Part 2: The CPU

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This week I'm going to educate you on the computers CPU. While I have already made an article highlighting the two main CPU manufacturers, this one will go more in depth about what a CPU is for, and how to decide what you should choose, if you ever need to do so. The CPU is basically the brain of the computer. It handles the processes, calculations, and effects overall system performance and stability. Most computers now come with a quad-core processor, however dual-core is still relatively popular, and you can find 6-core if you look around. More cores is better, up to a point. The number of cores is how your computer multi-tasks. For example, if you are rendering video, one core may handle the monochrome, and another core may handle effects, and another core may handle sound. It allows your computer to do more tasks faster, without putting too much stress on the machine. An average user does not need anything over a quad-core, even most power-users won't benefit from 6 or 8 cores. Most applications can only use 2 - 4 cores right now anyways, and the only reason for 6 or more would be if you are into intense 3D graphics creation or video rendering. Four cores is plenty for any computer at this time, what you want to look at is the clock speed. The clock speed (usually measured in Ghz) is how fast the CPU runs, the clock rate if you will. To have a relatively decent computer you should aim for a CPU with a clock speed of at least 3Ghz, and the more the better. Having a higher clock speed allows your computer to run things more smoothly and handle things without crashing. The highest speed you will be able to find at the moment is around 3.8Ghz, which is very fast, and while you can go higher (4.5-4.8) you need to overclock your CPU for those speeds, and that is something a regular user should not do, as it can fry your CPU or drastically decrease the lifespan.