Cpu

Intel Core i7 3960X

Intel has been an absolute performer and in the lead ever since its Core series CPUs launched. AMD has just not been able to keep up with Intel. AMD bulldozer was supposed to have been able to provide some competition but it barely keeps up with even Intel previous generation, therefore it intel astonishing that Sandy Bridge E, the architecture within this innovative Extreme Edition CPU, is the fastest thing ever known.










In the past few years, Intel had become complacent giving headaches to high end PC buyers. Intel had launched its previous set of Extreme Edition CPUs, the Bloomfield XE i7-9xx series in 2008 and the gulftown i7-9xx series in 2011. These series were set apart from the mainstream Core lineup by the use of their own socket and chipset. But with the Intel Core i7 3960X, everything has changed.

The Intel Core i7 3960X is the fastest consumer desktop CPU in Intel lineup. The 2.27 billion transistor chip has eight cores, but the latest models being released at the moment use only six of them. Each of these six cores can execute two threads and there is a 15 MB cache to keep them all occupied. The Intel Core i7 3960X nominal clock speed is 3.3 Ghz, but the speed increases to 3.6 Ghz on every core or 3.9 Ghz on a single core when Turbo Boost boots in to accelerate demanding applications. The TDP is 130W which is line with previous Extreme Edition parts. Perhaps Intel was aware that enthusiasts buy a CPU in this price range would ever use a simple cooler and therefore, they have decided not to bundle one. Instead, for the first time, Intel offering an optional liquid cooling kit custom made by Asetek.

On the memory front, all of the four memory channels can be packed with 1600 MT modules, allowing for a whopping 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. A number of X79 motherboards flaunt support for XMP (Xtreme Memory Profiles), which is a new Intel catchphrase that involves certifying motherboards and memory modules that make use of certain optimizations above and beyond DDR3 specifications. XMP squarely targets gamers and over-lockers, who will be looking to squeeze even more power out of their systems.

There is no onboard graphics subsystem, but anyone who is buying a CPU of this caliber would not want to pair it with anything below a top-range graphics card anyway. Rather than graphics, Intel has shifted the PCIe controller from the chipset to the CPU package.

With so many functions moving to the CPU, there isn’t much left for the chipset to do and the X79 Express is a mixed bag. All the usual boxes are checked: 14 USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, HD Audui, additional PCIe lanes and SATA. One the downside, there is no USB 3.0 port and only two of the six SATA ports support the latest 6 Gbps standard.

In short, the Intel Core i7 3960X is one of the fastest CPUs of this generation. However, given its non-extreme i7 sibling capabilities, it is hard to find a scenario where this much power is even necessary.

The CPU, an Important Computer Hardware Component
Our computers are very important to us nowadays because we have all become used to working with them on various occasions. We have also become more interested in learning all about the way in which our computers function, all about their components and their role inside our computers and this can only make us become better computer users.

There are numerous computer hardware components that are very important for the way in which our computer functions because they have specific functions which are very important in determining the performance of our computers. In this article, we shall discuss about one of these hardware components, namely the central processing unit and this is because the CPU is one of the most important computer hardware components and all computer users should be familiar with it and its functions in order to get a better understanding of the way in which their computers function.




What might be interesting to be mentioned in the beginning is the fact that in the past, computers used to have specific processors developed for various purposes. This led to the necessity of creating computers with specific purposes in mind, which made it quite difficult for computer user to have very well performing computers that they could have used for various purposes as it is known to be possible nowadays. The idea is that every computer processor can only understand a limited number of so-called instructions and each instruction of this kind includes logical type of operations that need to be performed so as to enable the completion of specific tasks.

In time, there have been made certain chances or better said improvements to computers but taking into account the aspects having been previously mentioned. The main goal had become that of creating a processor that might be used for multiple purposes rather than having to develop a new processor for each type of computer that was available on the market. The advantages of creating a processor of this kind were more than obvious and the main one refers to the great reduction of manufacturing, research and development costs in the case of such processors. This is how the term CISC technology has become familiar on the market as well for those who are not yet aware of its meaning we should day that it stands for Complex Instruction Set Computing and that it used to combine different necessary instruction into a single central processing unit. The main idea regarding this type of technology refers to the fact that each instruction could perform various tasks with the help of mini-programs or macrocodes integrated in the central processing unit.

 



Drawbacks have also been discovered to be presented by the CISC technology in the case of the CPU, one of the most important computer hardware components. First of all, a complex processor was required so as to enable the use of an increased number of instructions and this meant using millions of transistors. Also, calculating where each of the performed instructions has began and ended took the processor quite some time. These are two of the drawbacks that have been considered in time in what concerns the use of this type of technology in manufacturing central processing units for our computers.

Five Hardware Components For My Personal Computer!

We use computers on a daily basis, at home, at work or while traveling to access the Internet, play computer games, watch movies and so much more. Yet, most of the times if not ever, we never give a second thought to just what our computer is made off. You know it contains hardware components but what exactly they are, how are they called or what is their function within our personal computer are usually questions without answers or with vague ones. I'm going to be talking bellow above about the hardware components for a personal computer that are essential to it:

1. The PC Monitor is the device on which you visualize movies, games, and programs like word editors and Internet browsers. Older models featured a Cathode Ray Tube (hence the name CRT) with controls housed in a plastic case. Their diagonal ranged from 13 to 21 inches. Today LCD monitors have flooded the market, providing wide screen image display and smaller weight compared to their older counterparts, the CRT computer monitors. Most monitors feature controls used to adjust contrast and brightness while others have options to move the image left, right, up or down. CRT monitors also have a degauss option which can be used when the image isn't displayed correctly.
 

2. The motherboard is the board that contains the CPU, the memory, BIOS, CMOS, Video devices, sound devices, storage devices, chipsets, etc. together with the connectors and logic circuits that tie all parts of your PC together. Together with the wiring in your computer it resembles to the network of veins in your body.

3. The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is considered by some to be a computer inside another computer. This isn't to far from the truth since the processor manages the huge number of instructions given to him by the other computer hardware components similar to how the computer manages the instructions you give it by using external input devices like the keyboard and mouse.






4. The "hard drive" is a storage device with one or more metal disks (called platters), arranged on a spindle, one above the other; with a read/write head (often on an arm that can be moved to a specific point on the recording surfaces. This read/write machine can probably be called the first true 'robot'. Hard drive units are sealed hermetically to keep out dust. Even the smallest particle of dust can damage the platters so it's recommended you don't open them. The most recent hard drives can have up to 1.5 Terra Bytes.

5. The video card is an essential part of any computer. It provides your computer to play video files, computer games and other things. Without a video card to convert the binary code from the CPU and transmit in a graphic way to your monitor you wouldn't be able to watch anything. In some cases the video card can be integrated on the motherboard.

6. The sound card is very much like the video card, with the small difference that instead of converting CPU binary code and send it to your monitor it uses a different type of conversion allowing you to hear sounds in your computer speakers.

7. Over the years the CD-ROM drive and the DVD-ROM have proven to be essential to a personal computer. Information transfer had at its heart this hardware component. In recent years, with the development of the Internet, flash drives and portable hard drives, CD and DVD-ROMs have started to register a slow decline from the information transfer market. They will still be around for some years to come since they are the backbone of the music and movies commercialization.


8. As a last entry to the list of computer hardware components I'll add a duo of hardware parts, namely the keyboard and the mouse without which you couldn't control you computer. That is until technologies similar to the touch screen will appear on the market, but this will undoubtedly take some time.