6. Processors

Short for Central Processing Unit. This is the processor; the brain of the computer. Everything in the computer is controlled from here. There are two major manufacturers of processors in the personal computer (PC) market – Intel and AMD. Intel processors are considered to be the best and most reliable in the market; however AMD’s processors are almost as good at a lower price. Other manufacturers in the market produce processors for various other electronic products like mobile phones, servers and supercomputers. Every electronic component has a microprocessor that acts as a brain.

Between the two (Intel and AMD), I personally have problems choosing myself. So to keep it simple, I look into my wallet. The processor is the costliest of all the components inside the computers and AMD processors generally save you 20% to 40%. On the other hand, most programmers, game developers and graphic designers would often opt for an Intel over their competitor on any day of the week. If you are reading these articles, then processing power and computing algorithms are as alien to you as durians are to a Caucasian; therefore either processor would do the task. So, do as I do, look into your wallet.


So how do you choose a CPU?

Let’s look at the numbers. With computers, numbers tell a lot. Generally, the higher the better. You’d typically find a description of the CPU in the details or specifications of a computer brochure. Here’s an example:


Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor E4600 (2MB L2 Cache, 2.40GHz, 800MHz FSB)


The first word is obviously the brand of the processor. The words that follow after tell you which generation of processor it is. Below is a simplified list of processors currently in the market starting from the latest down.


Intel

Year

Clock Speed

FSB

Pentium Core 2 and Quads

2006

1.06 GHz to 3.20 GHz

Up to 1333MHz

Pentium Dual Core

2005

1.44 GHz to 2.6 GHz

800MHz

Pentium 4

2000

1.3 GHz to 3.8 GHz

400MHz

Pentium III

1999

450 MHz to 1.4 GHz

100 MHz to 133 MHz

Pentium II

1997

233 MHz to 450 MHz

66 MHz to 100 MHz

AMD

Year

Clock Speed

FSB

Phenom X3 and X4

2008

Up to 2.4GHz


Athlon 64 X2

2007

2.6GHz to 3.2GHz

1000MHz Hypertransport

Athlon 64

2005

1.6GHz to 3.0GHz

500 to 800MHz

Athlon XP/MP

2001

850 MHz to 2.7 GHz

133MHz

Athlon Classic

1999

500 MHz to 700MHz

100MHz and 133MHz

K6

1997

166MHz to 300MHz

66Mhz


Within each generation of processors, manufacturers will develop various models each with its own characteristics to suit the needs of a user. The model number E4600 is only useful if you want to go to the manufacturer’s website to look at its specifications. Most vendors would readily provide it; in this case they are in the bracket that follows. However there are vendors who may want to lure you with a price tag. Such vendors would package the computer with a lower grade processor and simply leave the model number. Unsuspecting buyers would fall for the low price and later discover their processor has been removed from the market. Generally this is not much of a problem until you require an upgrade, in which case the vendor will tell you that the only option is to spend almost the amount of a brand new unit. This is because they would replace most of the vital components in your computer with new parts.

Now let us look at the number.


2Mb L2 Cache

This is the internal memory of the processor. The cache reduced the time it takes to access the computer by retaining certain programs in it. It works pretty much how your memory works. What you remember is faster to access than for you look up a book or the internet. L2 simply means Level 2 which is faster than L1 cache. 2Mb is the size of the cache. Remember, bigger is better.


2.40GHz

Also referred to as the clock speed, this is the speed at which the processor is capable of working. When comparing, pay close attention to the measurement. 1 GHz is 1000 MHz. I have actually encountered sales persons who pointed out that their processor speed at 800MHz is a bigger number than the catalog I had in my hand.


FSB

The number that follows after that is the Front Side Bus (FSB) speed. What is a bus to you? A transportation device or vehicle, right? That is exactly what this is. The FSB is responsible for carrying or transferring data from the processor to the motherboard. Once again an 800MHz FSB is slower than a 1333Mhz FSB.


Multi Core

Since 2006, we have seen the birth of a whole new breed of processors. These core based processors are basically like having more than one CPU built into a single unit. By building more CPU cores into one unit, the processor runs with just that many times the speed of one CPU. Although most consumers still go for dual core processors, mostly due to price, we will see the quads taking over the market in a year or two at most.


Sockets

Another thing that you would need to know about processors is the socket type. I will explain this in the topic on motherboards, however you only really need to know this if you intend to pick each component yourself.




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