Central Processing Unit

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the nervous system of the body. It takes the information sent out by the HDD and processes it so that other modules can make sense of it and display the information on screen.

There are two types of CPUs on the market, AMD and Intel. In terms of their function, there is nothing too different about them other than their design and the fact they are just two competing businesses. Just like Apple and Microsoft.

The typical name for an AMD CPU is something like this: “AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor”

• AMD FX-8350 Vishera - This is the brand name of the CPU
• 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) - This indicates how fast the CPU processes memory. The faster the better.
• Socket AM3+ - This indicates the type of motherboard socket required for compatibility. Make sure you buy a motherboard that says it supports AM3+ if you have this CPU.
• 125W - This shows the amount of power required to run the CPU from the power supply.
• Eight-Core Desktop Processor - This indicates how many cores are contained in the CPU. The more, the better.

The Typical name for an Intel CPU is something like this: “Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K”

• Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell - This is the brand name of the CPU. The K next to 4770 indicates if the processor can be overclocked or not. If it has a K, it means it can be overclocked. Overclocking will be discussed in another post.
• 3.5GHz - This indicates how fast the CPU processes memory.
• LGA 1150 - This indicates the type of motherboard socket required for compatibility. Make sure you buy a motherboard that says it supports LGA 1150 sockets if you have this CPU.
• 84W - This shows the amount of power required to run the CPU from the power supply.
• Quad-Core Desktop Processor - This indicates how many cores are contained in the CPU. The more, the better.
• Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K - Intel comes with integrated HD graphics that help vamp up the resolution quality of applications.
  
  
  
  
  

  Earlier it was mentioned that the main difference between the two chips were their design. AMD's CPU has the connector pins on the CPU, where as Intel's CPU have the connector pins on their motherboards.