- The F.Y.I. on CPUs

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The F.Y.I. on CPUs

Process This: Your Need For Speed Should Match The Processor Inside Your Computer

So you went to the local computer store, bought that new, high-speed game everyone has been raving about, brought it home, installed it, and discovered that your two-year-old, $2,000 computer wasn't up to the task.

Low frame rates, a chugging hard drive, and choppy game play made the game seem chunky and unplayable.

You decide to buy a new computer. What you need is a game machine! And the more bang for your buck, the better.

So what's a person who likes games but doesn't know squat about the technical mumbo-jumbo wired to the inside of his or her computer supposed to do?

What most people look at right away when they are going to purchase a new computer is the speed the computer runs at. That is to say, the speed of the central processing unit (CPU), otherwise known simply as the processor. On the market today there are a variety of processors, primarily produced by three companies: Intel, Advanced Micro Designs (AMD), and Cyrix. Likewise, Apple has an entirely different line of computers based on the PowerPC chip. To add to the confusion, companies like Intel have multiple processor lines, including the Pentium II, the Pentium III, and their red-headed stepchild, the Celeron.

When you are looking into an upgrade or a new computer, the kind of CPU in it is of paramount importance. It can tell you a lot about the upgrade track the computer will have, whether or not it will handle existing applications and applications that will come down the pipe in the future.

The Chips Are Down (In Price)

Computers keep coming down in prices, and CPUs keep getting faster. Intel now has a Pentium III 600 on the market, their top-of-the-line product, which weighs in at a hefty $669, while the Pentium III 550 was recently reduced in price to $487. Intel cut prices in August, and now their Pentium III 500 is a measly $251!

Why has Intel cut prices on their much ballyhooed Pentium III line? Because AMD will be shipping their Athlon CPUs very shortly, which have simply destroyed the Pentium IIIs in just about every benchmark out there. Of course, the Celeron line -- Intel's low-end, cheap CPU line -- had been their answer to the price wars with AMD, but now Intel is realizing that their top-of-the-line processors are about to go toe-to-toe against the Athlon.

How Do We Like Them Apples?

Also of important note is that Apple announced their new G4. If you are a game freak. the Apple line is not your best solution, but if you are looking for an inexpensive home computer solution, test-driving an iMac should be on your list of things to do. The G4 systems will be high-end, multimedia workstations, and priced out of the normal home user's range, but if you are doing a lot of multimedia production, the G4 systems will likely be the fastest machines out there for you.

You can dismiss the Cyrix-based computers immediately. Their latest and greatest processor is the M II (as in "two"), which runs at 433 Megahertz, far behind their competitors.

Your Best Bets

My recommendation, given the current market, is to get a Celeron 500-based system. On the market right now, the best bet is the Pentium III 500 or the Celeron 500 if you want a lot of computing power but don't want to pay state-of-the-art prices. If you want to save $80 to $100 on a CPU but still get nearly the same performance, the Celeron is the chip to have. Not only can you build a system around it that you will be able to upgrade in the near future, it also has solid motherboard support from a variety of manufacturers.

the ADM Athlon processor If you have the money for a system powered by a Pentium III 600, then wait for the AMD Athlon-based systems to hit the market. They will be priced close to the Pentium III line, with the AMD Athlon 600 CPU expected to cost $615 wholesale, maybe $650 retail. The Athlons currently have very limited motherboard support (with only four manufacturers making motherboards that will support it), so just buying the CPU alone will not be an immediate solution for you. It will require a new motherboard, which means an additional cost. Therefore, the Athlon will be your best bet if you are looking at either an entirely new computer or have the skill and time to do a motherboard upgrade as well.

More about chips from ZDNet.

--Al Macey studied history and served four years in the Air Force before a career in technical support for software, hardware and Web-based product services. He acts as webmaster for a QW and Quake II paintball site, Paintball Central, contributes news to the first-person shooter game site bostonchick.com and leads a Quake/Quake II clan.

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