mwashburn
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ElizabethS
Buying a computer is as confusing as it has ever been. So many prices, choices, manufacturers and components! Acer, Toshiba or HP? AMD or Intel? Nvidia or ATI? It only makes matters worse that everyone seems to have their own opinion and very little of it is consensus. Your “guy” is telling you one thing, your family another, and your trusted Future Shop product expert is suggesting something else. It is pretty easy to see how someone, when walking into their local Future Shop to buy a computer, may come out even more unsure then when they went in. In an effort to make that computer purchase just a little bit easier, we are going to tackle the go-to component of the computer the processor – and hopefully make your choice on which CPU is for you, just a little less stressful. At the end of our lesson: some time-tested tips, and some resources so you go into your next purchase a little more prepared!
Dual-Core? Quad-Core? Huh?
The processor, or CPU, is (very generally speaking) the brain of your computer. More than any other component, the CPU will affect the speed and effectiveness of your machine. You can have all the RAM you want, if your processor is no good your computer will never meet your speed expectations. The term you will hear the most in regards to CPU’s is in respect to the number of “cores” it has. Up until about 2006 all processors were “Single-Core” meaning one processor – one chip. Dual Core, and Quad Core CPU’s simply expand on this definition. Dual-Core chips have two processors in one physical chip; Quad-Core processors have, yup you guessed it, four processors in one physical chip. Both Intel and AMD also make Six-Core processors. It goes without saying that, generally speaking, the more cores the better. Yet be warned, not all software takes advantage of multi-core processing and will only use the power of one core, regardless of how tricked out your machine is. Now that you have a little bit of term definition, let’s take a look at a few of the processors you would see on display at your local Future Shop.
Intel Processors
Intel’s major lines of chips are the Atom brand processor which is commonly seen in netbooks, Celeron, Pentium, Core i3, i5 and i7. The processors are generally ranked by Intel in that order of quality, with variations in each brand. The easiest way to tell which computer has which chip is by the sticker that is usually on the face of the machine, just below the keyboard. As much as I generally loathe these stickers (do we put a sticker of the make of our car engine on the bumper of our car!?) they have significant value to those who may not be able to easily identify the type of computer they are looking at. In early 2011 Intel released a second generation of their i-Series processors, which featured a decent performance improvement over the original.
So what is the difference substantially between these? The i Series is Intel’s bread and butter lineup of chips. The quality of processor steps up with the number – i3, i5 then i7. That is the simple stuff, this is where it gets a little tricky. ALL i3 processors are Dual-Core regardless of them being in a laptop or desktop. i5’s are the most confusing of the bunch since some are Dual-Core and some are Quad-Core. Let's try to break that down for you then. ALL i5 processors in laptops are Dual-Core processors, while most desktops are Quad-Core. The only Dual-Core desktop i5 processor is the i5-2390T. If you see an i5 desktop with a very low price, this might be why – be sure to check out which chip it has! Intel manufactures both quad and six core i7 processors. In your local Future Shop you will find plenty of quad core models available for the highest of high end needs such as gaming or design and animation. Six core i7 processors are generally not seen at retail and can be very expensive (but are awesome of course) Intel has been great to produce this handy little webpage which lays out nicely all their mainline processors and their specs: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processor-c
AMD Processors
As far as laptops are concerned, there are three common flavors of AMD Processors: C, E and the A-Series which includes A4, A6 and A8 processors. The quality and speed of the processor progresses in that same order. Only the entry level C-30 and E-240 are Single-Core processors with the balance of those series’ chips all being Dual-Core. In the A-Series of chips, the A4 processors are all Dual-Core, while the A6 and A8 processors are all Quad-Core. On the desktop side, there are six main lines for AMD: Sempron, E, Athlon, A, Phenom and FX. Generally speaking the processors are ranked in speed and quality in that order. The most common desktop processors you will find on your Future Shop floor are the Phenom and Athlon brands which feature chips containing two, three, four and six cores. The FX brand is their top-of-the-line processor and feature the “Black Edition” label, which AMD uses to indicate that the processors is a peak performer; some of the Phenom processors have a Black Edition as well.
One of AMD’s competitive advantages is the “Vision” strategy, which integrates the CPU with the video card. Since AMD are also one of the world’s leading video card manufacturers (ATI) this is a great advantage. Look for the Vision label if you are looking for a complete package at a very competitive price. There is a Vision option at virtually every level of quality expectation.
Some Tips
We could go on and on about processors and I am not sure I could ever be confident that it would be easy to understand. So with that in mind, and armed with the little bit of information I did give you – here are some basic pointers to help you navigate your computer purchase:
1) Buy what you need, not what sounds fancy. If you tell me five things about your lifestyle and computing habits, I can tell you with a lot of confidence which computer you should buy. If you buy anything more than what I suggest, you are probably going to overpay for a machine that is way more than what you need. For most people, an i3 or A4 type processor is all you need – some can even get away with less. There are plenty of things in your Future Shop store that you could purchase to supplement your computer that would have more value to you than buying a computer with power you will never need and hard drive space you will never use.
2) Ask questions! It is your Product Expert’s job to be knowledgeable and be able to lead you in the right direction without you feeling as if you are being sold a bill of goods. I spend about two hours a night just learning more about new products and different technologies so I have an answer when you ask me something. Take advantage of that resource when you are in the store!
3) Have reasonable performance expectations. If you buy a laptop with an E-240 processor, you need to know exactly what you are getting in terms of performance and quality. If you are expecting to play Call of Duty AND surf the internet AND Skype or VOIP all at the same time on that machine, you have unreasonable expectations. Again, your Future Shop PE should be able to know that you need an i5 or A8 or better to ideally do all of those tasks on a laptop.
4) Do some research. It never hurts to do a little digging before you head in to buy a new computer. You may not know exactly what you need, but if you do just a small bit of research you will feel significantly more comfortable about your purchase. Did you know that you can read product reviews by real customers right on the product pages on the Future Shop website? Finding out about other peoples first-hand experiences is a great way to know if something might be right for you too. As it relates specifically to CPU's - check out http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ - this site is awesome for listing the benchmark scores for each processor so you can get a really good idea of where it sits in relation to your other choices. The more knowledge, the better!
Ok folks, I hope I gave a little more to go on so that your go into your next computer purchase a little better equipped to navigate the minefield that is processor selection. More questions? Follow me on Twitter @Silentradar and ask away, or comment below!
