CPU Stress Test: We "Stress Out" AMD and Intel

Components Under Stress: Athlon 64 3500+ And P4 3.6 GHz

Buying all of the components for the test wasn't quite as easy as we had imagined it would be. It was fairly straight-forward to acquire the motherboards from Asus and MSI and the AMD and Intel processors. But it was downright difficult to get hold of the graphics cards (ATI Radeon X800 XT PCIe/AGP and Nvidia 6800 Ultra/6600 GT PCIe/AGP), which we eventually bought from a small dealer in Löhnberg, Germany - CP4U Computer Parts. Not a single dealer in Munich's computer district had all the graphics cards we wanted in stock when we went on our hardware spree. Granted, they were all high-end items, but such pricey cards can generate huge margins during the Christmas season, so we had hoped they would be available.

Bought for just under $400: Intel P4 with 3.6 GHz and boxed cooler

We took this one home for less: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ for just shy of $300

Intel has once again drastically reduced prices in the run-up to the end of the year. We were able to get our hands on the Pentium 4 at 3.6 GHz (boxed version) for under $400. Compared with the 3.8 GHz P4 at almost $680, the price-performance ratio for the slightly-slower version isn't too shabby for an Intel CPU. But you get even more for your hard-earned cash with challenger AMD's Athlon 64 3500+, which is available in a boxed version for just under $300.

Simply exquisite: Asus P5AD2-E Premium for Socket 775