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Be very careful if you are purchasing such
CPUs as your system's speed will definitely slow to a crawl. Worse
still, some software on the market today simply cannot be run using
older processors. The Windows XP
operating system, for example, needs the newer crops of CPUs to
function. Overall, I'd only recommend buying these processors if you
want to do extremely simple tasks with your PC - like word processing or
general web browsing. Some examples of processors in this category would
be: the older AMD Athlon CPUs and Intel Celeron CPUs, AMD Duron CPUs,
and Intel Pentium III CPUs.
Budget Processors
Strapped for cash? Consider purchasing CPUs in this category - which
include yesterday's top-of-the-line CPUs which have been discontinued or
the newer budget CPUs. While you may not get extremely good performance,
these CPUs will give you the best bang for your buck.
While you're not going to get
super-duper performance for more CPU intensive activities like gaming
and video editing, the speed provided by these CPUs will be more than
enough for general applications. Under this category, you'd be looking
at processors like the AMD Athlon XP, AMD Sempron, Intel Celeron (2.4
GHz and higher), as well as the Intel Pentium 4 (2.6 GHz and lower).
Mid-Range Processors
The CPUs in this category would have been king of the hill just 6 months
ago. Due to the entry of newer, faster CPUs, processors will drop in
price and become more affordable. These processors will still scream in
performance and are very popular among current PC owners.
Whenever I upgrade my computer, I
always go for CPUs in this category. To sum up: thes CPUs here give
slightly outdated but extremely powerful performance. Examples include
the AMD Athlon XP (2800+ to 3500+) and the Intel Pentium 4 (2.8GHz and
higher) CPUs.
High-End Processors
Want drop-dead performance? The CPUs in this category will scream even
if you run the most demanding gaming or video editing applications in
the market today. Of course, be prepared to fork out serious cash. If
you absolutely want no less than the best, be an early adopter and go
for one of these CPUs.
Personally, I tend to avoid buying
top-of-the-line CPUs for two reasons - the high prices and stability.
These CPUs are not only expensive, they are also unproven - I've heard
cases of extremely new CPUs crashing or overheating. CPUs like the AMD
Athlon 64 FX and the Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition fall into this
category.
Conclusion
In summary, always consider your computing needs when selecting a CPU.
If you want to do simple word processing or general computer tasks, go
for the budget or low end processors. If you are more into gaming or do
CPU intensive work like video editing, go for a mid-range or high-end
processor. |
