The Central Processing Unit or CPU is the core of your system, the most important part as all operations must go through the CPU at some point. Referred to by many as the "brain of the computer", the CPU is responsible for handling everything from basic arithmetic, logic, and control of various hardware through I/O (input/output) operations.
How does a CPU work?
The job of the CPU is to handle instructions and calculations necessary for the PC to operate. Without getting into the deep complexities of system architecture, every CPU operates on the same principle: Receive Input, Produce Output.
When a program is run, code is sent to the processor as an input which is interpreted by the processor and executed, resulting in an output.
What do the specs of a CPU mean?
When picking out a CPU, you may see a few specifications thrown around such as Processor Cores, Clock Speed, Socket, etc. Together these specs provide an idea as to the performance of the processor.
Clock Speed
The Clock Speed or Frequency of a CPU is an indication of how many instructions a CPU core can handle per second, typically measured in GHz. For example, a 3 GHz processor can handle approximately 3 Billion instructions per second. That isn't to say however that all 3GHz processors are made equal, as other specs such as the number of cores, amount of cache, and the architecture of the processor can have a major impact on performance.
Processor Cores
The Core of a processor is the part which handles the execution of code. Originally all processors were single-core processors and were limited to a single task or thread at a time, however as technology has improved we've seen the introduction of CPUs with multiple cores and cores optimized to take on multiple threads of work.
CPU Cores capable of taking on multiple threads at once will have a feature known as Simultaneous Multi-threading or SMT, which is also called Hyper-threading by Intel.
Additionally, some CPUs will feature a mix of two types of CPU cores: performance oriented P-Cores and power efficient E-Cores.
Socket
The CPU Socket is the bridge that connects the CPU to the Motherboard. CPU Sockets come in many different sizes but primarily only one of two types: Land-grid Array (LGA) and Pin-grid Array (PGA).
Land-grid Array or LGA sockets feature pins in the socket itself that make contact with pads on the underside of the CPU. These are most common across Intel CPUs as well as newer AMD CPUs like the AM5 Socket and various TR based sockets like TR4 and sTR5.
Pin-grid Array or PGA sockets feature pins on the underside of the CPU which slot into the motherboard socket. This type of socket is most common with AMD CPUs prior to AM5, including the AM4 and AM3 series of sockets.
Cache
An important but seldom talked about spec of a CPU, Cache is a form of very small, incredibly fast memory built into the CPU itself. This is broken down into several levels (L1, L2, and L3) which are used by the CPU to store data necessary for quick calculations. The smallest and fastest is L1, followed by the slightly larger and slower L2, and finally the largest but slowest L3. While L1 and L2 are generally distributed on a per-core basis, L3 is usually shared by multiple cores.
How do I pick the right CPU?
When picking a CPU, you'll first want to ask yourself a few questions:
- What am I going to use this PC for?
- What is my budget?
- Do I want to go big now, or upgrade later?
For example, if you have a moderate budget of around $1200 USD for your Gaming PC, then spending $600 on just the CPU before considering your GPU, Motherboard, etc. may not be the best value. Alternatively if you are looking at a higher budget of around $2400 it doesn't make much sense to go with a less expensive $200 CPU that could potentially hinder the performance of a higher end GPU.
Dedicated gaming PCs generally don't need the super high core counts provided at the higher end of the CPU spectrum and will run perfectly well with a mid to high tier CPU.
Your CPU will also help inform what kind of motherboard you'll need to go with. While some builders will select their motherboard first, choosing your CPU first can help inform what type of motherboard you'll want to go with as well as your GPU.
Who should I choose: AMD or Intel?
A big question that comes up for many builders is who do you pick when choosing your processor: AMD or Intel? With previous generations, the common answer was the following:
"If you're looking for raw gaming performance, go with Intel. For productivity and multitasking, go AMD."
However, this answer has changed with recent generations as the performance gap for both work loads has shrunk and both AMD and Intel have put out compelling options for both gaming oriented single core performance and productivity oriented multi-core performance. Therefore, it's recommended that to instead look at all CPUs within the performance tier you're considering and to check out various reviews and news available for the product you're selecting.
Great review sources would include popular tech youtubers, independent news sources, and PC enthusiast blogs and forums which will test and benchmark various CPUs within a given tier.
Go Big Now, or Upgrade Later?
A strong advantage to PC Gaming is the ability to upgrade your PC later on down the road. This ability also opens up new roads when selecting your CPU as you don't need to go for the biggest and fastest CPU from the start. Getting a Mid or High Tier CPU now gives you the option to upgrade to a Top Tier CPU later on. This can also be an advantage when looking at a long life platform. For example, many builders who went with an AMD X370 or X470 Platforms could start with a Mid Tier Ryzen 5 2600X and upgrade all the way to a Top Tier Ryzen 9 5950X thanks to the long platform life of the AM4 socket.
If you're looking to get up and game today, but are considering content creation later on down the road after a few months or even a few years, starting off with a Mid or High tier CPU and upgrading later is definitely a good choice. If you're looking to jump straight into content creation or need the additional power of a Top Tier CPU, then going big from the start may be the better move for you.
What about High-end Desktop (HEDT)?
High-end Desktop or HEDT is a class of products aimed at mega tasking enthusiasts and professionals that value stability and consistency above all else. These processors include support for advanced features including Error Correcting Code (ECC) memory support that are not normally found on Consumer level parts. These would include Intel's Xeon line of processors as well as AMD's Threadripper line of processors.
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