Processor
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The central processing unit (CPU) or processor can be seen as the brain of your computer. It is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions. It is involved in almost every task exectuted, even when the mouse is moved it is the processor that performs the necessary calculations needed for translating this movement to a virtual movement on the screen. Beside the calulative function the cpu also has a controlling function, the internal components such as the graphics card, hard disk, memory are all in some way controlled and accessed by this processor. So the speed of the processor largely explains the speed of the computer as a whole. Only for tasks such as playing video games assistance in the form of graphics card is need. |
There are 2 big players on the market; Intel and AMD. At this time Intel has the fastest technology, because of this AMD aims for the slower but cheaper cpu's. Both companies offer a huge selection of different prodcuts. The competition is big, because of this a comparable price usually means comparable performance. Choosing your processor infuences which motherboard you can use. Each new series of processors have their own "socket", you can read more about this at the motherboard page.
Single core, Dual Core, Quadcore, X2, X3, X4 what does this mean?
Due to advances in the minituarization process of electronics chips, the dual core processor has been invented. So what is this dual core processor? To put thing simple; A Dual Core processor is just 2 processor placed on the same chip that are able to "talk" to each other. Processors now then called a "core" instead of processor. So with a dual core processor you actually posess 2 processors in 1 computer. Quadcore goes further, now 4 so called cores are placed on 1 chip. AMD uses a slightly different terminology; X2 means dualcore, X3 means 3 cores and X4 stands for quad-core.
So many cores, do I really need this?
Wheter you benefit from multiple cores completely depens of the current of future usage of your pc. If you just want to browse the internet and run software like microfosft office, then a simple single core processor will be suffice. When you like to edit picture, make use of PDF files, or have other purposes then a dual core is advised. Nowadays a dual core is a requirement for gaming, so if you like to game then you will need a dualcore or quadcore CPU. Note that in most cases a quadcore will only bring a small performance gain. Below you will find a detailed description why this is a reality and a short summary that sums op the advantages and disadvatages of quadcore.
Usage of Quadcore:
Most of the existing software has been created to ultize 1 or at most 2 cores. Because a quadcore cpu has 4 of these cores this basically means that the other 2 cores are idle. Of course this does not hurt performance, it can even increase it a little because the other cores can take care of background processes (Windows etc), however in most cases the speed in Ghz of these quadcore's is a lot lower, or cost a lot more. Therefore PcInside advises to look at mhz rather then cores when buying a cpu.
Computation power of dualcore vs quadcore:
A quadcore of 2.5 Ghz (4x 2.5 Ghz) priced €250, is ofter slower than a cheaper dualcore of 3.166 Ghz (2x 3.166 Ghz) priced €189. When only 1 or 2 cores is used the dualcore processor has more computation power available. Example:
| used cores | dualcore | quadcore | difference |
| 1 | 3,17 | 2,5 | 0,666 |
| 2 | 6,33 | 5 | 1,332 |
| 3 | 6,33 | 7,5 | -1,168 |
| 4 | 6,33 | 10 | -3,668 |
From this table one can conclude that in applications that use 1 or 2 cores, the dualcore is a lot faster (0.6 Ghz and 1.3 Ghz more power available). When 3 (or more) cores are used the quadcore cpu gains the lead (1.1 Ghz more power). When using 4 cores this lead get's as high as 3.6 Ghz.
Taken the above into account we can say that the choice of dualcore vs quadcore completely depens on the usage of your pc. Only when you encode video's and do a lot of rendering computations (maya, 3dstudiomax) a quadcore is the best solution. Often a quadcore is validated with the argument of being ready for the future. However you have to keep in mind that with the money you save today, in two years time you are likely to buy a processor that is twice as fast.
Power usage of dualcore vs quadcore:
It is not hard to imagine that when using the same technology a processor with 4 cores uses more power than one with 2. Since almost all power get's converted into heat, this also means this processor will produce more warmth (and thus be louder). The following table presents a short overview (based on common cpu's diveded by type):
| # of cores | usage | watt intel* | watt amd** | |
| single core | 1 | internet | 35W | 45W |
| dual core | 2 | gaming | 65W | 89W-95W |
| quad core | 4 | videobewerking | 95W | 95W |
Summary:
Dualcore:
+performance in current software (Games, regular usage)
+price, more Ghz for half the price
-slower encoding of video's and rendering
Quadcore:
+performance for software that uses 3 cores or more
-more expensive
-larger warmth production compared to a similar dual core processor
-larger power consumption compared to a similar dual core processor
The best and most simle means to identy the processor you need is by comparing so called benchmarks. These are comparisions that rate the processors by measuring its "speed" in different appliations and enviroments. Check out the links page for some url's.
A rather complete overview of benchmarked CPU's: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/benchmarks,31.html
Aiding your choice
The part has been devided into power usage and performance.
-power consumption
TDP is the value to which the processor operates below maximum operating temperatures (temperaturs can reach as high as 90 degrees). In reality this means that the processor tries not to cross this value. The so called TDP this gives an indication regarding the power consumption of a processor. This is, according to us, a more valid approach than measuring power usage of a pc (other parts use power as well).
Gaming:
Faster is better (highest value)
Rendering:
Faster is better (lowest time)
A more complete overview: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/benchmarks,31.html
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Sources:
*Based on op Intel: single core Celeron 440, dualcore E8400, quadcore Q9650
**Based on Amd: single core AM64 le-1640, dualcore X2 6000+ tot X3 8750, X4 Phemon 9950