CPUs Part 1: Intel

A Central Processing Unit, or CPU or processor, is the main chip inside the computer that controls how fast the PC is capable of operating.  Other factors like the quantity of RAM (system memory) or the type and speed of your hard drive can also play important parts on how fast the PC is.  There are two main brands of processors.  One is by Intel Corporation, and the other is by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc, or AMD.

Just as a reference to expand on later, there are two main brands of PC graphics.  The first is GeForce by nVIDIA Corporation and the second is Radeon by ATI (which is now a brand owned by AMD).

Intel is historically known for the Pentium brand, mainly the Pentium 4 and the following dual-core version, the "Pentium D" processor.  After this they introduced the Intel Core Duo and then the Core 2 Duo, and finally, the Core 2 Quad, which has four CPUs in one chip.

In 2008 Intel introduced a new naming system to replace the Core 2 generation.  Their most powerful processors now are called the Intel Core i7, and there are somewhat lower performing ones called the Core i3 and the Core i5.

Previously computers and processors were judged mainly by the processor clock speed in MHz, pronounced MegaHertz (1,000,000 cycles per second) and GHz, pronounced GigaHertz (which is 1,000 MegaHertz).  Now, however with processor technology being constantly redesigned, we use processor model numbers which are relative to speed.  The the new current mainstream processor from Intel is the Core i5, with a Core i3 being lower end, and a Pentium G offering solid economical performance with built-in Graphics.

Another trend with newer processor generations has been in putting more than one actual processor inside a CPU chip.  Intel and AMD have dual core processors, quad core processors, and six core processors, while AMD also makes a triple core processor with the X3 moniker.  Another important issue is the generation of the processor in a computer.  But as an example a relatively new Pentium E5300 at 2.6 GHz would demolish an older Pentium D 950 at 3.4 GHz.  This is why we've sort of gotten away from going by clock speed alone, although within a generation, (apples to apples) clock speed is still an important factor.

Fast Intel Core 2 Quad models include the Q9550 and Q9650, and these are relatively decent.  However these have been shown to all be outperformed by the AMD Phenom II 965 which is cheaper and has future upgradability.  For gaming performance with Intel you want to look for a quad core processor of the i5 or i7 generation.  As mentioned in the table below, the different generations of processors fit into different kinds of sockets.

Intel Desktop Processors
Socket 775 2004-2010	Socket 1156 2009-2010	Socket 1366 2008-2011	Socket 1155 2011-Present	Socket 2011 2011-Present
Pentium 4 / Celeron D
Pentium D
Celeron 420-450
Celeron E Dual Core / Pentium E Dual Core / Core 2 Duo	Pentium G / Core i3 500 Series / Core i5 600 Series
Core 2 Quad	Core i5 700 Series	Core i7 920
	Core i7 800 Series	Core i7 900 Series	Core i5 2400,2500 Core i7 2600 Core i5 3550 Core i7 3770, 3770K	Core i7 3820
		Core i7 Extreme six-core		Core i7 Extreme six-core
Loosely ranked by date and performance level

In 2008 Intel released the Core i7 900 series which works with the X58 chipset and Socket 1366.  This platform is still strong today with the highest end Core i7 Extreme processor(s), although it has been replaced with Socket 2011.  The i3 500 series, i5 600 and 700 series, and the i7 800 series all were released in 2009 and 2010 with the P55 and H55 chipsets, all using Socket 1156, which is also now out of production.  Socket 1155 was introduced in January 2011 with the P67 and H67 chipsets, and holds the most promise for upgradability with Intel currently.  They're different in that they require different system boards – a Core i7 960 requires an X58 system board – a Core i5 760 requires a P55 system board.  The Socket 1366 CPUs support triple channel DDR3 memory – RAM sticks are installed in sets of three for peak performance.  This gives normal amounts of 3GB, 6GB, and 12GB of system memory.  The Socket 1155 CPUs support dual channel DDR3 memory which is installed in pairs.  This gives normal amounts of 4GB and 8GB.

In late 2011 Intel introduced their highest performing PC platform with the X79 chipset, based on Socket 2011.  This upgrades the old Socket 1366 from triple-channel to quad-channel DDR3 memory.  Memory is installed in sets of four for optimal performance.  Intel's fastest PC processor, the Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition, actually has six cores at 3.33 GHz, so Windows sees twelve processors with HyperThreading.

Tests have shown that the difference between dual and triple channel is not significant.  The X58 and X79 chipsets have extra bandwidth built-in that can be useful for newly developed technologies like faster internal hard drives (Serial ATA 3.0 also called SATA 6G) and faster external hard drives and flash memory devices (USB 3.0).

