What is the best CPU available?

[xxsk8er101xx]

I have a Xeon 3360 and that's pretty fricken fast. Only time I was able to get this puppy to 100% cpu usage was when I encoded TWO 3GB mpg files to ipod video format. yes I encoded two videos at the same time. They were both done at the same time.

It was literally the sickest thing I've seen. I used beyond tv latest version. It used 2 cores for one video file and then it knew to use the other 2 cores for the other video file.

I didn't time it but it was under 30 minutes. I think it was more like 15 minutes.

I would like to purchase a new computer for my family, and slowdown has always been an issue.
The computer they use currently holds a Pentium 4 @ 2.8 Ghz. CPU.
Buying a new computer, I know I should get enough Ram to help slowdown, but I would really like to know what would be the absolute best processor I could purchase without it being too expensive.
I don't want it to be mid-ranged or anything, but it doesn't need to be the most powerful/expensive processor available, just the all-around best. Intel/AMD, I don't really care. In my personal, non-family, computer, I have an Intel E6600 @ 2.4 Ghz, which is great, but still has its slowdown moments. I need a processor that eliminates slowdown as much as possible. Any help/ Newegg products would be greatly appreciated.

 

[albundy2]

Could you let me in on where you can get a Q6600 for only $100. The cheapest I've ever seen them was around $180 for the OEM model.

well i have seen that price posted on these very same forums... oem special at fry's... have not seen one for a while [2 months?] and they sell out very quick obviously. i believe newegg has also had a special
for close on ocassion. i was flat broke every time or they sold out... i have cried many times over this.

of course with moving and all the work i've been doing the last 6 months my reality distortion field may be peaking.

 

[yatzek111]

5 MINUTES?!!? There is absolutely no justifiable reason for the PC to freeze when doing those things, slowing down maybe but a 5 minute freeze is unacceptable. I am running an E6750 and 2GB of RAM at this very moment, at stock I just reinstalled windows a day ago and as a rule I reset all overclocks so that there are no driver errors, and I have never had a slowdown like that happen. I run an active virus scanner, AOL desktop, firefox with 1-10 tabs, speedfan (I'm obsessive about seeing my temps.), Xfire, more often then not some music player with my music library open in a Windows folder, and on top of all this I game. NEVER have I had such a problem, though the closest thing was that at start up and shut down the PC would drag a$$ for a minute or 2, but upgrading to a SATA hard drive fixed that totally. All this and I run Vista Ultimate 64!

I think the problem is more that the PC needs cleaned and you need to research PC maintenance. Hell, I'll give you a brief run-through:

Things to do:
-Defrag ATLEAST once a day
-Run disk cleanup ATLEAST once a day (preferably a program called Ccleaner as well)
-MONITOR TEMPERATURES!!! (this will be the dividing line between a overheating, slow, and dying PC and a cool, fast, and stable one)
-Virus scan ATLEAST once a week (A great free virus scanner is Avast)
-Spyware scan ATLEAST once a week (Spyware detector is good, but not free, and the name is not exactly creative)
-Firewall (Window's firewall works fine if you also have an active virus scanner like Avast in the background)
-Make sure you do not have tons of unused programs running at once. Hit RUN, then type in msconfig, hit enter, click the startup tab, then click off what you do not need, MAKE SURE NOT TO CLICK OFF WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM, yes idiot Microsoft put that there just to pi$$ us off I think, and yes I have done it by accident. Anyway 95%+ programs do not need to be running at start up to work, if you need to listen to music with winamp then, CLICK WINAMP!
-*MOST IMPORTANT AND OVERLOOKED!* Windows gets fragmented and generally messy pretty quick and this can not be fixed with out reinstalling windows, which you should do ATLEAST once every 2 years, but there is one single way to help. DO NOT DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL EVERY SINGLE WINDOWS UPDATE!!! If it is not broken then don't fix it, research all updates and THEN decide whether to install it or not.

Things not to do:
-do things that are generally related to viruses, spyware, and adware, naughty websites included. If you must then I guess just make sure your PC is locked down tight.
-Use desktop shortcuts, or more than ABSOLUTELY necessary. It always pains me to see some one's computer and see half the screen filled with short cuts. Honestly that slows the PC down a lot, more so old ones but this definitely still applies, if you need to access a program go through the start menu, it is not THAT much of an inconvenience, not to mention the performance boost.
-Screen savers, a nice flashy screen saver is nice but if it is so flashy it is taxing your computer then it is not worth it.
-Did I mention not to install every windows update?

I'm sorry if you already know some of this, I am just trying to help, no offense was meant. Besides even many enthusiast and system builders have atleast 3 of those bad habits, or even more! 😱 I would recommend either a E8xxx dualcore, more for gaming and getting the most out of your money, or get the Q6600 or Q9450, the Q9300 is a waste compared to the Q6600. None of those will offer a substantial boost over your E6600, but some 800 Mhz + RAM with some decent timings will help, either get 2x 1GB sticks or 2x 2GB sticks for best result. Unless you plan on SLI'ng Nvidia GPUs then say NO to a Nvidia motherboard. I recommend the P35/P45 or other Intel motherboards. Also as I said above a nice new SATA hard drive can really make the difference, since the hard drive is supposed to be the largest system bottleneck.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask some more questions. Oh, and sorry for the long a$$ post.

You are right! !!! !!!! the only thing I would add is the temperature of the CPU. If he is waiting "call it 5 minutes" to respond and on top of that 2 years old computer -> under some bud situation his ventilation or COOLING fans are totally full of dust and he is ready to fry his CPU. My suggestion: before you spend any $$$ try to dust off your Computer with a good blow job, or replace CPU fan for $10 ! hey your computer may be very happy and fast to respond too. Its not a joke IT IS A SERIOUS COMPUTER PROBLEM!!! Spyware will slow down internet for many seconds or minute , bud drivers will slow down your restart for minutes, fragmentation for split of seconds!!! RAM 1-2 Mb improves performance 10 times rather then faster CPU. Many applications started on re boot slows down START UP by minute/s, but will never slow down opening a picture by "5 minutes" I would really look at your cooling system !!!!