Q: What is a CPU?

All computers have a CPU. The name is an acronym - Central Processing Unit, which neatly sums up its purpose. Central since it connects everything, Processing because that's the main task, and Unit is self-explanatory. The CPU is mounted on the motherboard, which in turn connects all the parts in the PC. Through the motherboard, the CPU is able to read and write data from hard drives, RAM, the internet, and more. It is on the motherboard where you will also mount graphics card and RAM close to the CPU. The distance matters since the CPU makes billions of operations every second, so faster parts are generally closer together! The CPU is divided into cores, which lets it run many calculations simultaneously. Why is this important? Say you're playing a game, while watching a video, while talking with your friends in Discord, while you... Yeah, multitasking is very common on a PC, so it's advantageous if the PC can divide work to different cores. More expensive CPUs tend to have more cores, which is very important for some people. For those who work with 3D models, video editing, or programming, more cores can really make a difference. Threads are closely related to cores. In short, a core is a physical divide of the CPU, while a thread is part of how the CPU structures work. Just like cores, more threads allows the computer to run more tasks at once. A CPU looks to us sort of like a metal biscuit, but inside there are billions of tiny transistors. These are the miniscule workers who run all computations. In the 90s, CPUs had millions of transistors. The amount has increased by 1000x since then, which illustrates how much faster computers are today!

Q: Should you always get the latest generation?

New generations often have support for new technologies and are faster than the last generation. However, just like with phones, it might be worth looking into the previous generation if you want to save money, since they can get cheaper as retailers shift to the new generation. The performance difference between the generations varies a lot as well, so it might be worth looking into what difference it makes in case you are considering an earlier generation.

Q: How important are the GHz and core numbers?

GHz is a measure of clock speed. While clock speed matters, it is far from the only thing that makes a CPU faster. The reason clock speed is often talked about is since a lot of people overclock (OC) their CPUs to get more performance by increasing the GHz. But if you want to know the true performance between two different CPUs, looking at reviews is a much better guide. Generally, generation and performance tier are way more important to consider. The number of cores that a CPU has does not matter for most people. 4-6 cores is just fine. However, if you will use the PC for heavy calculations such as 3D modelling, editing high-res video, livestreaming, or programming (compiling), you might want to consider a CPU with more cores. More cores are also useful if you multitask a lot (if you tend to have dozens of tabs open while gaming, I'm talking to you!)

Question 1

What should you consider when picking a CPU?

Accepted Answer

There are only two manufacturers of CPUs for PC: AMD and Intel. They both make great CPUs so which one you go with is not important for most people.

Just like a lot of other technology, new generations of CPUs are released every 1-2 years. Most people buy the latest generation. On BUILDAPC, you can select a quick filter to only see the latest generation of CPUs.

Both AMD and Intel use the same numbers to differentiate between performance tiers. AMD Ryzen 3 is in the same tier as Intel Core i3, Ryzen 5 is same tier as Core i5, and so on. The manufacturers also have pretty simple naming for us to tell which CPU is fastest. Generally, the higher the number, the faster the CPU. The first number in a CPU name is the generation. E.g. Core i7 12700K is one generation newer than Core i7 11700K, and Core i7 12700K is faster than Core i5 12600K.

Most gaming PCs have a graphics card that takes care of graphics, but CPUs can also have integrated graphics. Not everyone plays graphically demanding games, and those people manage just fine without a graphics card as long as the CPU has integrated graphics.

Question 2

Which performance tier suits me?

Accepted Answer

In most cases, you will choose tier depending on your budget. If the budget for your PC is <$700, the most common tier is Ryzen 3 or Core i3. In the $1000 range, Ryzen 5/Core i5 are popular. $1500 and above, some will consider the Ryzen 7/Core i7. Higher budget builds can go with Ryzen 9/Core i9 or even Threadripper for those who really want top tier performance.

There are no obvious limits between these loose budget classes and a lot simply depends on what you prioritize. The two most expensive parts in a PC are the CPU and graphics card. So if you do not play a lot of games, maybe you will choose to prioritize a faster CPU rather than graphics card, or vice versa if you do play graphically demanding games.

Question 3

What is a CPU?

Accepted Answer

All computers have a CPU. The name is an acronym - Central Processing Unit, which neatly sums up its purpose. Central since it connects everything, Processing because that's the main task, and Unit is self-explanatory.

The CPU is mounted on the motherboard, which in turn connects all the parts in the PC. Through the motherboard, the CPU is able to read and write data from hard drives, RAM, the internet, and more. It is on the motherboard where you will also mount graphics card and RAM close to the CPU. The distance matters since the CPU makes billions of operations every second, so faster parts are generally closer together!

The CPU is divided into cores, which lets it run many calculations simultaneously. Why is this important? Say you're playing a game, while watching a video, while talking with your friends in Discord, while you... Yeah, multitasking is very common on a PC, so it's advantageous if the PC can divide work to different cores. More expensive CPUs tend to have more cores, which is very important for some people. For those who work with 3D models, video editing, or programming, more cores can really make a difference. Threads are closely related to cores. In short, a core is a physical divide of the CPU, while a thread is part of how the CPU structures work. Just like cores, more threads allows the computer to run more tasks at once.

A CPU looks to us sort of like a metal biscuit, but inside there are billions of tiny transistors. These are the miniscule workers who run all computations. In the 90s, CPUs had millions of transistors. The amount has increased by 1000x since then, which illustrates how much faster computers are today!

Question 4

Should you always get the latest generation?

Accepted Answer

New generations often have support for new technologies and are faster than the last generation. However, just like with phones, it might be worth looking into the previous generation if you want to save money, since they can get cheaper as retailers shift to the new generation. The performance difference between the generations varies a lot as well, so it might be worth looking into what difference it makes in case you are considering an earlier generation.

Question 5

How important are the GHz and core numbers?

Accepted Answer

GHz is a measure of clock speed. While clock speed matters, it is far from the only thing that makes a CPU faster. The reason clock speed is often talked about is since a lot of people overclock (OC) their CPUs to get more performance by increasing the GHz. But if you want to know the true performance between two different CPUs, looking at reviews is a much better guide. Generally, generation and performance tier are way more important to consider.

The number of cores that a CPU has does not matter for most people. 4-6 cores is just fine. However, if you will use the PC for heavy calculations such as 3D modelling, editing high-res video, livestreaming, or programming (compiling), you might want to consider a CPU with more cores. More cores are also useful if you multitask a lot (if you tend to have dozens of tabs open while gaming, I'm talking to you!)

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