Mid-Range

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 – Northwood Core
Release Date: Mid 2002
Speed Range: 2.0 GHz (400 MHz FSB) – 3.2 GHz (800 MHz FSB)
Price Range: $128 – $219

Pros
These chips are good for your money, provide good stability, and are able to handle most games on the market with no problem. Something that needs clarified though is the rating system: “A” class means the chip has a 400 MHz FSB, “B” class means 533 MHz FSB, and “C” class means 800 MHz FSB. Once you get that down, its pretty easy to shop for a Northwood. The C class Northwoods come with Hyper-Threading technology to speed up some applications. The Northwood is good for mid-range to high end users, workstations, and most gamers. They also have a standard Level 2 cache of 512K.

Cons
There are very few cons to buying a Pentium 4 Northwood. They are stable, proven, and have a reasonable price. Just beware; if you buy a pre-built system, most manufactures will not tell you which class of chip they are selling you. You need to pay careful attention to the FSB on them, because a “great deal” on a Pentium 4 may not be such a great deal if it has a low FSB (meaning it doesn’t use all the features of the C class).

Processor: AMD Athlon XP – Barton Core
Release Date: Early 2003
Speed Range: 1.8 GHz (333 MHz FSB) – 2.2 GHz (400 MHz FSB)
Price Range: $82 – $199

Pros
Another chip that is good for mid-range through most high-end users, the Barton is stable, efficient and can handle most games without a problem. They have a standard Level 2 cache of 512K. It can handle mild multi-tasking without a problem.

Cons
Again, like the Northwood, there are not many cons to buying a Barton chip. They are the most proven of the newer cores and can still handle new games effectively.

Entry Level / Budget Chips

Processor: AMD Sempron
Release Date: Mid 2004
Speed Range: 1.5 GHZ – 2.0 GHz (333 MHz FSB)
Price Range: $61 – $128

Pros
This is a very effective budget processor for users who do not intend to use their computers for much more than word processing, internet / email, and Instant Messaging. It is also stable and effective when not much is running.

Cons
Its FSB is very low compared to standard, at 333 MHz, and its Level 2 cache is lower than normal also, at 256K. It will not handle much multi-tasking or anything that uses heavy loads. It is meant for a very basic, entry user.

Processor: Intel Celeron D
Release Date: Mid 2004
Speed Range: 2.26 GHz – 2.93 GHz (533 MHz FSB)
Price Range: $68 – $124

Pros
The Celeron D’s are an awesome buy. Based on the Prescott core, these chips have great speed for a great price. They can handle some multi-tasking, but not a whole lot. They are great for budget users because they offer decent speed at a decent price.

Cons
The Celeron D’s have a low Level 2 cache of 256K and a mid range FSB of 533 MHz. Other than that, they are a great buy.