How to Know If a Processor Upgrade Is Really Worth It

There is a lot of hype about how many cores a device’s processor (also known as a central processing unit) has. You can often hear people say that the more cores, the more processing power, and while this is technically true, this is not the whole picture. In fact, there are several factors that determine the power and speed of a processor … and even if the CPU is “inferior” on paper in some respects, it may be better suited for certain tasks than others.

This can be confusing, especially if you are going to build a new PC and want to find the right processor. To help, we’ve put together this quick guide to processors, specifications, and how to test them. This is not an exhaustive breakdown, but it should help you make sense of the processors.

Understanding CPU specifications

First, here’s a rundown of the most important processor specs:

• Kernels: “Kernels” is another name for processors. So a quad-core processor actually has four discrete processors, an eight-core processor actually has eight, and so on. The more cores a CPU has, the more tasks it can reliably manage. However, more cores do not necessarily make the CPU better or faster by default; it just means that it can handle tasks that require multiple cores to be used at the same time.
• Clock Speed: The clock speed of a processor (measured in Hz and GHz) refers to how much data it can process per second. One GHz equals one billion instructions. For example, a 2.9 GHz CPU can process 2.9 billion instructions every second, while a 4 GHz CPU can process 4 billion instructions. Higher clock speeds almost always mean better performance.
• Overclocking: Some processors support a feature called “overclocking” that allows users to overclock the processor from the baseline it ships with. Overclocking can improve processor performance – especially for resource-intensive tasks like gaming or media rendering – at the expense of higher thermal power. Because excess heat can damage the CPU or other PC components without proper cooling, CPU manufacturers often include desktop applications to help you safely overclock the processor and control the internal temperature.
• Cache: A processor’s cache is the amount of internal memory it has. While a larger cache is better for multitasking, in some cases processors with smaller caches are faster – so it’s not just that larger caches mean better CPUs.
• Hyper-threading and multithreading: Multithreading is a technology used in some CPUs that allows the cores to execute more than one process at the same time, effectively doubling the number of CPU cores. Intel calls this “hyper-threading,” and AMD calls it “multithreading,” but they are the same thing. As with multicore, more threads means better multitasking, but does not affect the speed of single-core tasks.
• Thermal power calculation : Thermal power calculation (TPD) measures the power requirements of a processor. While this metric does not really matter to CPU performance, it is important to know if you are building your own PC as you will need a power supply (PSU) that can power all of your PC’s components – CPU, graphics card, etc.
• Hardware Generation : The hardware generation of the CPU refers to the microtechnology of the device. Manufacturers release processors iteratively, making changes to improvements with the next generation. While newer generations usually perform better than previous generations, this is not always the case. For example, an older CPU with more cores can compete with a newer generation CPU with fewer cores or lower base clock speeds.
• Type: Finally, there are different types of processors: mobile and desktop in particular. Mobile processors often have graphics processing built in, so you don’t need a separate GPU, but since they run less and usually target a lower TPD, they may not perform as well as the desktop version.

Many specs can be gleaned just by reading the product name of the CPU , but by now you’ve probably noticed a pattern: CPU specs may appear better on paper, but there are caveats and contradictions that make CPU comparisons difficult to glimpse.

The CPU is the central component of your PC, but we all use our PCs for different reasons. A video editor may want a high-performance processor with multi-threading, while a PC gamer may be looking for higher clock speeds even if it’s a “cheaper” option. So how is anyone supposed to know if a CPU upgrade is worth it?

How to understand CPU benchmarking

Rather than looking at specs, the best way to gauge processor performance is through testing. Manufacturers, reviewers, and enthusiastic users use benchmark tests to see how processors (and other PC components) perform in real time and compare them with other processors.

Of course, you need to know your own processor name and model number if you want to compare it to others. Fortunately, there is an easy way to find this:

1. On a Windows PC, open the Start menu and select Settings> System> About.
2. Find the processor listed in the Device Specifications section .

If you need more details, you can find your processor model, number of cores, clock speed, and other characteristics in the task manager:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager window.
2. Click the Performance tab.
3. Here you will find the name and model of the processor. Clock speeds, cores, and logical processors (also known as “threads”) are also listed in the lower left corner.

You can also find information about the processor in the Device Manager app:

1. Find the “Device Manager” in the task bar or in the menu “Start” the Windows, then click the app in the results to open it.
2. In the Device Manager window, scroll down and click the arrow next to Processors to see the name, model, and base clock of your processor. Each of the CPU cores will be listed as their own device. Note that a multi-threaded / hyper-threaded CPU will list more cores (for example, a quad core can display eight processors).
3. Double-click a processor to view additional information such as driver information.

Once you have the model and specs of your processor, it will be much easier to compare it to the proposed upgrades to see if it is right for you. There are benchmarking programs that you can use to run your own tests, but it’s easier to search for product reviews and comparison charts instead. A few good resources are CPUBenmark.net , product review sites like Tom’s Hardware and CNET, and online retailers like Newegg .

[ PCWorld ]

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