CPU Processor

What to look for when buying a Processor

So you’re looking at buying a computer CPU/processor. A central processing unit (CPU) or processor is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. Generally the faster the processor the more executions a computer can run and hence better the performance.

A computer processor can cost from below $100 to over $3000. The average 2.5GHz Intel processor will cost $500 and the AMD equivalent around $400. Some common CPU processor brands are Intel, AMD, HP, IBM, AOpen and Lenovo with Intel being the most popular by far.

Key factors to consider when comparing CPUs are clock speed, processor type and L2 cache memory size. Clock speed is measured in GHz and can range from 1.5 GHz to 3.5 GHz. There are many processor types available such as Intel Xeon, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Quad, Intel Celeron, AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon, AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Sempron. L2 cache memory can range from 256KB to more than 8MB with the average cache size being 1-2MB.

Other factors to consider are socket type, processor features, instruction set, memory type and recommended use. Some common socket types are socket 771, socket LGA775, socket F and socket AM2. There are many processor features available such as 64-bit instruction set support, dual core, enhanced Intel Speedstep technology, HyperTransport technology, quad core and virtualization technology. Processor instruction sets include 3DNOW!, Intel MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and SSE4. Most processors are designed with a recommended use in mind such as workstation, business productivity, servers, basic computing needs, gaming or multimedia.