“By looking at the naming, model numbers, and price differences you can get a feel for how Intel's processors relate to each other.”

Now certain Core i3 and i5 processors feature built-in graphics when used with certain chipsets, such as H67, Z68, H75, and Z77 chipsets.  Third generation Core i7 processors like the 3770 also have a built-in graphics processor.  Since Intel graphics are historically not tuned for or powerful enough for the top action games at the popular screen resolutions, we always suggest adding a discrete graphics card for any serious gaming.  If you just see "Core i5" and say, "I read they were OK", and buy it, you could be left with an underpowered system that leaves you unable to play games at the level you would like, unless you look at all of the spec's and compare.

CPUs Part 2: AMD

AMD's is known for the Athlon and Phenom brands.  Their latest CPUs are the FX series of multi-core processors which continue to challenge Intel with lower prices.  The AMD FX-8150 eight core processor is their fastest as of this update.  Some PC enthusiasts criticize the FX series for being designed with weaker processor modules.  Half of the cores have a shared floating-point unit, so in some regards, an eight core FX is like a quad core, and a six core FX processor is like a three core processor.  AMD's top end processors at the time of publication are not as competitive with Intel's tip top end, but their higher performance, mid-range and low-end models are very competitive with Intel in performance and value.  Any AMD dual core processor older than an Athlon II X2 is a little too old.  The Phenom II X4 900 series quad-core processors and the Phenom II X6 1000 series of six core processors are their current performance leaders.  The Phenom II X4 965 (3.4 GHz) outperforms the fastest Core 2 Quad at a lower price, effectively burying Intel's older Core 2 generation.  AMD's Phenom II X6 line released in Spring 2010 has been found to be a solid value, and they along with the fastest Phenom II X4s hold up very well with the latest FX series.  Intel's quad core processors in the $300 range on up still beat all of AMD's CPUs as of this update.

The newest Phenom II processors are available in X2 dual-core, X3 triple-core, X4 quad-core, and new X6 six core models.  New Athlon II processors come in X2, X3, and X4 models and are a little slower than comparable Phenom II's, with the slowest Athlon II X4's obsoleting all of the older Phenom 1 processors.  AMD's Phenom II 550 at 3.1 GHz compares right around Intel's Core 2 Duo E8400 at 3.0 GHz, while coming in significantly cheaper.  Reports have shown that AMD's X3 processors compare favorably to Intel's dual core in value for the money.

Historically AMD has given more focus to energy efficiency, and their ingenious socket strategy may provide more long term upgradability even if they don't exactly have the fastest out there today.  AMD's newest processors use AMD's new Socket AM3+, and these processors are designed to be optimal with DDR3 memory.  AMD's AM3 processors can also fit in a Socket AM2+ motherboard and also support using DDR2 memory instead.  PC enthusiasts demand upgradability, and AMD is very smart to accommodate this.

AMD has a new processor called an APU, or an Accelerated Processing Unit, which combines an AMD CPU and an ATI Radeon HD GPU.  This is new as of Summer 2011, and it uses Socket FM1.  The upgradability of this socket is uncertain, and while the AMD APU is good, the fastest of this first generation of APUs, the A8-3850, has been shown to have performance of a value-priced Athlon II X4 Quad-Core CPU.  This is to say, they're below the Phenom II level of performance.  For gaming the A8-3850 is somewhat capable at lower resolutions up to 720p, and surprising considering it is using regular shared system memory.  But, there's no comparison with a high end graphics card with its own extra fast memory.  For the Kilo a-Series of AMD based computers, and the other AMD based gaming computers we offer, we're going with the more capable AM3+ system instead of the A4, A5, A6, or A8 AMD processors.  Integrated graphics performance, with AMD as with Intel, is modest and affordable, even if AMD does it best.

The promise of APUs has yet to be realized however.  Software developers have only recently been given the tools to write programs that can use a GPU for general purpose, non-graphics code for Windows.  So some future software will be able to run significantly faster with an APU or a high end PC with premium gaming graphics, compared to a lesser computer.  A full fledged gaming PC is your ticket to running high performance software now and in the future.

“When buying a new AMD based computer, choose an Athlon II X2 or better, such as Phenom II processors with higher model numbers.”

AMD purchased one of the two major graphics chip companies, ATI in 2006.  AMD now uses ATI chipset technology in with their processors, practically shutting out the market for other chipsets from VIA and nVIDIA.  One of the major distinctions between chipsets is support for dual graphics cards.  The higher end 890FX and 990FX chipsets have the bandwidth built in to support dual graphics cards (or four at half rate).  This results in more complex, higher priced system boards.  Lesser chipsets like the 770 or 790X or 890X chipsets support one graphics card at the full rate, or maybe two at half rate.

