Finding The Best CPU In 3 Easy Steps

In my mind, the best CPU is the fastest CPU you can find that will match your budget.  This sounds as though it might be really easy at first, but without the proper steps, it can prove to be a difficult task.  I'll show you the easy way to get the most power for the least amount of money.

For the most part, if you are building a computer and are forced into a tight budget, you will probably end up building a computer with an AMD CPU.  As far as bang for your buck goes on systems under $1000, most of the time it's going to be AMD.

If you are looking for a best overall bang for the buck computer build that will last you the longest, it's anyone's game.  At the time of me writing this, I would speculate that the Intel 860 or 920 CPU is the best overall CPU, not because they are cheaper, but how much work they can do for what they are priced.

• Step 1 - Go to a CPU benchmark site.  You will see a value assigned to the CPU off to the right.  We'll call this Benchmark or B write this number down, we'll use this in a minute.
• Step 2 - Go to your favorite online retailer and find the price of the CPU that you picked, check the reviews as well, if they're good continue, if not, head back to step 1 and pick another CPU.  We will call the Price or P, write this down as well, we'll need this too.
• Step 3 - Now we will turn these 2 numbers into something simple to make it easy to find the best cpu.  We'll call this Bang For Your Buck or BFYB.  To calculate this take your Benchmark and divide it by the Price to equal Bang For Your Buck.  In an equation it looks like B / P = BFYB.  Now try to find a CPU with a higher BFYB that stays within your budget, It will be the best possible CPU you can find for the amount of money you are willing to spend.  For this to work to its best potential, it's best to not limit yourself by budget, but simply find the CPU with the highest BFYB and build a system around it.

When looking at CPU benchmarks, it's usually easy to spot the CPU's that offer the best performance for the amount of money you are looking to spend.  They usually sit at the bottom of a jump in the graph.

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