Cooler (fansink) Processors

The Bottom Line: AMD's new Phenom X4 9850 is overpriced and outclassed compared with its Intel-based quad-core competition. If PC vendors can use this chip to make cheap systems (as they did with older Phenoms), we might have nicer things to say, but as a DIY part at this price, we can't recommend AMD's latest quad-core CPU.

Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom X4 9850

The Bottom Line: AMD's new Phenom quad-core CPU has little to recommend it over competing chips from Intel. The Phenom is marginally less-expensive, but not enough to make up for its subpar performance. Unless AMD drops prices more aggressively, it looks like Intel will maintain its grasp on the CPU market for the foreseeable future.

Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom X4 9600

The Bottom Line: AMD's new Phenom quad-core CPU has little to recommend it over competing chips from Intel. The Phenom is marginally less expensive, but not enough to make up for its subpar performance. Unless AMD drops prices more aggressively, it looks like Intel will maintain its grasp on the CPU market for the foreseeable future.

Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom X4 9500

The Bottom Line: If you thought dual cores were over the top, get ready. Intel presents the Core 2 Extreme QX6700, a single CPU with four distinct processing cores. At $999, the first quad-core CPU will remain an enthusiast part for a while, but as a glimpse of the future, it's clear that clock speed is out and core counts are in.

Specs: Processor, Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700

Specs: Processor, AMD Sempron LE-1250 Energy Efficient

Specs: Processor, AMD Sempron LE-1300 Energy Efficient

Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom II X4 965

Specs: Processor, AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+

Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom X4 9150e Energy Efficient

Specs: Processor, AMD Phenom II X4 940