In 2006 it would be safe to say that the enthusiast is totally spoilt for choice and this has been brought on primarily by the massive competition we have between rival companies. If you need a graphics card, you will find models from Nvidia and ATI in all price ranges and unless you favour a particular make you can’t really go wrong parting with your hard earned cash anymore. Each company is vying to make their product more attractive by adding new features while making it faster, cooler running and quieter.

The same principal has applied to processor development throughout the last decade with Intel and AMD battling for the top performance position. It would be accurate to state that for quite a few years AMD were the No1 enthusiast choice as they were the first manufacturer to make a true 64bit processor which provided an amazing price to performance ratio when compared to the Intel products at that time, they were also vastly more efficient at lower clock speeds. Today, however the roles have reversed and with the launch of the Core 2 CPU Intel have completely taken the market by storm with a product range running at low temperatures and voltages, but while still providing the first class performance we all crave. AMD have yet to make a serious reply to this situation and are currently reducing prices and operating TPD to become more competitive.

Not content with resting on their laurels and waiting for AMD to reply, Intel have followed the age old adage of “attack is the best form of defence” in releasing the world’s first QUAD core product, and on the 14th of November will be available to buy around the world. This processor obviously will be aimed at the high end enthusiast sector, so today we will be ascertaining if parting with your hard earned money is a wise investment.