Getting the Lowdown on a Processor

It used to be fairly easy to figure how good the processor was in a computer you were looking to buy, the main manufacturers (Intel and AMD) had two lines apiece -- one budget line, one performance line -- and the higher the clock rating (measured in Ghz these days) the better it was, largely.

That's long since changed, now the manufacturers seem to roll out new range of chips so regularly it's hard to keep up.  Added to which, the Ghz wars seem to have ended, with multiple cores and other aspects having at least as much influence on how fast your machine is.  Lastly, there's some much overlap between release date of old and new chips, how do you tell if you have the latest tech or something old hat?