The central processing unit, known as the CPU, is the main chip of the PC.  It provides the "thinking".  Usually there is included in the CPU a fast temporary short term storage memory known as the cache. The cache allows the CPU a place to hold, for a very short time, its "thinking" that needs to be held as it works on other "thinking", much the way a person who is performing a lengthy mathematical calculation might write down an intermediate calculation that will be needed to finish the final calculation. Different CPU's have different amounts of this cache. This cache speeds up the work of the CPU. So if there are two CPU's identical in processing speed(MHz), the one with this cache will be faster even though they both have the same processor speed  in MHz.  You can't tell how fast a CPU will be by just looking at the CPU speed (MHz). The most accurate way to see how fast the CPU is, is to test it on the applications that will be the most important to you. This is done by running a test called a benchmark test. A benchmark test runs the CPU through simulated computing. Compared against other CPU's, this gives a somewhat accurate measurement of  how fast the CPU can do work.

    Intel is not the only company that makes CPU's. It is the biggest, and in advertising the loudest. Compared to the other brands it is not always the fastest, though it is usually the most expensive for comparable CPU's. Intel's quality is excellent. But so are other brands of CPU's. I have worked on computers with AMD, Cyrix, and Intel CPU's.  Not once has quality of the CPU been the problem. It has always been  the associated components.  The problems have been caused by the motherboard, or its BIOS, or the cooling fan(s), or the power supply, or the hard drive or the cd-rom drive, or another component.

    I prefer to use an AMD product.  They are cost effective.  Often they are faster at a lower price.  So far, most of the computers that I have owned have had AMD CPU's, from a 386 up to a K6-2 at 350 MHz.  I have owned only one with an Intel CPU, a Pentium 100.

    The most cost effective model is usually about three down from the latest, fastest CPU from whatever company.

NOTE: All the brands listed on this page are covered by the copyright of their individual manufacturers.
 
 

jv