With a traditional gaming computer you're buying something that is more durable, and has more of a lifespan to it.  With a car, or say an appliance, you might expect to be able to get replacement parts for it if the need arose, but probably not anything extremely customized or expanded upon outside the original factory specifications.  KillaRad PCs use industry-standard parts (high end ones actually), so with the modularity built into the machine and the wide industry of different hardware components, a KillaRad PC is going to be an investment that you can choose to expand on in the future.

Dual Core vs. Quad Core

While many hit games out now are taking advantage of dual core and quad core processors, not all of the software is designed to yet.  In that case, in comparing a fast dual core processor to a slower clocked quad core processor, the dual may win out.  For example think of only one core running on a 3.33 GigaHertz Intel Core 2 Duo processor versus only one core on a 2.33 GigaHertz Intel Core 2 Quad.  On the other hand, buying a quad core is more forward looking for future games and applications, and when it comes down to it you can get away with running more software at once, more smoothly.  More software is gradually being released supporting quad-core processors from both Intel and AMD.  AMD has practically abandoned marketing dual core processors and is primarily offering quad-core Phenom processors now.    With the affordability of AMD's Athlon II X4 processors, dual core PCs are relegated to lower end office PCs now.

It's important to drive home the point that a new dual-core CPU can beat an old quad-core CPU.  When your budget is tight, a dual core CPU can work as long as the system is upgradeable to faster processors.

“It's recommended to choose a CPU with four or more cores for gaming.”

When it comes to gaming performance, more weight should be placed on buying a more expensive graphics card rather than buying the most expensive CPU.  Regardless of what you end up choosing, you can't go wrong buying on your budget from KillaRad since the low end stuff you may find with other companies is out of the question.  Note that we also sell multimedia PCs in addition to gaming PCs, so while the multimedia PCs are solid computers, by default they aren't designed with any serious state-of-the-art gaming performance in mind.

Reliability

Some companies will try to sell you a PC with an overclocked processor.  While this may win a magazine's or a website's benchmark tests, editors don't keep the PCs they review, and they don't revisit or update product reviews.  An editor would never reveal in the months or years since the original review, if problems have cropped up.  An overclocked PC can break at any time.  It can have a reduced reliability, such as Windows blue screen crashes.  Some overclocked computers are required to be left powered on all the time, wasting electricity.  What you could end up doing buying an overclocked system is paying more money for less peace of mind.  You wouldn't like it if you called another company's tech support about a problem, and the first thing they instructed you to do was reduce the overclock down to zero percent.  It's a perfectly sensible troubleshooting practice, but at that point of course you aren't getting what you thought you were buying.  Stability and longevity are what you expect when you purchase a higher performing computer, and that's what we aim to deliver.

KillaRad Computers has partnered with both AMD and Intel, and we use components that operate as their manufacturer intended them to.

GPUs

A GPU is a graphics processing unit on a graphics card.  Formerly they were just called graphics chips, but today they rival the complexity of a CPU.  GPUs can be made for a variety of price points and markets.  The two main brands of GPUs are GeForce by nVIDIA, and Radeon by AMD.  You can tell the power of a graphics card basically by looking at the model number of its GPU, but you have to know how to read it, and you have to know how up to date it is.  If a computer has a GeForce 7100 GPU, it's a GeForce 7 family, 100 level, or "entry level" graphics.  A GeForce 7600 would run rings around a 7100.  At the same time, while the GeForce 8200 and 9300 are basically the same, they're substantially newer and better than the GeForce 7100.

Currently most all GPUs have done away with suffixes in favor of only using model numbers.  GeForce graphics cards have settled into a handful of designations.  A GeForce G is very entry-level.  A GeForce GT would be better and capable of some gaming, particularly with older games and more modest screen resolutions.  A GeForce GTS has affordable reasonable gaming performance.  But a GeForce GTX is designed for enthusiasts with considerable graphics horsepower behind it.  The lowest end GTX however may leave a little performance to be desired, but as always, take your budget into account and adjust in-game detail settings to whatever is playable with your hardware.

AMD GPUs are all currently known as Radeon HD.  For the Radeon HD 4000 generation, a 4770 or 4850 would be good affordable GPUs for DirectX 10 PC games.  Currently the 5750 performs around the level of a GeForce GTS 250, so something like a 5770 or a 5850 would be a sweet spot for performance versus dollar for the current era of DirectX 11 games.

