above was the quickest? i want a fast processor for my new home pc.....?

[fo3nix]

Go for a Core 2 Duo, ideally.