3. Processor (CPU)

The Intel Core i7 is a mean piece of meat. It’s like having eight processors compacted into one.

It’s the brain of the PC where all computing happens. Multi-core processors with varying clock speeds have become the standard, swarming the market with tons of options for buyers.

Cores are the physical units that do the crunching within the CPU. When you say multi-core, it just means that more hands (cores) are able to work on a task (or threads) at the same time. You’ll usually see quad-core, hexa-core, and octa-core processors in the market, the prefixes describing the number of cores present. Intel and AMD are the biggest manufacturers out there, so just choose from their list of products in stores.

The speed of the processor is measured in GHz (gigahertz) and is indicated in the box. For example, an Intel Core i7 processor has a speed of 2.00GHz. It means it can do 2,000,000,000 calculations per second. It seems that higher means better right? Well not always, my friend.

It’s a common misconception to compare processors using only the speed as basis for efficiency. Take this for example: On one hand, you have one dishwasher (single -core processor) able to do 4 dishes in a minute. On the other, you have 4 dishwashers (quad-core), each able to do 3 dishes per minute. You give both sets 4 dishes each to do. The single-core will do the 4 dishes at full speed in a minute. The quad-core will distribute the 4 dishes evenly and finish them all in 20 seconds, using only a third of the strength of each one. The latter can be seen as more efficient in doing the required task.