The CPU tips will help you during the selection of CPU. Read it before purchasing the CPU. Last year industry saw a massive jump in CPU processing power. With vendors trying to outperform each other by introducing higher speed processors. Intel and AMD have been pushing P4 and Athlon XP respectively. Entry-level processors from all three major players - Intel, AMD, and VIA are available in the market. Intel's entry-level workhorse, the Celeron 1.7 GHz is still going strong and favorite among the users. AMD's challenge to Celeron is Athlon XP 1700 which is comparable in price. In the past, we have seen a major price cut from Intel in the Pentium 4 segment. In the next couple of months, this segment could once again observe major drift in terms of technology and price with both rivals Intel and AMD planning to shift to 64-bit architecture CPU's with their Itaniun2 and Opteron respectively.
Every vendor and reseller is trying to provide low-cost Pc solutions to the masses. VIA has taken massive steps and introduced a motherboard with an on-board processor. AMD is also gaining market share. Here there is competition from refurbished and repackaged CPUs being sold in the market. Since couple of CPUs come in tray packaging for volume sales, they are dirt cheap.
CPU tips for Buying -
1) New CPUs require a higher rating power supply. Always make sure your power supply is rated at least 350 W.
2) Invest in good heatsink and fan combination for your processor.
3) Always buy Genuine CPU. Check the Hologram seal on the Intel CPU box. In the case of AMD, make sure that the plastic casing is not broken.
4) If you plan to do CPU intensive tasks such as graphic
processing, gaming and animation go for CPU with 256 KB or more of L2
cache. The Pentium 4 Northwood has 512 KB of L2 cache. Select a CPU that
supports 3DNow for gaming applications or SSE.
5) If power requirements and heat dissipation are not an issue, you can go for cheap and affordable Palomino cores.
6) If you want only basic office applications, you can go for a cheap CPU like Cyrix M III processor. This inexpensive CPU socket works with 370 motherboards.
7) For high-end 3D design and CAD applications, you will require a processor with the highest clock speed and the largest onboard cache memory. Pentium and Athlon processors are best for this type of application.
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CPU Tips for Intel-Based System: Right selection and installation will give you trouble-free performance.
1) CPU cooling - COOL your CPU first. Always provide a good quality cooling fan with the high rated heatsink. Then it will perform. The processor is very important in terms of its cooling performance and reliability.
2) Extra 12 V power for Pentium 4 - All Pentium 4 processors require an extra 12-volt power supply. Ensure that a four-pin 12V connector is required in the power supply for the new processor. The ATX 12 V connector fits into your motherboard.
3) Hyper thread technology - Intel's 3.06 GHz processor incorporates Hyperthreading technology which gives better CPU performance when running multiple applications simultaneously.
4) CPU type - Willamette CPU's are fabricated using a 0.18-micron fabrication process. Willamette requires more power and generates more heat. New Northwood CPU 0.13 is fabricated using the micron fabrication process. Northwood CPU's have an L2 cache of 512 KB.
5) Intel drivers - Intel supplies drivers for new 800 series chipsets ( including 845, 845 - DDR, and 850 chipsets called the Intel application accelerator driver. Specific SSE2 type instructions provide better performance with some types of data with the help of Intel CPUs. Drivers enhance the performance of IDE devices. They provide better boot time and exceed the 137 GB limit of IDE drives in native window drivers.
CPU Tips for AMD Based system: Right selection and installation will help you to build a reliable and high-performance system.
1) CPU cooling - CPU cooling - COOL your CPU first. Then it will perform. Processor reliability and cooling are very important from the standpoint of performance. Always provide a cooling fan with good high rated heat. The use of thermal paste creates better connections between the sink and the CPU. If you want to switch on the motherboard and forget to connect the fan supply, you will get the AMD CPU in seconds. Always use fan combinations and CPU heatsinks that are certified by AMD.
2) Proper mounting - As bare Silicon is exposed at the top surface in AMD CPU, heatsink installation should be done properly. The heatsink should not slide on the upper surface of the CPU. A small scratch or friction may damage the CPU.
3) Power supply - It is always better to go for a minimum 300 w power supply for AMD based system.
4) Special instructions: The 3DNow! instruction set streamline power of certain applications.
5) Memory: You can use SDRAM or DDR memory. SDRAM is a cost-effective option for basic applications. Go for DDR memory demand application (graphic or high-end gaming), go for DDR memory. DDR memory is good for high-speed applications.
6) Processor type - AMD Duron processors perform quite well in relation to their price. But as they are phased out , it is better to go for Athlon processors. They are available in the old 0.18 μm Palomino and the new 0.13 μm Thoroughbred core. The new technology generates less heat and requires less power. Not all motherboards support them. So always make sure that your motherboard supports the new CPU before purchasing. Check the motherboard manual.
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Article Tags: Power Supply , Make Sure
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