Which CPU Is Right For You?

So you have finally decided to upgrade or buy a new CPU. But not sure which is the one is right for you?🙄 Don’t worry then because I’ll be explaining exactly the same in this post. You see, different people have different needs in terms of computing power. Unlike GPU vendors, you got only two options here. Either you go with the blue team which is obviously Intel or the red team-AMD. If you are planning to get a notebook, please be sure to pick the most powerful CPU for your budget. Because you won’t be able to swap it later with another one unless you are buying the Alienware Area 51m😀. We can include all the people in 5 different groups. Low-end, mid-end, high-end, ultra-level users and server level. Since we are dealing with consumer CPUs only, lets skip that last one.

                  So, there are so many things to consider while buying a CPU. Number of cores, threads, clock rate, cache memory, overclocking capabilities, generation etc. A CPU with several cores is essentially multiple CPUs in a single chip. So the work or instructions to be executed on the CPU will be divided and given to each cores thereby reducing execution time. Thread is just a virtual component that handles the tasks of the cores. Threads are also called as logical cores since they are not physical cores. Clock rate or frequency refers to the speed at which the CPU is running. This indicates how many operations the CPU can do within a second. Cache is the very high speed memory inside CPU. These are much faster than the RAM speed. Overclocking is the ability of a CPU to hit higher frequencies than its originally designed to run. In almost all the scenarios higher number of cores, threads, frequency or cache means greater performance. So, coming back to our categories, find which one you belong to and select the corresponding processor.

1. Low-End Users

       This group includes all those who are just doing casual things with their pc like browsing, watching videos, writing things 💁‍♂️etc.  These users don’t need a ton of computing power. So, they have the Ryzen 3 line-up from AMD or the core i3 line-up from Intel. For entry level people, i3-10110U for laptops and i3-7100 for desktops would be perfect considering their price to performance ratio. From AMD, my suggestion is Ryzen 3 3200U for notebooks and Ryzen 3 2200 for desktop would be enough for all those basics. For those who seek a higher performance in this group can go with either i3-9100F or Ryzen 3 3200G. Both of them have 4 cores and 4 threads without the support for hyperthreading. But since all AMD processors are unlocked for overclocking⚡, this will be definitely an advantage for the red team.

2. Mid-End users

             This category is for the people who are using their PC for medium level applications. Anywhere from little bit of gaming to standard video editing🎬. These people need CPU with a medium level computing power. For notebooks, I strongly recommend the i5-8300H or Ryzen 5-3500U for those people who need a super-economical deal and i5-9400H or Ryzen 5-4600H for the pros. This was the first time AMD inroduced their 7nm technology with the Zen 2 cores in laptop segment with the Ryzen 4000 mobile processores.  Desktop users have options such as the i5-9600K or the i5-9600KF. Since both of them are unlocked processors, you can have some fun overclocking these. From AMD side, its either Ryzen 5-3600 or 3600X. Both have 6c/12T in them. The only real difference comes in their TDP(Thermal Design Power) where the 3600X version has 30 Watts more than the non-X version which is rated at 65W TDP.

3. High-End users 

                   These are the people who are in demand for high performance computing. They want to do things at fraction of a second. Hard-core gamers🎮 who need to game, record and stream all at 1080p res, content creators, professionals who need to finish rendering things within minutes. People like them can be included in this category. From the blue team, they have the i7-9750H for laptops and i7-9700K for desktops to get superior performance. AMD offers Ryzen 7-4800H for laptop segment and Ryzen 7-3700X or the 3800X for desktops. Having a high speed memory like 3000MHZ or 3200MHZ with the Ryzen processors will definitely give you an edge in most of the scenarios.

4. Ultra-level users

             Just one question. Do you want the fastest PC that money can buy😎? Then you are in this group. These guys don’t want anything other than the best. Corporate Professional, Data scientists, Medical experts trying to figure out the mystery of molecular structure, top gamers, streamers all are included in this group. From both Intel and AMD, there are some beefy competitors here. The well-known i9-9900k, 9900KS and 9900XE etc are some of the best offerings from the blue side. AMD is also providing their flagship chips in this segment such as the Ryzen 9 3950X,3960X and the whooping 64c/128T madness 3990x. From many benchmarks like the cinebench R20, it’s clear that Ryzen 9 3950x is clearly dominating on the 9900K. If 3950X can do that, what about 3970X or 3990X can do😶?

                             No one can leave this conversation without mentioning about the mighty Threadripper line-up from AMD. Every Threadripper release like the 3960X or 3970X set a new standard in computing power for customers. The fact is that Intel don’t even have a competitor in the segment against this one😐. They are already dominating here yet AMD recently released a new variant of Threadripper-the 3990X which brought even more on to the table. Currently, AMD is the leading CPU manufacturer in computing industry with their Ryzen and Threadripper line-ups. Many of the tech experts believe that it’s because of their advancements in 7nm technology and the more flexible Zen-2 cores. Now every tech enthusiast is looking forward towards the launch event of 10^th gen desktop CPUs from Intel. Can they beat AMD and get back their crown👑 and sceptre? Only time will tell us that⏱.     

                Like I said before, selecting the best CPU for yourself has been never easy. And if you only use certain applications in your PC, analysing the performance of the those in different CPUs using benchmarks would be helpful. I hope this post helped you in one way or another. If you have any queries about this topic, feel free to reach me🤗. Have a happy day! 😊