October 2000

After an absence of just over a month, the Processor Emporium Top 10 CPU's guide is back. This month sees the chart dominated by AMD's Athlon and Duron processors as they offer some of the best price/performance ratios currently available.

This month though Intel processors do feature a bit more as supply is gradually getting back to normal, although there are still shortages of some of the more popular parts such as the Pentium III 733 EB (We were quoted until February of next year for availability). Luckily though the little FC-PGA Celeron processor is becoming increasingly available at the low end of the market.

This chart does not include processors in ready built PC's, so to meet the criteria for the chart, the processor in question must for sale separately and in volume.

The criteria with which we rate the processors currently available is simply what we judge to be the best value for money. Raw power alone can not top the charts (unless we think that it is significantly good enough to warrant a high price tag), and other factors such as all round performance and availability (at time of writing in the UK) also influence our decisions. We do not use a chip's overclocking potential as a factor in this chart, thus giving a guide to those who do not wish to overclock their CPU. Plese note that this rating is purely the opinion of the authors.

So onto the chart...

No. 1

AMD Duron 700 MHz. AMD's recent agressive price cuts have seen the Duron 700 drop to below £100. With great performance and a nice price tag, this one is hard to beat.

No. 2

AMD Duron 600 MHz. The Duron 600 has been seen selling at prices as low as £50 in the UK recently. Whilst AMD may be looking to discontinue the entry-level Duron relatively soon, it is a fantastic bargain.

No. 3

AMD Duron 750 MHz. The Duron 750 has been seen with prices ranging from as low as £95 to anything up to £130. If you can get one for around the £100+ mark you will be doing well. This chip is enough to make users look away from the more expensive Athlon "Thunderbird" 750 and the pricey Pentium III 750.

No. 4

Intel Pentium III 700 MHz (FC-PGA). The entry level into Pentium III ownership comes at around £180. Whilst this is pricey, it does offer the user great performance from the Pentium III and the opportunity to use a motherboard based upon Intel's rather nice i815e chipset.

No. 5

Intel Celeron 600 MHz (FC-PGA). The entry level for Intel processors starts at £76 for the Celeron 600. Whilst not as fast as the Duron, due mainly to the 66 MHz bus, the Celeron offers a good solution when paired with either an i815e or VIA Apollo Pro 133A based board.

No. 6

AMD Athlon "Thunderbird" 800 MHz. If you have around £160 to spend on a CPU, the Athlon 800 is probably one of the best choices. Fantastic performance coupled to the best x86 Floating Point Unit around allows the Athlon 800 to rise two places from the last chart.

No. 7

Intel Celeron 633 MHz. If a 600 MHz Celeron seems just a tad too slow, then the 633 MHz part may well be worth a look at £89. Don't expect much of a performance increase over the Celeron 600 though.

No. 8

AMD Athlon "Thunderbird" 850 MHz. £210 makes 850 MHz performance start to look just a little bit more reasonable. Our advice though is to wait for the prices to drop just a little bit further before buying.

No. 9

Intel Pentium III 800 (EB) MHz. Whilst still beaten by the Athlon on price, the Pentium III 800 looks good at £238 especially as it uses the 133 MHz bus.

No. 10

AMD Athlon 1 GHz. £419 buys 1 GHz boasting rights. Should impress your friend on ICQ (or in the pub).

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