Yosser

Its time to update the home computer for xmas, there are some good deals out there but I'm confused with what to go for? all I need is a good computer for web surfing, word, excel, emails etc.....not for games, anyone recommend which one to go for?

what systems are you running on?

mucha grassy ass.

CarlM

What kind of porn quota are you estimating?

anotherlimey

and how much music and film will you be pirating?

But don't get a celery whatever you do.

USBound

athlon 64 is cheaper and faster than its pentium equivalent.

ukmancoll

I am not a fan at all of the Celeron processors. They are generally considered the "cheaper" option of all the processors. Thats why you normally find them in the computers that are being sold for "amazing offers".

I personally love the Athlon processor, and in the reviews and bench mark testing that I have read, it seems to out perform the Pentium (both in terms of stability and power) - but also tends to be pricier.

My opinion/advice would be to always avoid Celeron, get Athlon if you can afford it, but don't worry about getting a nice machine with a high performance Pentium processor if you have to. Unless you are going to be using it for real high end stuff (like gaming or video editing for example), then you probably won't notice much of a difference.

ukmancoll

I should probably clarify:

Athlon processors tend to be more expensive at the very high end, Pentiums can be more expensive at the lower end.

Also, everything about this kind of stuff is subjective. Without wanting to contradict myself, I have also read before that Pentiums are better for gaming/video editing, and Athlons are better for more Office based programs.

At the end of the day, it's the total computer which matters, not just the processor.

But like another guy said, just avoid the celery.

BigDavyG

For basic use it prob isn't going to make much of a difference to you.
Unless you're a serious gamer or programmer you're unlikely to be doing anything heavy enough to notice any difference in performance between the various options available.

Yosser

How dare thé sir, presume I would be involved with such skull duggery??

(so is napster still free, or are there new sites?

Bob

celeron is shite....Intel is over priced, get a AMD x64 cpu, much faster for the money on what an Intel gets you, plus getting a decent mobo is cheaper...

Bob

Only on the really high end of things, like 3D graphics and CAD work is intel slightly better because software is optimised for it, but to be honest you really won't notice much difference between it and AMD...and for gaming, lot of it down to the graphics card, should get 128mb min for games, but if not bothered with games, a 32 or 64mb graphics would be enough, and aim for 512mb of ram.

franc11s

Whats wrong with Centrino from the notebook range

BritGuyTN

athlon 64

run games faster
consume less power
emit less heat

get a machine with an a64 3200+ - will be more than adequate for anything you throw at it

Bob

they bottleneck, they over heat, they aren't very fast...but for low end laptop, there alright, but not for anything else...

ukemigrant

I second this. From the use you've described, get an Apple Mac and avoid windows viruses altogether. Failing that, get the best deal you can and don't worry about the processor - it won't make any difference with the use you're putting it to.

gedge

Thirded.
Just make sure it's an Athlon ;-)