Central Processing Unit CPU

If you plan to use your PC for standard office productivity and basic Internet tasks, most any processor will do. But if you want more power, Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP/Athlon 64 systems are your best bet. To save a couple of hundred dollars, buy one or two levels down from the top--you're unlikely to lose more than 5 percent per tier in performance.

Either the P4 or the Athlon XP can support even your most demanding work, such as video editing or high-resolution game play, with ease. Our tests show that P4 PCs tend to do a bit better than Athlon XP-based systems on multimedia tasks. You can find bargain-price PCs with either of these chips, even at the fastest speeds. To pay a lower price, you'll have to sacrifice graphics performance, hard drive size, and possibly monitor size (among other things).

We recommend getting a system that has one of Intel's newer motherboard chip sets for its P4 and Celeron lines. Because the newer boards have a higher-speed frontside bus (533 MHz for the P4, and 400 MHz for the Celeron), data moves more quickly between the processor and system memory. These boards are members of Intel's 850 and 845 family--check the frontside bus speed to ensure you get the right ones.

Intel P4 systems now top out at 3.06 GHz, while AMD's Athlon 64 is at 3800+, with 4000+ right around the corner. These newest chips boast 512KB of level 2 cache, equal to that of top P4s.

The latest generation of AMD chips, called the AMD Athlon-64 FX-53, are designed for the highest performance computers. These CPUs include 1MB of level 2 cache memory and competes well against Intel's highest-end Pentium 4s.

What Is The Best Motherboard For Your Computer?
The motherboard is one of the most important components of your computer. The motherboard ties everything together. Every component plugs into the motherboard and the motherboard allows them to function together to make your computer work. Choosing what motherboard to buy may be even more difficult than choosing a processor. Unlike processors where there are two main players (AMD and Intel), there are many motherboard manufacturers. Often times "the best" is a matter of preference.

You Must First Choose Your CPU
In order to decide on a motherboard you must first choose a CPU. The reason being you make sure the motherboard you choose will support the CPU that is selected. For more information on choosing a CPU for your gaming computer visit our CPU Guide.

Selecting Your Motherboard
Now that you have decided what CPU will run your gaming machine it is time to pick your motherboard. There are several things you should take into consideration:

What Socket is your CPU?
It is very easy to determine the processor interface for your selected CPU. Look at the manual or if you haven't purchased it yet look in the description for the store listing. It will tell you if it is socket A, 754, 755, 939 etc. If you are replacing or upgrading the motherboard in your current computer simply identify what CPU you have and then visit the manufacturer's website or visit a store and it will tell you in the listing what socket your processor is.

AGP or PCI Express Graphics Card?
Up until recently AGP graphics cards were top of the line. PCI Express technology looks to be the wave of the future. It allows the computer to process information from your video card 4 times faster than an AGP slot does. The catch is that most of the games and software out now do not need PCI Express technology to function. It will probably be a year or more before PCI Express technology will really make a difference in your games. Be sure not to confuse PCI Express with PCI. If you get a PCI graphics card you will be sorely disappointed.
When considering whether to go with AGP or PCI Express you should consider two main factors, cost and future upgrades. Getting a motherboard that supports PCI Express technology will cost significantly more as will the graphics card. However, it does look like AGP cards will eventually be phased out. If you know you will want to upgrade your computer within the next two to three years and will want to use the same motherboard than I highly recommend spending the extra money for PCI Express. For more information on graphics cards visit our Graphics Card Guide.

How Much Memory Does It Support?
Memory is a very important factor in determining what motherboard you choose. Make sure it supports at least 1 gig of memory. Most motherboards on the market support 3-4 gigs of ram. If you haven't read the Memory Guide yet click here.

IDE or Serial ATA Hard Drive?
You need to consider what type of hard drive you will be using simply to make certain the motherboard will accommodate it. IDE connectors are standard on every motherboard. However, some motherboards do not have SATA connectors. For more information on choosing a hard drive for your gaming computer visit the Hard Drive Guide.

How Many PCI Slots and USB Ports?
The number of PCI slots and USB ports is just a matter of preference. You should think about how many components you will be using that plug into your PCI slots. For example will you have a sound card, Ethernet card, modem, etc? You just want to be sure you have enough PCI slots for everything you want to run. The same goes for USB ports. How many do you use currently? It is rather inexpensive to purchase a USB hub if you ever run out of USB ports but at the same time a little bit of forethought will save you some hassle.