Bargain Basement or Real Steal?

AMD is pushing the Athlon II X4 CPU as a Windows 7 solution, and PCSTATS is confident that this processor will be enough to handle anything Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system will throw at it. In fact, the Athlon II X4 620 processor tends to be a tiny bit faster under Windows 7 than it is in Windows Vista. The minimum system requirements for Microsoft Windows 7 are a 1GHz processor, 1GB of memory, and a DirectX 9 videocard. When bundled with an AMD 785G chipset motherboard like the MSI 785GM-E65 or Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H, the Athlon II X4 620 can dishes out appealing performance at a cost under $200.

If you're on a budget (and who isn't right now?) and have been looking to assemble a PC for a home or office, look no further.

With the confusion Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors are bring to the table for Core 2 Duo users, it's worthwhile to touch on upgradability here. The Athlon II X4 620 is a socket AM3 part. It's compatible with AMD's most recent Socket AM3 motherboards and socket AM2+/AM2 motherboards as well. If you already own an AMD-based PC and want to make a quick and painless upgrade to quad-core processing, this is an affordable choice.

Much has been made of AMD's inability to compete with Intel's fastest processors in the extreme enthusiast market. To be blunt, this is true. Yet while AMD has no ready answer for the Core i7 processor, it's also true that the majority of computer buyers will never need the power a Core i7 processor provides, or justify the cost of such a PC either. Judging by the latest road maps, AMD is focusing much of its efforts on infusing bang into budget-priced processors, so you might want to think twice about building a Core i5 LGA1156 PC right now.

At PCSTATS we like fast CPUs just as much as you, but we also like making existing PCs run faster without spending a cent, and inexpensive PC hardware that's a great value. You have to look no further than PCSTATS Beginners Guides to see we're serious about this. AMD is focusing on the area that matters most to people, the bottom line. By bringing a $99 quad-core processor to the market, it has created an alluring platform for mainstream computer users and average PC needs - work, web and video playback.