Processor models vary according to cache size, clock speed and RAM speed. Every year, software developers design programs and applications that demand more and more of all three of these elements. When you’re shopping for a new computer, we recommend you think about tomorrow’s needs as well as today’s, and choose the best processor you can afford.
Multi-core processors are single chips that contain two or more distinct processors or execution cores in the same integrated circuit. While independent, each core can work separately or together on one large task. Increasingly, software developers rely on Intel® quad-core and dual-core technology so their multi-threaded program can do more things simultaneously, producing faster, more efficient results for you.
Just like a stopwatch, a clock speed measures how fast a processor performs an activity – which activity depends upon how you plan to use your computer. Clock speed rates are shown in gigahertz (GHz), which means a billion cycles per second.
Imagine the RAM of your computer as one city and the CPU as another. The front side bus is a freeway running between them. It transfers data quickly to meet the demands of whatever you and your software are doing. When shopping for a new system, make sure the components work together. For example, if you’re building a media computer, having a 1333 MHz front side bus that can handle HD video is wonderful, but check that the CPU is up to the challenge.
Imagine arriving at the grocery store and having all your favorite food fly off the shelves and fill the cart in minutes. That’s L2 cache. It remembers the information accessed most frequently in your computer so you can easily get to it without annoying lags. It also reduces bottlenecks and helps speed memory performance.
A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; transistors on Intel’s latest processors are just 45-billionths of a meter wide. The 45nm process allows transistors to be packed more densely, leak less energy, produce less heat and switch faster. Nearly doubling the density of our processors means leaps in performance and new levels of breakthrough energy-efficiency.
Available on select models of the all-new 2010 Intel® Core™ Processor Family, Intel® Turbo Boost technology dynamically redirects power and accelerates performance to match your workload. Previously, unused portions of the chip would be “turned off,” leaving some cores idle. Intel® Turbo Boost reroutes that unused performance to the cores that are active, boosting their performance without wasting power. As a result, you automatically get full processing power where and when you need it.
Available in the all-new 2010 Intel® Core™ Processor Family, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology delivers more efficient use of processor resources and improved performance on multithreaded software. This allows you to run demanding desktop applications simultaneously while maintaining system responsiveness. For example, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology helps multimedia enthusiasts create, edit and encode graphically intensive files while running background applications, such as virus protection software, without compromise to performance.
