You know what I like about you?
You’re smart, kid, and you move fast!
Hey everyone!
Welcome to DIY in 5, the show where we give you simple tech tips to make your life easier.
My name is Trisha Hershberger and today we are continuing on our journey to build the
ultimate PC - one component at a time.
For this episode, we are looking specifically at CPU and RAM, what are they and which type is right for you.
Let’s get started.
The CPU or central processing unit is really the brains of your whole system.
Eww, this is the brain?
You’ll see CPUs described in terms of cores, clock speeds and hyper-threading.
None of these are as intimidating as the may seem and they each refer to different facets of the CPU.
Let’s start with cores.
Back in the pre-times, a CPU only had one core - one central processing unit.
So, if a processor is described as dual-core, that means there are two central processing units on one CPU chip.
More cores mean more processes can be done at the same time on a single piece of hardware.
Think of your CPU as a chef in a restaurant and the number of cores as the number of pans
he can have going at the same time.
Dual-core means he’s got two pans, quad-core means four and so on.
You can see how multitasking is a bonus here.
While you may think “wouldn’t it be better to have two chefs each with their own pan?”
Having multiple cores on one CPU means the cores can communicate faster
and they each don’t need their own power or cooling.
Double thumbs up!
Two brands reign supreme when it comes to PC CPUs - AMD & Intel.
Many people staunchly favor one brand over another
but lately they seem to be pretty neck and neck in performance.
Intel’s i3, i5 and i7 lines are divided by number of cores and the chips within each line vary in clock speed.
A top of the line i5 may be a better choice for you than an entry level i7.
Now, AMD offers a bunch of great processors, many of which are known as APUs
because they combine the CPU and GPU (graphics) on one chip,
saving you a lot of money if you are building a budget gaming rig.
There are countless comparisons online between the latest AMD and Intel processors
so do your homework before you buy.
When you hear the term hyper-threading, it sounds really fast and cool, but what does it mean?
The term hyper-threading dates all the way back to 2002 as one of the first attempts
to bring parallel processing to consumer PCs.
The CPU acts as if it has more cores than it actually does by speeding up programs via its own logic.
Your system will think it’s got two CPUs when it really only has one.
Does this speed up the system? Absolutely.
Is it as fast as having more than one core? Not necessarily.
The good news is you don’t have to choose between the two
because nowadays you can get CPUs with multiple cores AND hyper-threading.
To see how your system recognizes multiple cores and/or hyper-threading in Windows
you can go to Task Manager, Performance, and look toward the left of the screen.
Pretty cool.
Finally, you’ll want to consider clock speed,
or the measure of how many clock cycles a CPU can perform per second.
This is measured in hertz.
So, does a CPU with more Gigahertz mean it’s a faster processor?
Not exactly.
If it’s the same type of processor, sure, this may be the case.
But newer CPUs are often more efficient, meaning more work gets done PER CLOCK CYCLE.
You gotta look at number of cores, the amount of CPU cache memory, features like hyper-threading
and over-clocking and of course, read user reviews before you can make the best decision for you.
PS - I know I buzzed by the term over-clocking
and you may have heard that term thrown around before.
That just means you can get more speed than the standard rating on the box,
but only if you have the right set-up to do so and know how to adjust the settings.
That reminds me “Hey Google, write a DIY episode on over-clocking made easy to use in the future.” I got you.
Ok now that we’ve spent most of this episode talking CPUs, let’s switch over to RAM,
or Random Access Memory.
If your hard drive acts as your long term memory, think of RAM like your short term memory,
ready to access frequently used things quickly at a moment’s notice.
Luckily, we’ve already done an episode to help you determine how much RAM you need
and you can check that out here.
Basically, if you are using your system for rendering, computations or anything that involves
a lot of processing power, you may want more RAM.
Today’s RAM will be one of two types.
DDR3 or DDR4.
DDR4 is newer, boasting a greater range of clock speeds, less power consumption, and less latency.
Your motherboard and CPU will determine what kind of RAM you get and how much you can actually install.
Lastly, you’ll need to consider RAM speed, or how fast your RAM can read and write data.
This really matters if you plan on using CPU integrated graphics.
1600MHz is probably fine for most gaming needs.
And if you have the option to go for dual-channel mode instead of single -
meaning two 4GB sticks instead of one 8GB stick - then that will give you greater bandwidth.
Ok, phew!
I know that was a lot, but we’re well on our way to having a fully-customized PC built by you.
If the info we talked about today helped you, please give this video a like and share it with your friends.
If you have a tip to add specifically about CPU or RAM, please leave it in the comments below.
Next episode we’ll delve into storage and those super sexy and highly sought after graphics cards.
Thanks for watching DIY in 5 and I’ll see ya next time!