As the title asks

Cheers.

AMD or Intel will both work great. Go for the most power your budget will allow and you'll be fine.

Dual core AMD Athlon.

And if you can't afford that then try a P4 with HT.

The best deal is on the Dual Core Pentium 2.8GHZ, followed by the AMD X-2 3800+

Top of the line is just gonna cost more...save some dough and get one of the above and OC it

You will need a good OC motherboard and Ram, and especially, don't get a cheap power supply...that is the place that people try and save money, and then wonder why it locks up half the time, or won't OC

I'd have to agree, in this case, with $SOLID$Necro. Simply put the pentium D series anihilates the A64 X2 for content production. On average there's a 5-12% performance increase (sometimes 2x more) when encoding or producting Graphic or Audio content. At this point the AMD processor line will be much better for gamming, but the frame rate drop you'll notice when purchasing a CHEAPER pentium D is nothing compared to the gains you get and the time you'll save in content creation under the Intel model.

Unfortunately the PD runs hotter and consumes more power for a slight lead when using programs such as Adobe's Photoshop, AVID's 3D Studio Max, and Alias' Maya. For example if your doing a lot of rendering in Maya or 3DS Max the heat produced by the PD and the price difference may not be worth the performance benefits.

I've run the 830 and "seen" the X2 4400 render, the benefits goes to the 830 no matter what any review you read says.

I'd say if you want something that does all three for a great price stick with the lower end or mid range X2's, but if you want something that will stand out and is "ok" for gamming then get the PD...any one will do.

Quote: Originally Posted by Wellmont I'd have to agree, in this case, with $SOLID$Necro. Simply put the pentium D series anihilates the A64 X2 for content production. On average there's a 5-12% performance increase (sometimes 2x more) when encoding or producting Graphic or Audio content. At this point the AMD processor line will be much better for gamming, but the frame rate drop you'll notice when purchasing a CHEAPER pentium D is nothing compared to the gains you get and the time you'll save in content creation under the Intel model. Unfortunately the PD runs hotter and consumes more power for a slight lead when using programs such as Adobe's Photoshop, AVID's 3D Studio Max, and Alias' Maya. For example if your doing a lot of rendering in Maya or 3DS Max the heat produced by the PD and the price difference may not be worth the performance benefits. I've run the 830 and "seen" the X2 4400 render, the benefits goes to the 830 no matter what any review you read says. I'd say if you want something that does all three for a great price stick with the lower end or mid range X2's, but if you want something that will stand out and is "ok" for gamming then get the PD...any one will do.

I hafta agree. Very well put Wellmont. Pentium is cheaper but runs alot hotter. I think it puts out something like 130W which is higher than the X2. The X2s just had a huge drop is prices. Doh my 4400 just went from 670 to 540 or so. I personally am an AMD guy.