Introduction:
There is nothing that causes more dread when making a new laptop purchase than the fear of making the wrong choice. With laptops often costing upwards of $1000, it is easy to experience hesitation when buying. This post will hopefully alleviate some of the stress by providing you with some useful information to look out for when making your next big laptop purchase. Since there is too much information to go in depth on in one blog post. Today I will be focusing on the CPU.
The CPU:
The CPU, or processer, is the brains of the computer. It interprets what your computer is doing and outputs it in a way that you can interact with when using your computer.
The CPU is perhaps one of the more complex aspects when looking into a laptop. "Do I need an i5 or an i7?", "How many cores do I need?", and "What are GHz?" are all questions you may ask yourself when browsing laptops. The answers are different for everyone, but here are a few tips that can help you make the best decision.
1. Have a budget in mind.
While this may seem obvious, the CPU is often the most expensive part of a computer and prices vary drastically. By having a budget in mind when you go shopping, you can easily narrow down what you should be looking for.
2. What will you use it for.
By focusing on what you will use the laptop for, you can also narrow down what you should be looking for. If you're a gamer, focus on getting an i5 or a Ryzen 5 processor at least. If you work in graphics design and use highly taxing programs, try and get an i7 or a Ryzen 7. If you just plan on using the laptop to browse the internet or use social media, then you can easily get by with a i3 or a Ryzen 3. While there are far more options than what I have stated above, it is a good starting point.
3. How fast should it be.
The speed of a processor is measured in gigahertz, or GHz. This is a fairly easy tip, but it does make a difference. A 2 GHz processor will run slower than a 3.2GHz processor. While you may not notice a difference when just browsing the internet, once the CPU is under load, the higher the speed the better. Like I said earlier, if you're gaming or running high-power programs at work or school, you may need to splurge on a faster processor; However, if you aren't, you don't need to worry about the speed too much.
Comparison:
Let's glance at a few examples to help clarify my discussion earlier.
The processors shown below are for desktop computers.
Here we have two processors. One is an Intel Core i3-10320 and the other is an Intel Core i7-10700KF.
The i3 has 4 cores and runs at a speed of 4.6 GHz. The i7 has 8 cores and runs at 5.1 GHz.
Both are very good processors, but they have very different uses. The i3 has less cores and runs slower, so it's ability to multitask and function quickly under a high load is less than the i7.The i7 has twice as many cores and runs a bit faster, therefore it can function under a higher stress level than the i3.
Think of a Mustang and a Prius. Both are good cars, but one is faster and the other gets better gas mileage.
Conclusion:
While I haven't covered every possible topic concerning CPU's, I hope that I have made your choice easier with a bit more knowledge. There really are a vast number of laptops to choose from and if you have any questions feel free to reach out to me via email at blog.techmustang@gmail.com.
Be sure to check out Part: 2 where I will be covering RAM!
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