Common Myths of CPU’s and GPU’s
Hey guys, it’s Icarus here, gone for the last 2 days. I apologize for that… my Internet was just so slow and by the time I got on my blog to write my next post… my Internet just wouldn’t work with me. But I’m here to tell all of you that I’m still going to write articles every day. In the last post, I promised an article talking about processors and graphics cards, so I’m going to start out with that.
I also got some advice from my father and observations of my own, so I’m going to be implementing that.
So, talking about “processors and graphics cards” is a little vague. Here’s a start for all of you:
1. A Few Common myths of processors and graphics cards
2. The power of processors and graphics cards
3. If one were to reign supreme and have most of the computer under its control, which one will have that control?
In this article, I will be talking about some common myths.
Common Myths of Processors and Graphics Cards
Now, many of you are new to computers, some who are pretty good with computer hardware, and there’re us, the experts. But there’re always common myths lurking around rising from misconceptions of a few people and spreading around through forums and websites. But I’m going to crack some of them.
One common myth I come across is this one: “A computer cannot exist without a graphics card installed.” Well, most of you would probably want a graphics card installed on your computer for kicks and giggles, and maybe for shows. But that’s not true; computers can run WITHOUT graphics cards. A common and one of the only options for running computers without graphics cards is to have a motherboard with integrated graphics. This is a really cool feature for those of you who don’t really need the graphics power because you save money from not buying a graphics card. These motherboards with integrated graphics is definitely not as powerful as some of the mid-range and high-range graphics cards, but it will churn out more than enough power to give you a display on your monitor.
Another common myth I hear a lot is “Oh no, my Core2 processor is only 1.45 GHz, it’s so slow!!!!!” Again, that’s definitely NOT true. The processing speed of CPUs and its efficiency depends on many factors. One main factor is the number of cores.
As technology keeps developing and revolutionizing itself, programs and hardware must both keep up. Today, we have single-core processors, dual-core processors, tri-core processors(AMD’s Phenom) and the quad-core processors. Now, if you have been “trapped” by this common myth, you will think that a 3.00 GHz Pentium processor will be faster and more efficient than a Core2 1.45Ghz processor. Well, that’s wrong; take into consideration the number of cores: the Pentium has 1, and the Core2 has two cores(in this example). Now, when you have two cores PLUS hyper-threading, this means that you essentially have 4 cores, just not written on the box or the computer. This means that you have cores just as powerful or more powerful than the one in the Pentium, and you have four of them. As you start using more and more programs simultaneously, the Core 2 processor will have an easy time utilizing its cores, but the Pentium will have a hard time because it will only have 1 core, and it can only take on so many threads and tasks. That’s why processor speeds, at first glance, do not really matter.
Well, there’re a few of the common myths of processors and graphics cards. Tomorrow, I will be talking about the potential of processors and graphics cards. Come back tomorrow for more awesome information!
And don’t forget to comment! I will be writing at least one quality article everyday, and suggestions/criticism/compliments help a lot! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!
See you all later!
~| Icarus
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The History of CPU’s and GPU’s
Have you ever thought of a day when only a CPU or GPU controlled the whole system, and the other option was not there anymore? Recently, I have. It’s Icarus here again, and I’m just going to start this out by talking about the two: CPU’s and GPU’s.
This thought came to mind when I was thinking about the recent court case between Intel and NVidia, fighting over licensing rights for developing chipsets that supported the Core i7 Nehalem processors. Intel is the processor powerhouse, and NVidia is a large GPU competitor against ATI.
Now, years and years ago, when computers were still at lower levels, and Intel was competing against stronghold AMD with its new Pentium processors, not much was integrated; memory controllers were in a separate location on the motherboard, memory was still controlled via the memory controller, there was only DDR memory, and the GPU was at its separate location, receiving commands from the CPU. Initially, a computer could not work without a CPU or a GPU; the computer had to have both. You’d definitely need a CPU to send commands to other components through the motherboard for the computer to even function, and you’d need a GPU to have a display to look at.
As developers and manufacturers created new and better computer hardware at an alarming rate, things started to become integrated; AMD went on to be the first to include the on-die memory controller in its CPU’s, NVidia was established and began to create its own GPU’s, Intel began the development of the Core2 series, and motherboard chipsets became more and more advanced for CPUs to be able to process and send commands and data to components of the computers more quickly. CPU’s and GPU’s developed at a neck-to-neck rate, and both were progressively becoming much more powerful and efficient.
