Choosing the right processor or CPU should be the first thing you start looking at when you start building a computer. So that’s what we’re going to begin this blog post series. First of all, what does the CPU do? The processor is the brain of your computer. It determines what you do and how fast you can do it. Now there are a lot of choices on the market today. However, there are two real competitors and they are the blue team is Intel and the red team as AMD. Intel consistently scores higher in benchmarks. However, they are on average higher in price. AMD typically known as powerful has a lower price which might be more advertising than that of Intel.
Now, what does that necessarily better than the other? Your budget of what you want to do with your computer will help you decide which processor to pick up. Now I’ll know what we asked for my opinion so always fight Intel for my main machines. That’s just my personal opinion, I’m not here just started a bait on the topic.
We need to consider these few vital terms while choosing the best CPU (Computer Processor):
1. Clock Speed
Anyway, when people start looking at processes; the first thing everyone looks at is clock speed which is now measured in gigahertz. As a quick example Intel’s Pentium 4 from 2005 with 3.8 gigahertz making that the fastest running Intel processors who ever be created. Up until now, Intel has already released Kaby Lake Refresh 8th Gen Intel Processors with more core and gigahertz speeds. Clock speeds aren’t everything and it is because modern CPUs can do more work during the same work cycle as it would on older CPUs. It splits workload into small steps to complete the same process. Processors inside the same family and the same architecture can be compared to two clock speeds efficiently. For example processors like the i5 7500 and i7 7700k have different clock speeds but they can be compared directly. And, based on that the i7 is better than that the i5.
2. Core Count
Picture Source: expertreviews.co.uk
Now core count is where things really start to matter. Most processors out there have between two and six cores, but of course, there are those exceptions, such as AMDs eight core CPU. Ideally, program that are running will spread the workload across all your quarters to complete the work faster. If video editing or photo editing is something you like to do like me then quad core or higher processors or something that is almost a necessity, especially if time is money and you have the patience of a thing with no patients. Now, not every program out there supports multiple cores, but generally more cores is a good thing. It should be noted that more cores mean you can do more things i.e. you can run more programs all at the same time. So clock speed determines how fast you can do things or core count determines how many things you can do it once, essentially, that’s how it kind of breaks down.
3. Hyper threading
Now there is another absolutely beautiful thing out there called hyper threading. This is a feature that mainly only Intel has. Also, in the market, you can find some AMD processor as well that has something similar. Now, this takes your single CPU and pushes another set of tasks inside a single cycle. This basically allows you to do more work not double the speed but however about 30% improvement. Now without getting too much into this topic, this is a big feature for programs that can handle hyper threading again, not all programs are designed to use this. For example, video editing takes great advantage of a hyper threading. It’s not all great though there are some cases when hyper threading will actually hinder your performance and certain things like gaming. Usually, it’s very insignificant about but it is worth mentioning. Also, you can turn off hyper threading using some command in command prompt.
4. Price
Image: Intel
Now, let us go to our actual topic. Another important step is to know the price of the CPU. I look at the most recent generation of processors released by both the red and the blue team. And this will take us directly to our second step after price, is choosing the brand for you. If you are solely trying to build them with the powerful machine with a small budget, I’d say about seven times out of 10, it’ll be picking up an AMD chip. If you’re looking for the best performance Intel is your guy. I would almost say that your budget dictates which company you will go with. Without getting into the exact percentages, more option than that, AMD is providing better bang for your buck especially if you’re under the $200 range for CPUs. But if you can afford to put more into your CPU part of the budget then Intel is the much better that consists of more core inside. The higher the core the higher the performance. Games and PC software are becoming more and more demanding; so a quad core processor is highly recommended when you’re in the buying the processor. The quad-core intel i5 has been a very common go-to for most gamers out there. If you were doing nothing but video editing, 6 and 8 cores might be something you want to pick up. Now you need to look at the applications you are using and see if they will actually be able to benefit from all these extra features such as extra cores and hyper threading. Most games out there right now are only optimized for four cores. So actually having more core isn’t necessarily a better thing in some situations.
5. Caching
Now moving into a next topic that really isn’t discussed as much and that’s caching. Caching allows the processor to store frequently accessed or soon to be accessed memory which is typically stored on the RAM and it can store right on the actual die of the CPU. It honestly provides the biggest speed up at the raw clock speed in terms of program performance. So I will say, especially when you’re stuck between two processors, get the one with the biggest L3 Cache.
6. Dedicated Graphic Card
Now let’s go to another part called GPU. Most processors have onboard video graphics, which allow you to see what you’re doing on a computer without the need for a dedicated video card. If you are building a computer for a low end gaming or a typical office work then graphics needs will be low; mean, you will not need a dedicated graphics card as the graphics provided by your CPU will be enough. That is, if your CPU has dedicated graphics and maybe worth pointing out that both vendors have made a good push towards beefing up their onboard graphics then going almost neck to neck at this point.
The whole a pew lion led the charge by AMD integrating radio graphics into their CPU, but I would say the Intel’s playing catch up and they have made major strides in their latest generations. If you’re planning a gaming in HD with good textures, they’re going to need a dedicated video card. We’ll get into that when you’re choosing a video card and later on next blog post series.
7. Overclocking
Finally, we’re going to talk about overclocking. Overclocking changes your CPU default core clock and allows you to make it faster. Sounds great right! Well, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can make a critical error and CPU could be destroyed in seconds. No, I don’t want a scare you away from this, as overclocking is one of the greatest things about owning computer and being able to be a computer enthusiast and nowadays CPUs have a decent amount of protection with thermal shock down limits and overall production. Now I’m saying you can crank the V core up to 11, but as long as they’re pushing too high too fast you can stay pretty safe. Intel does have a protection plan where you could basically get the replacement chip when tuning it. The tuning protection plan provides additional coverage on only certain processors. To quote the fact, Intel’s website provided its information and that is “we understand the position, and while we cannot endorse overclocking we want to provide a limited remedy if issues arise as a result of their decision to enable overclocking.” If you’re interested in overclocking make sure the CPU you purchase is unlocked as only you can overclock with those processors. Unlocking will make your CPU run harder, meaning you will very likely need a better cooling solution. Most processes called a stock cheaper cooler, but some CPUs, do not have it and you’ll need to buy an aftermarket cooler. These radiators and extra fans of the CPU keep cool and prevent it from overheating. It’s worthy to note that AMD processors consistently brick and hold the world record for overclocking. For everyday performance to testing the upper limits AMD can do some pretty hard work. For someone with a low budget and who wants a little more power, overclocking may offer an excellent solution.
So I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I hope it helped you can select a CPU or less kind of even idea when you need to look for when selecting a CPU. If you like this post please share it, it really does help us out. Subscribe for more new blog posts by World Techpedia and we’ll see you again next time. Thanks for reading and sharing.
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