This is the main component that will determine the performance of your computer; however, don't be mistakened about the fact that it is the only important component, as the other parts can be just as important when it comes down to performance, reliability and other qualities of your new computer. The CPU is like the brain of your computer. You want to have the fastest, most powerful brain that your pockets can afford, but you also have to know that without the other parts being on par with the quality of the processor, you won't be able to use your processor up to its potential. Nevertheless, let's get into the guts of buying a processor.

Now is the time that you must decide what you're going to use your computer for. Are you going to be doing general word processing, web surfing and email checking or are you going to be spending hours on the computer fragging everybody you see? Obviously, the latter requires a lot more horsepower than the other, so, pick wisely, as this computer will be with you for a while (unless you're really lucky to be able to upgrade or get a new one every month).

In this part, I'll be talking a lot about cache sizes (cache is very fast memory that stores frequently used data) and MHz of the processors. MHz means the number of cycles or calculations that the chip is capable of doing in a second (usually the higher the number, the faster). When it comes to caches, usually the more the merrier (all processors mentioned here have full-speed cache).

In the processor world, we basically have 2 choices go with: Intel or AMD. Half a year ago, I would have told you to go with Intel for sure, but now AMD is giving Intel a lot of competition to pull Intel's customers away from them (me, being one of the "switchovers"). AMD's newest line of processors is exactly on par, and in some cases, beats Intel's counterparts; therefore, the choice between who to go with has become very, very hard for consumers. (You do, however, have to be a little bit more careful when purchasing AMD products, explained later.)

In the Intel world, there's the choice between the Celeron (for the low-end, general-use computer) and the Pentium III (for the mid to high-performance system) while in the AMD world, there's the choice between the Duron (for the low-end) and the Athlon (for the mid to high-end). Let's start by comparing the 2 processors in the low-end spectrum.

On to: Low-End Solutions