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Processor Overview
Many newcomers to the PC world may well be perplexed by the apparent choice of PC´s that are available to choose from such as the choice of CD or DVD drive, 20Gb or 30Gb hard disk? However, possibly one of the most confusing issues to arise recently is the new choice between different processors that are available, or to be more specific, whether you should go for a AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium 4 Processor.
For those of you unaware, the processor in your PC is really the brain of the machine; it does all the calculations that allow the computer to function and without it, the machine wouldn´t work at all. It is therefore essential that you carefully choose the type of processor you would like to have in your computer as a priority over other extras such as a DVD drive or scanner.
The main manufacturer in the processor arena has traditionally been Intel who has held a near monopoly for such a long period that many IT analysts couldn´t imagine anybody else possibly getting a sizable foothold in the market. Surprisingly however, a company called AMD who shadowed Intel for many years, mainly making budget processors suddenly released a revolutionary processor known as Athlon, which rapidly stole Intels thunder. Therefore, the market for buying a processor has never been better due to massive price cuts made by both manufacturers in order to increase the circulation of their branding of processor. This week I thought I´d do a comparison between the two chips so when you walk into a computer showroom, you´ll hopefully be on a better footing to knowledgably discuss your options with the salesman.
To start with the basics, processor speed generally is measured in Megahertz (Mhz), a measure of how many instruction cycles the processor can perform every second. For example a 900Mhz computer can perform 900 million cycles per second therefore determining how fast programs that require a set number of cycles can run at. For your own interest and vocabulary, 1000Mhz is the same as 1Ghz; a bit like in measurement 1000 metres is equal to 1 kilometre.
This isn´t the only determining factor in how fast the processor can run. For example, an Audi A4 1.8 Litre car is bound to out perform a old Ford Sierra with the same sized engine; it´s not just the technical capacity of the car or the processor but the actual quality of the components and the technologies used in making the best use the resources available. In the case of a processor, this would be the clock speed or the capacity of the engine in the case of a car.
Because of this reason, it is important that you don´t go into a computer showroom and automatically assume that a 1.4Ghz Pentium 4 is faster than a 1.2Ghz Athlon. I tend to find that the design of the Athlon processor tends to make it faster compared with like for like Pentium systems. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give regarding this is to have a look at the speed test results of the processor you are thinking about buying from a source such as Toms Hardware (www.tomshardware.com) before buying, while at the same time taking into account the price which incidentally is one further thing that tempts me to build my machines with Athlon processors. Not only are Athlon processors quite a bit cheaper that Pentium processors of the equivalent speed, but I´ve also found that the actual technology that surrounds a Pentium processor (i.e. the computers memory) tends to be dearer and at the end of the day, I personally don´t believe you are actually getting any more for your money.
Obviously, this article is too short to go into any of the finer points on either of these processors, but check out the guides on the Internet about these two different brands and try the system before you buy and then you can make the decision for yourself whether you believe that it would be worthless paying additional money to get a Pentium processor.
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For those of you unaware, the processor in your PC is really the brain of the machine; it does all the calculations that allow the computer to function and without it, the machine wouldn´t work at all. It is therefore essential that you carefully choose the type of processor you would like to have in your computer as a priority over other extras such as a DVD drive or scanner.
The main manufacturer in the processor arena has traditionally been Intel who has held a near monopoly for such a long period that many IT analysts couldn´t imagine anybody else possibly getting a sizable foothold in the market. Surprisingly however, a company called AMD who shadowed Intel for many years, mainly making budget processors suddenly released a revolutionary processor known as Athlon, which rapidly stole Intels thunder. Therefore, the market for buying a processor has never been better due to massive price cuts made by both manufacturers in order to increase the circulation of their branding of processor. This week I thought I´d do a comparison between the two chips so when you walk into a computer showroom, you´ll hopefully be on a better footing to knowledgably discuss your options with the salesman.
To start with the basics, processor speed generally is measured in Megahertz (Mhz), a measure of how many instruction cycles the processor can perform every second. For example a 900Mhz computer can perform 900 million cycles per second therefore determining how fast programs that require a set number of cycles can run at. For your own interest and vocabulary, 1000Mhz is the same as 1Ghz; a bit like in measurement 1000 metres is equal to 1 kilometre.
This isn´t the only determining factor in how fast the processor can run. For example, an Audi A4 1.8 Litre car is bound to out perform a old Ford Sierra with the same sized engine; it´s not just the technical capacity of the car or the processor but the actual quality of the components and the technologies used in making the best use the resources available. In the case of a processor, this would be the clock speed or the capacity of the engine in the case of a car.
Because of this reason, it is important that you don´t go into a computer showroom and automatically assume that a 1.4Ghz Pentium 4 is faster than a 1.2Ghz Athlon. I tend to find that the design of the Athlon processor tends to make it faster compared with like for like Pentium systems. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give regarding this is to have a look at the speed test results of the processor you are thinking about buying from a source such as Toms Hardware (www.tomshardware.com) before buying, while at the same time taking into account the price which incidentally is one further thing that tempts me to build my machines with Athlon processors. Not only are Athlon processors quite a bit cheaper that Pentium processors of the equivalent speed, but I´ve also found that the actual technology that surrounds a Pentium processor (i.e. the computers memory) tends to be dearer and at the end of the day, I personally don´t believe you are actually getting any more for your money.
Obviously, this article is too short to go into any of the finer points on either of these processors, but check out the guides on the Internet about these two different brands and try the system before you buy and then you can make the decision for yourself whether you believe that it would be worthless paying additional money to get a Pentium processor.
Sponsored by Refresh Cartridges
[ Print This Page ]
[ Back to Main Page ]