Clock for clock I would still take a C2D E8xxx, due mainly to its larger cache. The athlon would have to be 15% higher clocked for me to prefer it over say an E8400 or E8600.
The 245 is a 45W chip while said C2D are 65W, at this TDP there s the 280 at 3.6Ghz or so..
You know you're taking money away from your AMD by fanboying for an out of production chip, right?
Not knowledgable about this chip. How is the performance? Would this be on par with a C2D of some kind?
Before any meaningful answer can be given, you need to tell us what the computer will be used for.
Its an HP all in one with this chip. Had spyware so I recovered and ran updates. This person is going to use it until windows 10 is released. It will be used for internet, online small games (cards, poker, gambling) and the basic email, word docs, and digital pics. Nothing intense.
Hard drive is a 2.5" form factor. So I think that is why it feels like a slug. Coupled by bloatware that HP forces upon the retail market.
I built a Ivy Bridge G2020 based system for just a tad over 200.
jhu is right on the money here. Those dual-core chips are still perfectly acceptable for light duty service, especially if paired with a discrete GPU that can handle Flash/Silverlight/etc acceleration for smooth video streaming/playback.
And, as mentioned, an SSD is NECESSARY for that "snappy" feel when doing anything. Fresh install of Windows on SSD and it will feel like a modern machine and be quite serviceable for years to come.