If you're after performance above else (and you've plenty of money) then Intel processors are the way to go. At least, in general - there are several different families available and you need to be careful which you choose.
Intel Core 2 CPUs are still available, for instance, but they've been around for a long time, no longer represent a good deal and unless you're working with an old motherboard, are probably best avoided.
Instead you'll be considering a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processor, which will deliver budget, mid-range or high-end performance, respectively. Except, of course, it's not quite as simple as that, because these CPUs now come in two main flavours.
The mainstream Core i3, i5 and i7 processors are available in a Socket LGA1156 package (this defines how the CPU connects to the rest of your system, and so means you'll need a Socket LGA1156 motherboard as well). This doesn't represent the very latest in Intel technology, but it's relatively reasonably priced, and there are plenty of compatible motherboards around at all price levels.
AMD processors aren't currently able to compete with Intel for raw speed, but that might be changing soon, and in the meantime they're able to deliver capable performance at an excellent price. And AMD is also far better at backward compatibility than Intel, so there's no confusion over socket types and multiple incompatible versions of the same CPU: buy an AM3 motherboard and it'll run just about anything.
AMD's Athlon II processors, for instance, are the budget products. They're available in X2, X3 and X4 varieties (the number tells you how many cores they have), and in different model numbers according to their clock speed. Performance isn't so great, but Athlon II CPUs will fit in both socket AM2+ and AM3 motherboards, so you'll have plenty of choice when building your PC.
AMD's Phenom II family are their mainstream products, equipped with more cache memory than the Athlon II's, and running at higher clock speeds for better performance. They're available in X2, X4 and even 6-core X6 varieties, and again the CPUs run on both AM2+ and AM3 motherboards.
And AMD plans to release new processors, code-named Bulldozer and Llano, starting this June and July. Many of the CPUs will include on-board graphics chips, some will have 8 cores, and it's rumoured that performance will be 50% up on the Phenom II, which if true would mean they'll deliver speeds very similar to Intel's Sandy Bridge systems.
For the best results you'll need to run to run AMD's next generation CPUs on the upcoming AM3+ chipset motherboards, but the good news is that once again AMD are working to ensure backward compatibility. And so if you buy an AM3 motherboard today, you can equip it with an Athlon II CPU, but still upgrade to a Bulldozer CPU later on, and you shouldn't have too much of a performance penalty.
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