[Echo Talon]

ok... Anand has a Christmas Processor buying guide...

for very (LOW END) and (Entry Level) he chooses AMD for price/performance and (MID-Range), (High Performance), and (Extreme performance) he chooses Intel...

Recommended CPUs by Market Segment
Market	Processor and Platform	Price
Ultra Budget	Sempron 2800+ AM2 (1.60GHz 128K)	$50
Entry Level	Athlon 3500+ AM2 (2.2GHz 512K)	$84
Midrange	Core 2 Duo E6300 (1.86GHz 2MB 1066FSB)	$180
High-End	Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.40GHz 4MB 1066FSB)	$310
Extreme Performance	Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (Quad 2.66GHz 2x4MB 1066FSB)	$1250+
Holiday 2006 Shopping Guide: CPUs

[TChris]

I would disagree with him on the midrange system. You can buy an AMD Athlon X2 4200+/4400+ for about the same price as the E6300. Athlon motherboards cost less too.

OK, I'm an AMD fan, but the 4200+ seems to be at least a reasonable alternative to the E6300 for the average user, at that price point.