Feb 18, 2011

The Hardwareguide (part 2 of 11)

The CPU (central processing unit)

Get a CPU that suits your needs. Most of the people buying high-end CPUs do not fully utilize them, and could have easily chosen something adequate for a lower price.

Most games utilize only 1 or 2 cores. A few modern games (future games mostly certainly) utilize more. Getting a CPU with more cores will not necessarily improve your gaming performance.

Modern hames are more GPU-bottlenecked. For better gaming performance, allocate more of your budget to GPU than CPU. Going higher than i5 brings little or no benefit in games.

Intel Core i5 and i7 CPU


Do not get hexacores yet. The i5/i7 CPUs are better than the AMD hexacores for the same prices, and the Intel hexacores cost too much to be justified.

Athlon II's are great for budget build. Phenom II's for mid-tier build, and the i5s for high-end. The i7s are for professionals/enthusiasts who can fully utilize the computer power.

AMD Phenom II X4 and Athlon II X4

The top CPUs (i7) usually have hyper-threading, allowing for more threads. This may give major boost in some programs, but may not necessarily improve gaming performance.
Posted by Lance Powers at 3:18 PM

42 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    Nice, info. Seems like the AMD's Chipsets kind of died out since the i7 came along.

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  2. PolybiusFebruary 18, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    I certainly gotta upgrade from my Core 2, because it's getting outdated.

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  3. Layman ResearcherFebruary 18, 2011 at 8:21 PM

    Both Intel and AMD have exciting new releases coming up this year

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  4. KUSHtunesFebruary 18, 2011 at 10:20 PM

    I wonder what'll be in the next computer I purchase.

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  5. SidewayzFebruary 19, 2011 at 12:49 AM

    how much do you know about hard drives and calculating IOPS?

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  6. Lendo KharFebruary 19, 2011 at 1:50 AM

    That's what I wanted to know, bro!, I asked about prices in my local computer shop, because I'm building a new pc, and i7 cpus are too pricey. I can afford a i5 though.

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  7. differenxeFebruary 19, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    I still have an old dual core, no need for upgrading for now.

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  8. Ion762February 19, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    yeah intel is currently over amd in the CPU department though they normally flip every few years or so in terms of quality

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  9. LeviuqseFebruary 19, 2011 at 9:40 PM

    I got a new i5 laptop last week..
    im very happy with it so far

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  10. D22 ZoneFebruary 19, 2011 at 9:41 PM

    Thanks for the tips! Didn't know that some games only use 2 cores!

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  11. rocknrollcrazyFebruary 19, 2011 at 10:06 PM

    I have an intel core 2 in my laptop, i've had it since february of 2008

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  12. CharlesFebruary 19, 2011 at 10:22 PM

    intel pentium 4 2.8GHz dual core baby lol (8 years old... *cry*) but it WAS really really expensive when I first got it...

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  13. HillDogFebruary 19, 2011 at 10:42 PM

    This was super informative. I think i'm rolling with the amd chip, it's just so much cheaper. Could you post about how to get the best value when overclocking?

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  14. LifeHacksFebruary 19, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    I'll take my quad core baby

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  15. keisseFebruary 19, 2011 at 11:41 PM

    had intell a while back, on AMD now

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  16. BobbyFebruary 20, 2011 at 12:13 AM

    Always enjoy learning new things about computers. Thank you!

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  17. Every DayFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:45 AM

    @HillDog, get a good CPU cooler.

    I'm running an i5 currently, able to overclock it to 4.03ghz.a bit overkill but I hope it lasts long enough. :)

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  18. MikasFebruary 20, 2011 at 6:33 PM

    I still have an old AMD Athlon X2 :(

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  19. fulano talFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:01 PM

    Man i wish i had money for a Intel i7 :s
    I really need to hook my computer up if i want to play the next crysis game! :P
    I'm looking forward for a 100$ computer :)

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  20. EgzFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:01 PM

    The i7 is just amazing, got one here.

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  21. NoMoreTroubleFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    I got one of these CPUs and let me tell you, you notice the difference IMMEDIATELY!

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  22. PhotoBlogFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:11 PM

    I have no knowledge about computers so this helped me quite a bit. thanks!

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  23. Noah VawterFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:23 PM

    yeah AMD had a cahcne but couldn't hang. too bad. intel needs more competition to make them strong.

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  24. vdubFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    running a intel atom. you must all be mad right about now

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  25. AnonymousFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:41 PM

    great info! would love to see an article on motherboard/cpu setup combos.

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  26. Guys I'm Freaking Out!!!February 20, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    I'll be sure to be checking on your blog this summer when I'll be building a new machine.

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  27. RaphmuFebruary 20, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    So far I'm fine with my old dual-core but thanks for tips, going to remember this when upgrading

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  28. KyleFebruary 20, 2011 at 9:29 PM

    ive always gone back and forth between the two, but intel is just that step ahead i feel like right now.

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  29. Anny SmithFebruary 20, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    Sweet articol :)

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  30. ViolinDevFebruary 21, 2011 at 12:52 AM

    wish i had more $$ :[

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  31. FIHIRFebruary 21, 2011 at 3:04 AM

    wow, so much good info here, will read this blog !

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  32. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2011 at 1:45 PM

    Technology never ceases to amaze me with the speed at which it evolves. It's not a linear advancement, but rather exponential growth.

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  33. Ian MaguireFebruary 21, 2011 at 5:35 PM

    Thats some great info, im going to upgrade my current behemoth soon, thanks for posting this.

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  34. Patti D.February 21, 2011 at 5:37 PM

    It's also very useful when Intel puts stars rating their own microprocessors.

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  35. l33 v4n cl33fFebruary 21, 2011 at 5:52 PM

    very informative blog, im thinking about upgrading in the near future.

    following ;)

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  36. SamuriFerretFebruary 21, 2011 at 5:54 PM

    I'm looking into getting a new computer so this is a useful guide. Thanks!

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  37. College KidFebruary 21, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    great and informative post. Thanks!

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  38. SpikeFebruary 21, 2011 at 7:23 PM

    Didn´t knew that. thanks

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  39. TheInternetViewFebruary 21, 2011 at 7:25 PM

    Yeah I'm looking towards getting i7. Maybe not the most useful, but right now I have core 2.

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  40. RaphmuFebruary 21, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    Just had to look at this post again because it's so good and informative

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  41. ScottDFebruary 21, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    i7 1366 best platform.

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  42. TVShowsFebruary 21, 2011 at 9:49 PM

    God I dream with a pentium i7...

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