Original: Dexaroni
Okay kids, calm down.
Not everyone overclocks. Was that ever a thought to you? Yes, Intels C2D line of CPU's are the best OC'ers out there. I recognize that. But what you have to realize is, he is going up from a 1.4ghz pentium 4. An X2 3800 would be a night and day difference, and unless you want crazy benchmarks, it will do great for gaming and encoding videos and music.
And since I feel like starting an AMD fanboy flamewar... Go look at Toms Hardware CPU charts. The AMD Athlon 64 3500 is the best price/ performance CPU out there. I am not saying it is the best by ANY means, its pretty low end, but for dollars/ mhz, it is the best.
Yes, I am an AMD fanboy. Perhaps only because it is all I have ever used. My next system may very well be a C2D, but only because it overclocks like mad. For the average user who just wants to go out and buy a well performing CPU, I suggest an AMD.
Why?