This guide is for anyone who is looking for an AMD processor and doesn't know where to start.

AMD currently has 4 different series of chips that are availible to the average buyer. They are as follows: Sempron, Athlon 64, Athlon x2 (dual core) 64, and Opteron. There is another sub-series, which is what I'm going to call it, known as FX, which are the elite processors of AMD.

Now when buying a processor you need to decide whether you want to buy a duel core processor or single core. First you need to know the differences: Dual core (x2) acts like you have two separate cpus running in your system, although it is only one. You do not add the speeds of each core when getting the total speed though. Single core is the classic CPU that has been put in computers since they first arrived on the scene.

Dual core advantages:
 -Multi-tasking
 -the future of processors
 -games are beginning to be built with dual core in mind

 Dual core disadvantages:
 -definitely more expensive
 -current games are, for the most part, run better on single core (most current games aren't dual core supported so you basically can only use one core for the game)
 -for the price, they are slower than single core

Single core advantages:
 -much cheaper than dual core
 -better for current games
 -faster stock speeds for the price

 Single core disadvantages:
 -dual core is becomming more popular and single core is turning into old technology
 -multi tasking on single core is strongly dependent on how much RAM you have
 Example on speed per price: AMD's cheapest dual core cpu is the x2 3800+, which costs around $300 dollars right now if you were to buy it from a store or online retailer. The x2 3800 runs at 2.0ghz (again this is NOT equivalent to 4.0, it is just 2.0) While the single core 3500+ runs at 2.0ghz as well, but it only costs a mere $200. That's a $100 dollar price difference.

OK, so now you have decided whether you want a single core or dual core processor... You need to decide what series you want! I will quickly generalize each series:
 
Sempron: budget CPU, can perform very well though, generally slower than Athlon series or Opteron. These only come in single core.
 
Athlon 64 (you will have already decided between single or duel core): AMD's newest series of processor and it is without a question, better than intel's latest series (although intel's new series will be better but that isn't important). These processors have 64-bit technology (hence the 64), so you can run Windows in 64 bit colors (you have to buy Windows 64 bit version). They are pretty good to overclock* and they aren't too expensive for the most part.

FX series: Again these are just the elite of the Athlon 64 series. These processors are very expensive and there aren't many to choose from. The FX-60 is dual core and runs at 2.6ghz, making it the possibly the best processor out right now for anything but gaming. The FX-57 runs at 2.8ghz, so it is faster than the fx-60, but it is not dual core.

Opteron: Designed for servers but work just as well in a PC. These babies can overclock* better than any other processor on the market. Single or dual core, a little slower than the Athlon series but if you are into overclocking you can easily reach the speed of an fx-60 or even 57.

Now once you have selected your sub-catergory you can choose the speed/model that you want. For reference, I would say most laptops run between 1.8-2.0ghz and most desktops run from 1.8-2.2ghz (these are average entry level). A 2.2ghz processor will (given an up to date graphics card) be able to play any modern game, including Half-Life, Counter-Strike: Source, quake 4, doom 3, FEAR. The FPS (frames per second) in most games is based off of the processor (and graphics card but mostly processor depending on the game). So if you want to have smoother gameplay, a better processor may be something that you want to look at, or overclocking* your current processor.

 *Overclocking voids your warrenty on your processor but is completely safe if done on stock voltage (you don't raise voltage to the processor). Without raising the voltage, it is very tough to fry a processor because the heat doesn't increase very much at all. If you have more questions about overclocking please feel free to email me at coolsports411@yahoo.com