Do you remember the times when CPUs were chosen based on whether you were assembling a gaming PC, in which case you'd opt for cheaper Celerons and Durons, or a heavy workload PC, in which case you'd buy the more expensive Pentiums and Athlons? It came to our mind on multiple occasions during this test. Those days of single-core CPUs, when Megahertz were the only relevant thing, and the difference between home and professional models consisted in the difference in the quantity of cache memory, only served to underline the problems that modern-day users are facing when assembling a new PC. Is a tri-core CPU enough for current games, or should one go for a quad-core? Will the L3 cache play any role in game performance, or is an ordinary Athlon II enough? A weaker Core i7 and a cheaper P55/H55 motherboard, or a stronger one and an expensive X58 mobo? Who gives more bang for buck, Intel or AMD? Questions are many, responses come down to less-than-clear PC forum experts, and the buyer often feels underachieving, as if it were only a question of a few additional euros to build a significantly better PC. It came to a point where we considered indispensable to try and find everything we possibly could in the CPU department from dealers and retailers, and make them cross swords in the most common PC tasks.

It should be noted immediately that in the case of AMD, the choice is rendered significantly easier. All CPUs that can be bought at the moment are intended for use with the AM3 socket. The same CPUs function flawlessly on AM2+ motherboards just as well, which make up most of modern AMD-based PCs currently in use. In this case, the only difference consists in the somewhat slower operation of the HyperTransport link in the CPU, and the limitation to using DDR2 instead of DDR3 memory. The latter is in fact an advantage for those who are upgrading their old PC already containing DDR2 memory, since they aren't obliged to sell the old RAM modules and buy new ones, making for significant money saving in the upgrading process.

Intel, on the other hand, currently has CPUs for three different sockets to offer. The already legendary Core 2 generation, which was the critical factor in improving the previously dubious reputation of this company, uses the LGA 775 socket. The first Nehalem-based CPUs, better known as Core i7, require an LGA 1366 socket on the motherboard to work, while their cheaper variants, marked Core i3, i5 or i7 (with a lower grade) have to be installed into an LGA 1156 socket. The numbers in these markings signify the number of contact pins present between the CPU and the socket, which speaks for itself in terms of the complexity of modern CPUs.

Core2 CPUs were an excellent choice for most computing needs, but are now facing withdrawal and you'll find it increasingly harder to actually find the desired Core2 model on the market (and they're available only in the lowest price ranges). The few Core2 quad-cores that have to be looked around for with a candle in retail stores are still too expensive, especially taking into consideration how much those CPUs are actually obsolete, although still very usable.