What is the difference between Intel and AMD processors?
AMD processors are generally more efficient than Intel running at the same speed. AMD are more popular with enthusiasts who build their own PCs and go in for overclocking, although this may change with the release of the latest dual core jobbies from Intel. This is probably not a significant factor for your needs. What is important to note is the difference between Celeron and Sempron processors compared with Athlon and Pentium CPUs. The former have very little on-die cache memory and will be noticeable slower.