HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR IDEAL PROCESSOR
@PCPRO
Cores, clock speeds, architectures, ecosystems… there’s a lot to think about when choosing a new processor, so it pays to delve into what exactly makes a CPU tick, and to evaluate what’s worth your attention when picking a new chip.
The Core issue
Much of the current discussion around CPUs concerns core count, which is no surprise: cores are effectively smaller processors within the chip, and having more of these enables a CPU to handle more tasks concurrently. Most mainstream and high-end processors also employ multithreading, which allows each core to address two threads rather than one.
However, just because you can buy a processor with 16 cores doesn’t mean you should. It’s only when you’re using the computer for tasks that are well suited to multiple threads – key examples include
