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The CPU is one of most important hardware of a computer, which is equivalent to human brain and determines processing power of a computer, so choosing a CPU is very important. How to choose a processor for a computer? In next issue, we will share desktop processor knowledge and buying suggestions. This article explains in detail choice of processors for several important parameters, home use, gaming, graphics rendering, etc.

A CPU has several important parameters: architecture, base frequency, core, thread, cache, interface.

Structure:

There's an old saying that "if you look at core clock speed regardless of architecture, it's a scam", so what is architecture? If we think of architecture as a vehicle, then old architecture is a train, and new architecture is a high-speed rail, so improving architecture directly affects CPU performance. That's why, although old-fashioned processor also has an ultra-high frequency, performance is still inferior to the current i3.

Frequency:

We often see in CPU information that base frequency of a certain CPU is 3.6 GHz. The base frequency here is actually CPU core clock, which is not directly equal to CPU's processing speed. speed is critical.

Basic:

The kernel, also known as kernel, is device used by CPU to perform all calculations, receive/save instructions, and process data. We can simply understand core as a human hand, single core is one arm, dual core is two arms, and quad core is four arms.

The more cores better, it depends on the use case. For example, when typing, two hands are more efficient than one hand, but when using a mouse, using two hands will only play a role. Reverse effect. As for how many CPU cores to use in which scenario, we'll talk about that below.

Subject:

We usually see two terms "four cores and four threads" and "four cores and eight threads". We can simply compare assembly line in a factory to flow, and workers to core. a worker can only execute tasks of one pipeline, we can call it single core single thread, but later on, workers become proficient and feel that working with one pipeline is boring and cannot reflect their own value, so they assign another pipeline, let this worker handle tasks of two pipelines at same time, we can call it "single core dual thread".

Cache:

Cache is also a very important CPU parameter because CPU's processing speed is much faster than read/write speed of a memory card, causing CPU to spend a lot of time waiting for data to arrive. or writing data to a memory card, currently cache in CPU can be used as a temporary storage medium to mitigate contradiction between CPU's computational speed and memory's read and write speed, so larger cache, better.

Interface:

For CPU to work, you need to install on motherboard through interface, and current CPU interface is a pin interface, AMD and Intel CPUs have a big difference in interface, so you need to use motherboard with an adapter. interface for normal operation Work. Currently, Intel's main interface type is LGA-1151 interface (such interfaces are i3 i5 i7 6th, 7th and 8th generation); AMD's main platform interface types include AM4 interface (Ryzen series) and FM2+ interface (Athlon). series, APU series).

PS: Although latest 8th generation Intel Core processor also has an LGA-1151 interface, it is not suitable for legacy LGA-1151 motherboard platform. You need to purchase another motherboard

After discussing these important parameters, I think you have a general idea of ​​the CPU. Let's talk about CPU selection in various scenarios.

Collections

Home Office:

The main purpose of home use is to surf web, watch videos, write documents, and play games like LOL/DNF. HD630 core graphics performance is superior to some low-end independent graphics cards and can easily decode and play 4k videos and run games like LOL smoothly and at high frame rate.

Game:

I believe that most gamers have gaming needs, and choosing a gaming processor is also more difficult. For now, try to choose a processor with a high single-core frequency.

As for why you choose a high frequency single core processor, it is actually related to characteristics of game. The game needs simple and rough calculations, so high frequency single core processor will have more advantages, and more core a little useless. While major game makers are currently optimizing games for multi-core, process is very complex and some games are not suitable for multi-core optimization.

For example: 1+2=A, A+2=B, B+3=C, query C=? If this question is done for one person, efficiency will be very high, but if it is done for 3 people, and each person is divided into one step, it can have an effect of 1+1+1<1. Therefore, game manufacturers can only try their best to optimize game's multi-core from other aspects. At present, mainstream games mainly optimize cores from 4 to 6. No matter how large number of CPU cores, it will be useless.

So it's better for gamers to honestly choose an Intel processor with a higher main frequency. The i3-8350k with 4 cores and 4 threads and a single core frequency of 4.0GHz can not be compared with price in games. It is half as weak as AMD Ryzen R7 1700X with 8 cores and 16 threads. Of course, if you have money and don't care about performance cost, you can also go for i5-8600K and 8th gen i7 8700k, butThe improvement in game is not as big as difference in price.

Graphic Rendering:

For graphics rendering that requires a lot of parallel computing, multi-core and multi-threading at same time can be more advantageous than a CPU with fewer cores and a higher main frequency.

Let's also take arithmetic as an example, 1+1=A; 2+2=B; 3+3=C, ask A+B+C=? Do it faster than 1 person.

High frequency 2 cores VS low frequency 14 cores

So, for students who need image rendering, AMD Ryzen R7 1700X with 8 cores and 16 threads is much more beautiful than i7-8700K with 6 cores and 12 threads in terms of performance and price.

Browse:

The Intel CPU has a higher single core frequency than AMD Ryzen, so it is more suitable for gamers. For casual gamers, ultra-high frequency i3-8350K is enough. Of course, if you have money, i5 and i7, which are less economical, are also good choices. For users who need to perform graphics rendering, AMD Ryzen series with multi-core, multi-threaded processors and large cache memory features high performance, high cost, and can be used as first choice. Of course, home users just need to choose an Inter i3 or Pentium for less than a thousand yuan, and it can save money on a video card, so why not do it.