With their being so many components in a computer it can be difficult to know where to start. In fact I spend ages pouring over various internet sites trying to mix and match components together to form what I intended to be a 'cheap' but hopefully a long-lasting computer.

I took me a while to realise the the best place to start was with the processor. Essentially your computer is built around this central item. When I was looking Duel-Core processors had been out for a while, and there even one or two triple or quad core processors. However these were too expensive or me.

The next decision was to go for a tried, testing and well respected Intel branded processor, or go for an AMD processor. Pouring over the specs of the various processors that were within (and just beyond) my budget, it became obvious that pound for pound, AMD processors are faster than similarly priced Intel processors. However there is more scope for over-clocking an Intel processor, in theory making it as fast, if not faster than the AMD ones.

Although the idea of over-clocking is interesting I do wonder how much, with my limited knowledge of computers and computer components, I can improve on a product which has been developed by a company which has many millions of pounds, and many years of experience in processor design and development.

With this in mind I concentrated on the AMD product range, I studied what was available from E-Buyer at that time, and eventually decided to opt for the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+