LukeMcClure

Computer processor speed, measured in gigahertz, is important for tasks like video editing and gaming. Intel processors have different architectures, such as Celerons, Pentiums, and Core processors. Multi-core processors are more powerful than single-core, even at lower speeds. Clock speed alone is no longer an indicator of processor power. Intel also offers Xeon and Itanium chips for powerful workstations and servers, and Atom processors for energy efficiency in mobile and desktop computers. The speed of a computer's processor chip, technically known as its clock speed, is measured in gigahertz, with the fastest modern processors currently running at up to 4.7 gigahertz. However, for most computing tasks, including web browsing, sending emails, word processing, and spreadsheet work, any processor running at 1 gigahertz or more remains perfectly sufficient. No, really guys, it does. Where higher processor speeds become more important is for applications such as video editing, 3D graphics work, and, for the majority of power users, playing computer games. For any of these applications, within reason, the faster the processor, the better. This said, people in need of a very powerful computer have to be aware that CPU performance is now determined by far more than raw speed alone. Intel made this very clear when it introduced its system of processor numbers. These provide an indication of a processor's architecture, cache, and front-side bus, FSB, speed, in addition to its clock speed. Alongside clock speed, the architecture of a processor is the most important factor to determine its performance and refers to its basic design and complexity. Some processors are simply more sophisticated than others, with Intel, for example, producing basic processors called Celerons and Pentiums, as well as more powerful processors under its Core processor family. The latter include the Core 2, Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7, with the last of these being the most powerful. All Intel Core processors feature more than one core, or, in other words, more than one physical processor, manufactured as a single component. Intel's Core 2 Duo chips, for example, feature two processor cores on a single chip, while Core 2 Quad processors have four processor cores. In most situations, multi-core processors are far more powerful than traditional single-core processors. Quite literally, this is because they can do several things at the same time, something single-core processors can only achieve by constantly switching back and forth between doing one thing and doing another. In turn, this means that multi-core processors can run at lower speeds than single-core processors and yet be far more powerful. A 2.4GHz Core 2 processor, for example, usually proves far more productive than a single-core 3GHz Pentium processor. All of this hopefully makes it clear why clock speed by itself is no longer a straightforward indicator of processor power, with the architecture of the processor, and most notably including its number of cores, now being at least as significant. Intel Celeron, Pentium, and Core processors are today all to be found at the heart of new desktop and laptop PCs. Intel additionally also manufacture very high-specification chips named Xeons and Itaniums to drive the most powerful business workstations and servers. If this range of choice all sounds a bit confusing, then to be honest, it is, with Intel itself having resorted to a range of processor section wizards in an effort to explain its processor ranges on its own website. To add further to Intel's abundance of processor choice and complexity, the company also offers a range of low-power processors called Atoms. These are highly energy efficient and were primarily first intended to be used in mobile computers, including netbooks. However, today the latest dual-core Atom processors are increasingly finding their way into highly energy efficient desktop computers. For many people, a computer with the latest 1.66 GHz or 1.8 GHz dual-core Atom processor will be capable of undertaking any computing task they require, and probably at least four times more energy efficiently than a Celeron, Pentium, or Intel Core-based computer.