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Computing frustration

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:37 pm
by Xenu
Hey all,

So now that the crashing economy has forced me to dial back my plans of totally replacing my aging computer's innards, I've decided that a mere processor swap--to get the most out of my also-aging AM2 socket--is probably in order. To that end, I have been confronted with this conundrum:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productco ... 6819103272

Basically, that's three versions of what seems to be the same processor. With two, the only difference is the wattage required; the odd man out has lower wattage, but also doesn't specify the chip family and has a combination of no L1 cache (and less L2 cache) and a smaller dye.

Somewhat embarrassingly, despite my occasional proficiency with computer issues, I've only ever half-understood the various specs that get tossed around with most computer components. Problematically, there is no "middle-ground" computing voice anymore: you are either a total moron or a savant, and attempts to answer this sort of question for oneself inevitably lead to crazy graphs and benchmarks on things I will never, ever use.

So, assembled folken: which do I want? Which is best? Given that (at the moment) they're all the same price with free shipping?