High performance model numbers for GPUs tend to start around the _800 or _80 model number, such as an nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, or an 8800 Ultra, or a GeForce 9800 GTX+.  For an AMD card we would see this in a Radeon HD 4870, or a 5870, with a 4850 or a 5850 being a notch down respectively.  Newer high end nVIDIA GPUs have a three digit model number with a GeForce GTX 275, 280, and 285 being high end DirectX 10 GPUs, and a GTX 570 and 580 and now the GTX 680 being current high end enthusiast-class DirectX 11 GPUs.

nVIDIA and AMD Graphics Chips
DirectX 10		DirectX 11
nVIDIA GeForce	AMD Radeon HD	nVIDIA GeForce	AMD Radeon HD
8800 GTX 8800 Ultra 8800GT/9800GT 9800 GTX/GTX+ GTS 250	3870 4850	GT 440	5750
9800 GX2 Dual GPU GTX 260/275/280	3870 X2 Dual GPU 4870	GTS 450 GTX 460	5770 5830 6850
GTX 285 GTX 295 Dual GPU	4870 X2 Dual GPU	GTX 470	5850 6870
		GTX 480	5870 6950
		GTX 570 GTX 580 GTX 680	6970 7870 5970 Dual GPU 7950 7970
		GTX 590 Dual GPU GTX 690 Dual GPU	6990 Dual GPU
Loosely ranked by date and performance level

Some of our PCs offer technology to combine multiple identical graphics cards.  With nVIDIA, their technology is called S.L.I.  With AMD, theirs is called CrossFire, or CrossFireX.  What you could do, is buy a higher end PC with this technology either with two identical graphics cards, or a PC that has one card which is upgradeable to two or more.  The latter allows you save money on a PC now, and potentially add another card in the future to increase the graphics power by roughly 1.7 to 1.8 times.  This delivers higher resolutions like 1080p and beyond, with increased smoothness of in-game motion, increased detail, and more realism.  If you love first-person action games, these technologies come well recommended.  Previously nVIDIA's SLI was superior, but now the capabilities of CrossFireX and SLI technologies are evenly matched.  With systems that support dual PCI-Express x16 slots, you can run two dual GPU cards for a four GPU system.  This is great for running the most graphically intense games at the highest resolutions.  For example it takes a three or four GPU system to run Crysis in 1080p.  If you want to gear up for gaming at beyond 1080p, choosing a three or four GPU capable system would be a good investment.

One final monkeywrench in the formula is that sometimes a company will release what appears to be a new GPU, however it is either identical or fundamentally identical to a previously released GPU with a different model number.  So far this does not happen much with high end graphics cards.  Some noteworthy mentions are that some GeForce 8800 GT's were relabeled as 9800 GT's in order to continue to be sold side by side with nVIDIA's newer 9000 generation of GPUs.  Some newer 9800 GT's actually had one new feature enabled that 8800 GT's didn't have.  Similarly, a 9800 GTX is a 9800 GT GPU with a faster clock speed and faster memory, with the ability to link three cards in 3-Way SLI mode.  A 9800 GTX+ is even faster.  A GeForce GTS 250 has only 2-Way SLI mode capability, but it is fundamentally a 9800 GTX+.  Or, sometimes it has a slower clock comparable to a 9800 GTX.  Part of this just comes with the chip manufacturing business.  The companies like to sell all of the chips that they manufacture even if not all of them can work at the top performance level.

Some GPUs are sold to the largest PC manufacturers under different model names.  This may be to appease a company with something that sounds new and improved, and therefore has some extra marketability.  Or it may be because there are a mass quantity of chips that did not test out to run at the speed they were expected to.  Some companies offer a GeForce GT 340 which is apparently identical to a GeForce GT 240.  You can't buy a GeForce GTS 240 anyplace, but it is basically a faster clocked 9800 GT.

GPUs: nVIDIA vs. AMD

At this time with regards to nVIDIA GPUs, the GeForce GTX 460 cards are offering the best performance for the least price.  They are no longer made, so the GTX 560 is next best for a higher price, while the GTX 550 Ti performs lower for a lower price.  For AMD GPUs, the Radeon HD 6870 is probably the best value at the least price.

Currently nVIDIA and AMD have dual GPU graphics cards on the market that are roughly equal to each other.  They are similar in price at over $700 per card, and their other cards are similarly priced with competitive performance and performance level.  The GTX 570 and Radeon HD 6970 are similarly priced and they have similar performance levels.  The current stance on value at KillaRad is that a pair of GeForce GTX 560 Ti's is the best performance for the money with the broadest support for GPU acceleration, also incidentally accelerating in-game physics effects in certain games.

