CPUs > From 512 KB to 1 MB CPUs > up to 100 GBP

Advantages: Speed, Value for Money
Disadvantages: Stock Cooler

Being an AMD fan boy may not help with the decision of the upgrade. But for the price of the processor you will not be disappointed. I had a 3000+ 64Bit AMD I found it to be a pretty quick with music and videos. However I noticed problems with speed when loading games and video editing. Which is why I decided to upgrade to the AMD 64 Athlon X2 2600+. The 3600+ clocks at 2.0 GHz each, this allows the user to assign programmes with either processor ...
...to a certain processor. AMD have also brought out two drivers which can fix problems with games which are not developed to support dual cores. One of the games called soldiers does not support two processors and is knows to BSOD (Blue Screen of death) and also crashes the system. Another update is to allow programmes to switch between the processors or use both if that process is under stress. The new games on the market are now being developed ... Read review

Advantages: Read review
Disadvantages: Read review

...you O/C (Over Clock) an AMD 64 chip? Like all CPUs, it depends heavily on the chip itself, the motherboard, the BIOS, your PSU (Power Supply Unit) and the kind of RAM you have, I.E. PC 3200; 3500; 4000+. The general consensus that many first time AMD 64 users are having to deal with is that more often than not -- and there are always exceptions -- Is that many can not O/C a AMD 64 chip very far if it is running at 1:1 memory timings (asynchronously). ...
...be able to O/C your AMD 64 CPU very far unless you lower your RAM divider to 5:3 (166 MHz). This isn't a problem because of chipsets or motherboard manufactures. This appears to because of AMD's very strict memory timing controllers that are built into the chip itself. This is exactly why some mother board's BIOS don't properly detect or allow booting of the system at 1:1 (I.E., 200 MHz for PC 3200) -- A VERY common problem across ALL chipset makers ... Read review

Advantages: cheap, reliable good for everyday tasks.
Disadvantages: you can't expect too much

Got this processor in a cheap Medion pc (from tescos £300) about six months ago was intially very impressed by the frequency 3.33 ghz which sounds good. However this is deceiving to the performance of the cpu i.e. though it handles simple pc tasks such as non demanding things like the internet it often slows down and nearly constantly runs at 100% frequency or quite near that level. Game performance with this cpu is poor and will lead to low fps ...
...cache size 512k, adequete cache size is one of the main neccesitys for good pc gaming and intensive applications. In conclusion value for money but you get what you pay for, if your thinking of upgrading i'd delfinately go for a dual core processor for the sake of twenty pounds extra. ... Read review

Advantages: Pretty cheap, fast, very cool therefore overclockable
Disadvantages: none whatsoever

It's an amd, it says its a 64 bit athlon 3000+ but what does this mean in plain english! Well first of all it is 64-bit which basically means that it is compatible with 64-bit operating systems and programs which is not necessary at the moment but in the future it will be. Secondly, the name suggests the clock speed is 3.0GHz but it is actually clocked at 1.8GHz. The reason it is called a 3000+ is because that is the relative performance output, ...
...than say an athlon xp 1.8GHz, hence the name. I have had one of these since January, i have had no problems with it at all, it is a lot cooler than the old athlons, mainly due to the new transistor size being 90nm rather than the old 130nm. All in all a very good, relatively cheap INVESTMENT into a socket 939 system that will leave you with plenty of scope for future upgrades. ... Read review

Advantages: Good clock speed, good video decoding and overall reliabilty
Disadvantages: Only 2 MB cache

The Core 2 Duo e6400 has many good features: It uses a 1066 MHZ FSB (front side bus) for a fast link on the motherboard. It 2 cores running at 2.13 GHZ The Processor is very EASY to overclock; just be careful. It is energy effecient and runs cool, unless you over clock Not as good features: 2 MB cache low compared to others in the range I found this processor to be excellent; it was extremely fast. With this processor there is no worry of ... Read review