Hello  
 
I am building a new system for Age of Conan.
 
But I really have NO IDEA about CPUs or Motherboards.
 
I am on a budget, and would like the best bang for the buck.
I was thinking AMD was a little cheaper so I wanted to stick with AMD.
 
What CPU and/or Motherboard do you recommend I check out?
 
 
 
 
Thanks so much, I have no clue

P35-DS3L+ E2180
 
OCed easily to 2.8-3Ghz and it beats most AMD systems at stock and/or when the X2s are OCed.  
 
What is your budget?

Age of Conan will demand some serious graphics power AFAIK. Your biggest problem is getting a good video card, not so much the CPU and MB.

What is your total budget for the PC (excluding monitor, speakers, etc.)?

Do you already have a monitor? Is it 24" or larger?

Do you already have a video card or PSU or case?

If the budget is tight and you don't want to overclock then yeah, AMD is a good idea. Something like this maybe:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W  $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103211

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail, $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128090

thanks for the help
 
well im trying to stay under 200 for mobo and processor if possible
 
thats why i was thinking like this:  
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103212
 
(and i get a free game to boot, thats so cheap)
 

i dont plan on overclocking really, if that matters as far as helping me pick out a Mobo/ PCU

Apparently Stranglehold is junk. I've never seen it, just read the 11 newegg reviews.
 
But never mind that. The X2 4800+ you found is a little better value for the buck than mine even without the game. Go for it.
 
I asked about overclocking because Intel's CPUs are better at it these days. That is, if you intend to overclock you can get better value with an Intel E2180 and a GA-P35-DS3L or something like that. But then you need to spend some money on a good cooler too for the Intel to OC high enough.
 
Here's a good video card at a really nice price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814134037 ECS N8800GTS-512MX GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB $170+$7 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127325 MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB $195+$8 after rebate
 
The second one is $26 more but MSI is a better-known brand than ECS and you also get a copy of The Witcher.
 
If you need a good deal on a PSU, check out the StealthXStream 600W:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] eam%2b600W $55 after rebate