How to Choose a CPU?

This page will explain how to choose a CPU. Choosing a CPU can be extremely difficult. You here all the terms: E6850, 3Ghz, Pentium 4, but then you cry in despair, "What Do I need". This page will hopefully make choosing the right processor a whole lot easier. Once you have bought a CPU and are looking toinstall a CPU go to this page.

What's your budget?

The first step in how to choose a cpu is to work out your budget. There is no point looking at the latest CPUs if you have a very tight budget. I can't force you to buy a certain CPU or tell you how much money to spend but I can give you a recommendation. First of all the computer CPU is the most important component of your computer so if you buy a cheap CPU then your computer will not be top quality no matter how much you spend on other components.

A good way in figuring out how much to spend on your processor is to work out how much you are willing to spend on your entire computer. I would say your processor should cost 20% of your entire budget. So if you have a $1000 budget then you should look at buying a CPU for around $200. If your budget is $500 then the CPU should cost around $100 and so on.

What's your motherboard?

The second step in how to choose a cpu is to make sure that your cpu will fit and be supported by your motherboard. If you are building a new computer then I would recommend locating your CPU and then buying a motherboard to suit that CPU. However, you may have a motherboard already and now you just need a CPU to fit this motherboard. This will make choosing your CPU a whole lot easier for you can only have a CPU that is made for your motherboard. Your motherboard manual will mention which CPU is supported and how many pins the CPU must have to fit inside the motherboard.

What's your needs?

The third step in how to choose a cpu is working out your needs. The CPU/Processor does the majority of the work in a computer so if you use your computer for many power-chewing programs and applications then your CPU would have to be better then if you just browsed the internet. Hopefully the table below will help you identify your needs and your CPU.

Computer User	Intel CPU	AMD CPU	Cost
The Basic Computer User: Uses his/her computer for surfing the internet, sending emails and writing up basic documents.	Pentium III, Celeron	Athlon, Duron	$10-$50
Middle Range User: Uses his/her computer for surfing the internet, sending emails, writing up documents, other applications and for basic games.	Pentium IV, Celeron	Athlon, Athlon XP	$40-$100
Common Computer User: Uses his/her computer like the middle range user except that this user plays better games (not the latest) uses more advanced programs (such as photoshop etc.) and uses his/her computer for entertainment purposes such as music, tv and watching movies.	Pentium IV, Pentium D, Core Duo	Athlon XP, Athlon 64	$80-$200
Hard Core Gamer or Video Editor: Uses his/her computer for playing hard-core games or for intensive applications and programs, or for high-end video editing.	Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad	Athlon 64 X2, Sempron, Phenom	$200-$600

How long do you want your computer to last?

The last step in how to choose a CPU is to work out how long you want your computer to last. There are a number of things to consider. Firstly is this computer made to last for at least five years. If so then the CPU you purchase now should be good enough to keep up with up coming software and be good enough to handle a new operating system. Windows Vista has just come out so your CPU would need to be good enough to run this as in five years time there would be nearly no XP computers left.

If you don't want to keep your computer for a long time (just a year or two) then I would recommend not buying the latest CPU. If you are constantly upgrading this could become an expensive process.

My Recommendation

If you are looking to buy a computer cpu, my recommendation would currently be the new generation Intel Core 2 Duos. These are significantly better then the Pentium 4 and are much more stable. They are also dual core meaning that they have two cores for handling a greater workload. Dual Cores are said to increase performance power by 80%.

The Core 2 Duo is not only perfect for intensive gaming and video editing but it is also great for the basic home user. I would recommend this chipset even if it was your first computer because you will avoid problems, be able to handle Windows Vista (the latest Windows operating system) and you will not need to upgrade for many years to come. The fast Pentium 4s which have fast clock speeds get to very high temperatures, which can lead to instability. That is why the new generation core 2 duo is my recommended choice.

This article has hopefully shed light on how to choose a cpu in your budget and for your needs.