Both nVIDIA and AMD have their advocates.  Both companies have been on top of the other at one time or another, and both have had their share of fiascoes.  AMD has come a long way and technologically is equivalent to nVIDIA.  nVIDIA may be overall better at marketing and developing longer term strategies, such as their 3D Vision stereoscopic standard, their CUDA programming technology, and their PhysX game physics programming technology.  Both companies release new graphics drivers on a steady basis in order to support new games and speed up other current PC games.  Historically nVIDIA supports their older graphics chips better than AMD does.  At KillaRad we sell both nVIDIA and AMD based graphics cards so you can buy what you prefer.

GPUs: Stereoscopic 3D

Stereoscopic 3D (an immersive 3D depth effect with special glasses) has been attempted before with PC games, and it has been relegated to little more than a gimmick.  Some gamers lacked the depth perception to take advantage of wearing the special glasses, and some others were made nauseous.  However nVIDIA prior to the commercial success of James Cameron's Avatar, has worked on improving the experience with their new product called nVIDIA 3D Vision.  This works with a new monitor/TV technology to display 120 Hz on an LCD screen instead of merely 60.  This leaves 60 Hz for each eye, which provides a more fluid, playable experience with today's high powered GPUs, to make stereoscopic 3D gaming on the PC possible and practical.  Allegedly the immersion is good for a few hours before strain kicks in and you have to take a break.  AMD is allegedly working on has a similar stereoscopic solution called HD3D.  But, nVIDIA has the head start with a fully developed stereoscopic 3D system, and they have more supported games.  They offer Blu-Ray 3D movie playback, given that you have a compatible graphics card, with their 3D glasses kit with a USB receiver, and a compatible HDTV or monitor.

Notably, all KillaRad gaming PCs include DisplayPort connectors and are thus ready for the next generation of 120 Hz displays for stereoscopic 3D.

Understandably, throwing around all of these model numbers can be hard to follow if you're not accustomed to shopping for graphics cards and keeping that kind of knowledge in your head.  However, this allows you to understand the ranking and pricing of the spec's of gaming PCs.

By offering enthusiast class GPUs in our gaming PC lines, we ensure you get a high performance gaming computer, whichever one you choose.  Other companies might not follow this same standard for performance, and they can do that to lure you in with a lower price with specs that are unacceptable for a "gaming PC".

What it comes down to is that the GPU affects performance in gaming more than a CPU, and buyers can easily be taken advantage of when they don't know this.  Most people are more trained to buy a computer based on CPU speed, which is why this happens.

Game developers make their games so you can turn down detail levels to make the game more playable on a lower cost CPU or GPU.  It's usually possible to compromise and play a game at DVD resolution instead of HD resolutions, such as 1280 by 960 or 720p or 768p or higher.  Choosing a PC with a more powerful graphics card can produce a higher fidelity image by anti-aliasing, which removes the stair-step jaggies in all 3D games, also allowing smooth playing at HD resolutions.

PC games have always paved the way in electronic interactive entertainment, and computer hardware has been ever advancing in supporting game development.  The direction mainstream hit games have gone in is "more realism" whether the game has new graphic effects, or new kinds of interactivity with the game world, or whether it's scripted by a professional writer.  By buying a weaker computer or trying to upgrade a cheap computer, you're compromising the realism.  That's why PC gamers are so fanatic about having a nice computer.  With higher fidelity 3D accelerated graphics and exciting surround sound, the top PC games really deserve to be enjoyed on a higher performance KillaRad computer.

Upgradeability

We offer a variety of models for various budgets with different options on upgradability.  If you really got into a series of games and wanted to experience the latest title with new, more realistic effects, you could choose to upgrade some of the components inside your KillaRad PC to get a comparably better experience.  Upgradeability is standard with our PCs, unlike off-the-shelf PCs which are typically not designed to be upgraded.  By selling non-upgradeable PCs or PCs with limited upgradability, the major PC companies are protecting their business, but in many cases paying a lower price limits what you'll be able to do with a major brand computer.

Other companies often fake you out by listing the maximum specs one of their systems can be configured with, next to the minimum starting price.  Unlike other companies that start their systems at the bottom and get you to pay more for a better graphics card and a better GPU, KillaRad's PCs are price optimized.  They often include things other companies charge extra for, like a silent heatpipe CPU cooler, a full year of anti-virus protection and a gaming mouse.  When you line up the specs, a KillaRad PC can save you from $100 to $800 or more on comparable systems from other gaming PC companies.