Inc CPU Part 2

In  INC CPU Part 1 we went over a very simplified version of how CPU’s work - in this one we will actually look at available CPUs and determine which one will be the brain of my new PC!

We are going to look at the following attributes for each processor:

1 - Architecture - this essentially provides us with what instructions are available for the processor (Ultimately it is the logical operators available and how they are organized to process the data) - For the sake of this entry we will primarily be looking at the Intel’s Haswell-E architecture, which supports DDR4 RAM.

2 - Clock Speed (Frequency) - the GHz number

3 - Cores - number of processing units

4 - Memory Supported  - (EXAMPLE:  DDR4 2133) Important when selecting motherboard to support processor

5 - CPU Socket - (EXAMPLE:  LGA 2011-v3)  Also Important when selecting motherboard to support processor

6 - Cost - Bye Bye Monies….

So Here we go, I’ve included the primary high end intel desktop processors available - Note that there are no AMD processors, because sadly it is more of a budget gamers pick and we want high end!  - there is also one ivy bridge processor because of clock speed, but because of price point it is probably not a contender but we will see based on other component costs.

Intel - Core i7-5820K

1:  Haswell-E

2:  3.3GHz (Max Turbo - 3.6 GHz)

3:  6 Cores (Supports hyper threading)

4:  DDR4-1333/1600/2133

5:  LGA 2011-v3

6:  Approx - $ 389.99

Other Notable Info:  28 Max # of PCI Express Lanes (Most high end processors support 40 - In a gaming pc with all the additional high end pci-e cards this could be an issue)

Intel - Core i7-5930K

1:  Haswell-E

2:  3.5GHz (Max Turbo - 3.7 GHz)

3:  6 Cores (Supports hyper threading)

4:  DDR4-1333/1600/2133

5:  LGA 2011-v3

6:  Approx - $ 583.99

Other Notable Info:  

Intel - Core i7-5960X

1:  Haswell-E

2:  3.0GHz (Max Turbo - 3.5 GHz)

3:  8 Cores (Supports hyper threading)

4:  DDR4-1333/1600/2133

5:  LGA 2011-v3

6:  Approx - $ 1059.99

Other Notable Info:  

Intel - Core i7-4960X

1:  IvyBridge-E

2:  3.6GHz (Max Turbo - 4.0 GHz)

3:  6 Cores (Supports hyper threading)

4:  DDR3-1333/1600/1866

5:  FCLGA2011

6:  Approx - $ 1059.99

Other Notable Info:  

Luckily - All but the IvyBridge-E processor use the same socket and RAM so when looking at motherboards and RAM we can take that into consideration.  Another thing to keep in mind is overclocking the CPU - after doing a bit of research the Core i7-5960X can be overclocked to as high as 4.6 GHz, which makes it a pretty good deal in terms of clock speed AND cores - additionally Newegg and Amazon list the price point at 1049.99 which is better than suggested retail price on Intel site.

In terms of consistency, stability and reliability all reviews read seem to be very similar in that all three Haswell-E processors run pretty hot, especially overclocked, but are nonetheless stable and consistent  

In terms of processors - we will start by basing the PC off of the Intel - Core i7-5960X - if cost becomes an issue we may look at the Intel - Core i7-5930K.  I think the Intel - Core i7-5820K is a no-go because clock speed is less than the Intel - Core i7-5930K and the number of PCI-e lanes is a little unsettling.  The reason being I’m unsure at this point how many lanes are used by the newer high end PCIe cards (Mainly the graphic and network cards).

Current PC Selections
Component	Selection	Cost
Processor	Intel - Core i7-5960X	$1,049.99
Motherboard
RAM
Graphics Card
Network Card
PSU
Cooling System
Drives
Case
Operating System
Sound Card (Optional)

Current PC Total:  $ 1049.99

Inc CPU Part 1

If we disclude price when it comes to CPU’s there are a few factors that play a fairly important role- Processor clock speed, number of cores available,  supporting motherboards for the CPU socket, supported RAM, and finally consistency as well as stability.  

Ultimately the CPU is the brain and a system should be designed around it.  

