CPU

Looking For an Intel Processor?

Naming conventions vs. technical specifications

By Alexandru Pancescu, Hardware Editor

3rd of September 2007, 12:55 GMT

Adjust text size:

Intel, as the most important processor manufacturer in the whole world, has quite a few processors running around these days and the company plans to release more soon. Currently there are Intel processors for just every branch of computer technology available from mobile computing systems like laptops and notebooks, to desktop computers, servers and embedded solutions. As each of these platforms comes with distinct specifications and priorities, there are a lot of different processor families around. Even when looking at a single hardware manufacturer we see at least two families of products: those designed for desktop systems and those for

mobile computing.

Currently Intel has an offering of more than 30 processors unified under the Core 2 Duo brand and that is not counting server and embedded intended CPUs, so it is hard for most average computer users to select the best product for their needs. Even if Intel already has quite a wide offering of quad core processors for laptops and desktop computer systems, the main offering is still supported by the dual core architecture which is now completely replacing the single core one. The first question that a nowadays computer user should ask when buying a new processor is about the number of cores. Unlike older generations, now most CPUs come with at least two cores which are in fact separate processing units that share the same silicon die. Simply put, two cores are better than a single one, while being over performed by a quad core setup.

The next big thing is the clock speed or running frequency as that is one of the most important parameters of a processor. While looking at the speed of a processor, it is important to always compare processors from the same class as it would mean little to compare the speed of a dual or quad core to the running speed of a single core. L2 cache memory is another important thing to look for and the general rule is the greater the better as in the second level of cache memory the CPU stores important data and instructions without having to access the mush slower random access memory. For multicore setups the L2 cache is shared among the processing cores and some newer CPUs come even with a third level of cache memory.
The FSB - frontside bus- is a data bus that every CPU uses to communicate with the rest of the computer and because of that it is important to know how fast the FSB really is. Usually nowadays FSB reaching up to 1333MHz are nothing out of the ordinary but there are lower speeds too like 1066MHz, 800MHz all the way down to 400MHz for older CPU and chipsets models.

The last item that can make or break your computer performance wise speaking is the chipset as every central processing unit comes with a minimum chipset requirement. While going for a mainboard which integrates an older chipset may be a good way to save some money, doing so may prevent a newer generation CPU to reach its full capabilities. Unlike the processor naming scheme Intel kept the chipset names to a bare minimum of letters and digits so it is really easy to figure out a new chipset from an old one: just compare their numbers. Newer chipsets have higher number, with the exception of few very new products like the X38 and P35.

TAGS:

Intel | CPU | processor | chipset | dual core

SEARCH THE NEWS ARCHIVE :

Today's News | Yesterday's News | News Archive

User opinions:

No user comments yet.

Be the first to express your opinion using the form below!

Share your opinion:

SUBMIT PROGRAM \| ADVERTISE \| GET HELP \| SEND US FEEDBACK \| RSS FEEDS \| ENTER NEWS SITE \| ENGLISH BOARD \| ROMANIAN FORUM
© 2001 - 2008 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Softpedia™ and the Softpedia™ logo are registered trademarks of SoftNews NET SRL.	Copyright Information \| Privacy Policy \| Terms of Use \| Update your software \| Archive

NEWS CATEGORIES:

CPU