Intel and AMD Processors—The two most common processor manufacturers are Intel and AMD. This section discusses the various types of CPUs that each company makes. It also covers the different connections that processors make to the motherboard.
CPU Technologies—This section delves into the technologies that govern a CPU. It is important to understand topics such as clock rate, hyperthreading, multiple core technology, processor throttling, overclocking, cache, and the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit processors.
Choosing the Best Processor for the Job—After you know about the different processors available, and the technologies that processors utilize, it’s time to select the processor for your application. Here you want to think about what you will be using the computer for. You don’t always need the most powerful computer!
Installing and Upgrading Processors—This section gets into the hands-on of installing processors. They are expensive and delicate, and so you should follow some basic rules and step-by-step procedures when installing them.
Troubleshooting Processors—Finally, if a processor (or its supporting hardware) fails, the entire computer is not able to boot. This is the most catastrophic of failures that can occur, and although it’s less common than other failures, you should troubleshoot it in a methodical way. The most common failure is due to overheating; this section shows how to overcome these failures, and protect against them happening again.
In Chapter 4, we talked about the foundation of the computer: the motherboard. Just as important to the computer is the processor. The processor (or CPU) is the “brain” of the computer and takes care of the bulk of the PC’s calculations. Deciding on a CPU and motherboard should be the first tasks at hand when building a PC, and these choices depend on how the computer is to be used. Some users only need basic access to the Internet. Others run resource-intensive applications such as voice recognition software or powerful games. The applications that the user works with help dictate what CPU to select. Just be sure that the CPU is compatible with the motherboard!
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