While I will briefly go over how CPU’s work - for anyone more curious than the details provided I recommend reading the microprocessor article on how stuff works:  http://computer.howstuffworks.com/microprocessor.htm

Keep in mind that what I’m about to say is grossly over simplified. We have a single core processor.  The processor basically takes in logical problems and provides results.  Example:

We have a single core processor that adds two numbers and replies with their sum.  The only thing this processor does is adds two numbers and provides the sum.

So we send it instructions to add these numbers together:

1 + 2

3 + 6

7 + 2

It first take 1 + 2 and replies with 3

Next 3 + 6 and replies 9

and finally 7 + 2 and replies 9

So let’s say we have an instruction set of 1 billion additions that needs to happen.  In reality modern processors could handle this very quickly, but let’s say it takes 30 seconds per each addition instruction line.  That is a pretty long time and we really don’t want to wait that long for all those sums.  So how do we reduce the time it takes per instruction line?  We increase the clock speed!  Clock speed for modern processors is usually measured in Gigahertz(GHz).  The higher this number is the faster single lines of instructions are processed.  But wait there is more - most modern processors have more than one core!  So while we might be processing 1 billion instructions we also are not limited to a single core to do all the work!

There is just one drawback - let’s say our processors still only add, but it can add any amount of numbers in an instruction line. And let’s say our clock speed is the same for both - however in order to process two numbers it takes 1 cycle of the clock speed.

So we give it:

1 + 2

1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 5

2 + 3

5 + 2

And now we have two cores within the processor:

(Clock Cycle 1)

Core 1 processes 1 + 2  (Replies 3)

(At the same time) Core 2 processes 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 5

(Clock Cycle 2)

(First cycle replaced 1 + 2 with 2)  Core 2 processes 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 5

Core 1 processes 2 + 3 (Replies 5)

(Clock Cycle 3)

Core 2 processes 4 + 1 + 2 + 5

Core 1 processes 5 + 2 (Replies 7)

(Clock Cycle 4)

Core 2 processes 5 + 2 + 5

Core 1 processes nothing (Notice that it cannot help core 2 out despite there still being extra info to process)

(Clock Cycle 5)

Core 2 processes 7 + 5 (Replies 12)

Core 1 processes nothing

Despite having two cores only one core is given access to an instruction line.  Unfortunately the developers are the ones who determine what an instruction line includes.  Thus having more cores isn’t always better when trying to process data.  

With that being said in the next article we'll look at a few CPU’s available on the market -

New PC Inc

I’m building a new PC!  The first step is trying to figure out what I’m going to use it for. 

With that being said - let’s get started!

Gaming and streaming are two of the biggest reasons for the new build.  I currently have SLI’d Nvidia GeForce GTX 460s - they were great when  I first got them several years ago, but there are so many new features available with the newer graphics chipsets I feel like I’m missing out.

While I could just update the graphic cards, the draw of DDR4 with a Haswell processor is also appealing.  This means $$$ - so I really have to know what I want and where to sacrifice so I’m not spending way more than what I really need.

Don’t get me wrong building a computer with 8x SLI’d Nvidia Titan Z, 1T of DDR4 RAM, 8 core 4GHz Haswell  w/16x 2TB SSDs….sounds amazing (Pretty sure it isn’t even possible in desktop computing, because of capped out buses on current motherboards available)  And even if it was possible there is no computing at this point where I’d actually ever be able to utilize it.  Not to mention the astronomical price to accompany it.  Unfortunately it is...not something I can afford.  

So what does it take to game and stream these days?  What type of compute is required?

It boils down to five high level components -

1 - CPU - How fast can data be processed

2 - RAM - How fast and how much data can be processed

3 - Graphics Card - How fast and how much graphical-type data be processed

4 - Drive - Load times….I feel like I’m preaching at this point

5 - NIC - HOLY CRAP NO WAY MORE SPEED??

We as gamers are purely looking for speed...in a way PC’s are our cars and we care about three things...efficiency, reliability and speed.  

Much like gaming streaming just requires more of the same.

With that let’s see what we can build!  - Next up let’s figure out a CPU!