CPU Guidance

[James Colbert]

I haven't built a new system in a few years and am considering doing so
soon. I also haven't had the time to keep up with the latest hardware
developments. That being the case:

1) What is considered to be a stable, solid performing processor at a
reasonable price (from what I've read, $200-$300 will bring a pretty decent
CPU these days)?

2) Is it worth going quad core? I don't do gaming, but often do proccessor
intensive tasks, i.e., image editing (large files in LR & PS) and I do a lot
of multi-tasking. I'd like some overhead.

3) I currently have both AMD and Intel based systems. Is there any reason
NOT to go with one or the other?

Any mainboard guidance also welcome (with at least 2 or 3 slots for PCI
devices, i.e., NIC, sound cared, etc.).

Thanks for any input,
James

 

[baynole2]

You might look at this: http://computershopper.com/feature/how-to-shop-for-a-new-cpu

There are some nice 2 & 3 core units available for less than $200US.
From what I read, AMDs have less cache, but tend to be the bargains.

Price chart: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_cpu.asp?name=CPUs

 

[James Colbert]

Thanks to all for your replies. They have helped put me on the right track.

I decided to go with:

Asus PQ5 Pro
Intel Q9550
Corsair 4GB DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

Thanks for the article, baynole2. Quite informative. kony, your assessment
of the current climate and Intel's current status turned out to be dead on.
philo, DDR3 is a good thought, but it is pretty costly right now, as are the
supporting boards, but can't go wrong with Quad core...

I think that this config will carry me over for a while, plus the PQ5 has
room to grow (if Intel doesn't change their socket soon...), supporting 1600
FSB and DDR2 1200. I also like the 8 SATA connections and support for 8GB
RAM. It sports the ICH10R chipset, which I haven't heard a lot about.

All for less than $600. I hadn't planned on spending that much, but that is
what generally happens .

These seem like pretty solid choices. If there is one component that I'm not
completely confident about, it's the mainboard. Any comments regarding that
or the other components are welcome.

Thanks again for all advice!

James