 

Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition Processor

There is lots of talk about the brand new Intel Core i7 Processors so I thought I would do a review on one of them. I chose the fastest of the lot, that being the Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition Processor BX80601965. This processor is extremely fast but extremely expensive and this review will weigh up whether it is worth the cost or not.

Performance and Comparison

The Intel i7 965 Extreme Edition Processor BX80601965 is arguable the best CPU available on the market at the present time. It is said to improve performance by up to 40%.

However this performance does depend on what you want to do with them. Gaming performance is similar and sometimes slightly under that of Core 2 with a single video card. Adding more than one brings out the beast. Where Core i7 is most powerful is in applications which are highly multithreaded, ie. they can use more "cores" efficiently. DivX video encoding on the slowest Core i7 920 will be ~70% faster than a Core 2 Quad Q6600 while having only a 266MHz faster clock speed and with 2/3 the cache.

Features

• Quad Core
• Enhanced Intel Speedstep® Technology
• Hyper-Threading Technology 1
• Intel® EM64T 2
• Intel® Virtualization Technology
• Enhanced Halt State (C1E)
• Execute Disable Bit 3
• Intel® Thermal Monitor 2

Specifications

• sSpec Number: SLBCJ
• CPU Speed: 3.20 GHz
• PCG: 08
• Bus Speed: 6.4 GT/s
• Bus/Core Ratio: 24
• L3 Cache Size: 8 MB
• L3 Cache Speed: 3.2 GHz
• Package Type: LGA1366
• Manufacturing Technology: 45 nm
• Core Stepping: C0
• CPUID String: 106A4h
• Thermal Design Power: 130W
• VID Voltage Range: .80V-1.375V

References: Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition I7-965 from the Intel Site

Problems

I know what your asking at the moment. So should I buy it? It sounds absolutly great but is it worth the money? The major problem with the Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition Processor BX80601965 or the Intel i7 CPUs as a whole is that you need to upgrade your whole computer not just your CPU.

The Core i7 will require a new (and right now, expensive) motherboard and new RAM as it uses overpriced DDR3, not DDR2. So instead of just paying for the CPU you need to pay for the motherboard and the new DDR3 RAM. So this whole process and thus the whole upgrade becomes much more expensive then originally thought.

Summary

However, if money is not a problem and performance and quality is number one for you then don't hesitate but get this new: Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition Processor. Your computer's performance will be incredible and for myself I can't wait to the prices drop so that I can get my hands onto one of them!

Video Editing programs will also benefit from these new cores so I think if you have the funds the i7 is the way to go. So if you make money through video editing and time is an issue, then this would be the way to go.

Still have questions or comments on this latest CPU? Go to my new forum and post it there. There is already some interesting information on the i7 CPUs.

Ready to Buy? Go to TigerDirect and buy the Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition Processor BX80601965 for possibly the best price on the internet.

 

Computer CPU

A computer cpu is the brain that runs a computer. CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the core chip to a computer. It is placed in the cpu socket and from here it forms an electrical interface with the motherboard. A CPU is the most important part in a computer.

Whenever people talk and brag about their computer they always talk about their CPU first. They say, 'its a Pentium 4, 3.0 Ghz' or 'its a Q6600, Quad Core beast'. Whenever minimum requirements are mentioned on the back of software packages, the CPU processor is the most important piece of information.

No matter how much RAM (Random Access Memory) or Hard Drive space you have, the CPU dictates whether the program will run on the computer or not.

Modern processors have millions of transistors placed onto the little square which is called a die. The CPU is responsible for processing codes and instructions through to the motherboard which sends the information through to the graphics card where it then travels to your monitor and then appears on your screen.

AMD, Cyrix and Intel are the major CPU manufacturers. Intel released the first CPU processor which was the 4004 in the year of 1971. It ran at 740kHz (740,000 hertz) compared to the more modern computers that can run up to 3Ghz (3,000,000,000 hertz).

Intel just released the new i7 CPUs. I have just reviewed the best of the lot the: Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition Processors. Be sure to check it out!