What matters most to you when buying a new CPU?

Price is a big concern.
I also like to see if the platform (socket/chipset) is going to stick around so i can upgrade 2 comps. So when I get a new cpu I put my old one in my gf's machine essentially upgrading hers for free with my hand me downs.

Bang for the buck, all the way.

My PC budget is as tight as a high-heeled shoe on a fat lady so I have to watch every penny.

Waiting that extra week to see if the price drops 5 more dollars is common for me.

Eventually I hope to really blow the roof off my business so I can spend more freely.

Seeing as how im not exacly made of money, getting the most bang for the buck is definetly important.

Im on the the bang bandwagon, but one day I will just go out and splurge, not caring about the $$. Probably happen with a Hammer!

I want performance, and some measure of backwards compatibility with current equipment and software. Cheap isn't bad either.

im with BA...performance...but not just numbers on the package,real world performance.
being able to run current and past software is a BIG plus.
cant break the bank though..lol

Yep, that's why I had two children. Never know when you will come across a good deal.

EDIT: Read the post below and then come back up to this one. For some reason it put mine ahead of lcpiper's.

EDIT AGAIN: Just happened to Feral, too.

BANG for my BUCK$...

I want it ALL

Price
Performance
Reliability
Compatability

And any othe ..ity I can think of.

What I don't want is to have to sacrifice anything.

Specially my first born child, I've gotten fond of her.

Bang for the buck is very important for me since I am not made of money, but I also want something that can OC good, such as an Athlon. Athlons are both cheap and can OC quite well. So 2 in 1. I will always stick with AMD.

I usually go for the best bang for the buck.
Well that rules Intel out then...
I would like to spend out and get the fastest cpu out but u end up payin double the price for an extra 100mhz, which u culd get by oc'in.
thats y i look round for the lower end models ie the athlon xp 2000.

as far as CPU's go I usually buy the 2nd fastest one out when Im in the market for one cuz the fastest is just was to overpriced, but we shall see when the barton comes out, I hope my kt400 will support it tho.

earlier icpipers post was below mine...now its 3rd below......
wonder whats up?

edit:icpipers was the last i read BEFORE i posted as well.....

Bang for the buck. So...AMD. I usually go for the "sweet spot" a couple clicks down from the top. When 1.4 was top of the heap...I bought the 1.2. When 2000 was top...the 1900. My latest is a 2600+. Not the absolute "most for the money" by the numbers, but not the huge premium you have to pay for the fastest out either.

Bang for the buck. I work to hard for my money to throw it away for a couple of hundred MHz.

Quality and Performance...I perfer Intel...however, the new AMD's are looking VERY DAMN GOOD...I might even give them a shot when I decide to upgrade my Gaming Rig the next time.

Always best bang for the buck, but that includes my final clock speed achieved. I also can't afford to buy something when it's new, but I wait for it to age a generation, THEN buy it. For example, I'm buying an XP 2100+ to upgrade my Charger case w/KG7 mobo, should be a nice increase from my 1.2 T-bird @ 1425. And I'll only be paying about $150 Canadian for it. What were they selling for, 4 - 6 months ago? $400 Canadian?

On the Intel side (and to oppose what chiquita said about "AMDs always overclock good"), getting a 2.45 GHz processor for just under $200 Canadian is a pretty hot deal, if you ask me. Getting over 800 MHz overclock on that 1.6a Northy on air-cooling is a far better overclock than any air-cooled AMD setup. You're lucky to break 200 extra MHz with an air-cooled AMD.

My point being that I factor in my final clock-speed in my 'bargain for the buck' formula. A 1.6 GHz CPU for $200 is a pretty decent deal, but a 2.45 GHz CPU is an AMAZING deal!

Yeah, it's sort of an overclock thing for me as I pay less for a faster processor in the end. Like getting a good old 2.0A and getting an easy 2.7 off stock voltage and decent air cooling. When I bought my 1.8 back in the day, the 2.4 was top of the line and hitting 600 frickin dollars!!! Man, I only spent 650 bucks on my system in total (before the really cool graphics and sound card and stuff anyway).

But now that I have money, it's all about pure power and raw overclocking potential!!! Heck, I'm even thinking of going water-cooled at some point soon...once i get a good old hyper-threader going that is. So once the even more top of the line stuff comes out early on next year, it's definitely where I'm headed (first up: GeForceFX....no matter what the cost!!).

bang for the buck, except when it comes to my video and sound cards....hardcore gamer here, so those above all else, even if i have to skim a little and take a notch lower on the cpu if im upgrading at the same time