In isolation, the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ EE is a decent processor. However, simply put, it's time for a much-needed update to AMD's K8 architecture. We know that it's coming later this year, but in our opinion, it can't happen soon enough. K8 has been great over the years, but AMD just can't get to high enough frequencies to compete with Intel at the moment. If you're looking to build a new system then the choice is quite a clear one; unless you already own a socket AM2 motherboard, Intel's Core 2 Duo processors are a much better choice.