And now, here we are today, with the Core i7 Nehalmen processors, ATI’s popular 4870 X2 and NVidia’s GTX 295 GPU’s, one with 2 GPU’s on one graphics card and the latter with one powerful GPU. Intel now includes its on-die memory controller in the CPU itself, and now there’re motherboards with integrated GPU’s powerful enough to produce a good display on monitors. Everything is becoming INTEGRATED.
So, what’s next on the menu? Well, I’m going to talk about the hypothetical situations I thought of when either the CPU or GPU completely takes control of a computer, meaning that one can live without the other(CPU won’t even need on-board integrated GPU).
Don’t forget to comment!! Comments are always welcome; criticisms, compliments, suggestions, whatever you want covered in my blogs. And please, when you put criticisms, put it in a mannered fashion. It’s a blog, not a flame war zone Xp
And don’t forget to subscribe! I’m going to be writing at least one good blog post a day, and that’s a promise!
Well, that’s all I got for tonight! See you all later! Come back tomorrow!
~| Icarus
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Issue between Intel and NVidia
Hey guys, Icarus here. I’ve recently been reading up on the issue between Intel and NVidia more, and since they’ve gone to court on Thursday, I thought I’d shed light on what the issue is here.
So basically, this all started when NVidia released plans of the future about developing motherboard chipsets that will support Intel’s new Core i7 Nehalem architecture. Intel tried to talk NVidia out of going with this plan, but NVidia kept its plan and began the development of a new motherboard chipset that would let NVidia fans use Core i7 processors on NVidia chipsets, allowing the fans to hold the power of the Core i7 and Tri-SLI GPU’s.
However, Intel didn’t want NVidia to go on with the plans, and took this case to court, saying that NVidia does not have the license to create chipsets that support Intel’s new QPI(QuickPath Interconnect) system and integrated memory-controller technology. But NVidia says that they have a few-years old license that allows them to do the exact thing.
But what’s really the issue here? It’s really just Intel trying to hold its advantage, among other things. Currently, ONLY Intel’s X58 motherboard chipset supports Intel’s incredibly powerful Corei7 Nehalem processors. Basically, Intel has a sort of a monopoly going on in the Core i7 industry, because they develop and manufacture both the processors and the motherboards that work together.
Now, NVidia wants a piece of the cake. In the previous years, NVidia has successfully developed chipsets that supported the Core2 series of processors(680i, 780i, 790i Ultra, among others), and they have been extremely popular, competing well against Intel’s own chipsets(P35, X48, P45, etc.). And now, Intel has unleashed a processor that outperforms many of the Core 2 processors that cost a lot more than the Core i7 processors. NVidia is definitely hungry for a large piece of this new series of processors, and is now trying to do the same thing it succeeded in doing during the reign of the Core2 processors.
So, here’s the summary of what Intel would lose if NVidia succeeds in developing their new chipset:
1. Intel would lose the advantage of saying that their X58 motherboards are the only motherboards that support Core i7 processors
2. Intel will no longer be able to have an edge over NVidia with the Core i7 and X58 motherboard, because NVidia will be able to create chipsets that allow both Core i7 and Tri-SLI graphics cards to work in unison. X58 motherboards only support up to SLI.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Tomorrow, I’m going to be talking about a bigger issue arising: processors vs graphics cards.
And don’t forget to comment, all comments are appreciated!
Also, subscribe to my blogs, I’m going to be posting at least one quality post a day!
See you all later!
~| Icarus
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Why Upgrade to a High-End NVidia or ATI Graphics Card?
Hey guys, Icarus here. While I was looking around, reading up on articles about recent developments in computer hardware, and I thought of a particular topic: graphics cards.
We all love graphics cards because they make our screens much prettier; if we buy better graphics cards, we can use it on larger monitors to play our games and watch our movies. We also get bragging rights for getting the highest 3DMark score amongst our group of friends. But does this really matter?
Recently, I’ve noticed a trend in the connection between the graphics card industry and the computer gaming industry: graphics cards develop at a much faster pace than the computer games do. You see, constantly, graphics card manufacturers releasing newer and better graphics cards, adding 50 or 100 or even 1000 to their previous number(hahaha…). And yes, game companies do release brand new games each year, good and bad, high-end and low-end graphics, intense and boring plot lines.
All that is good, except the part where I mentioned before: the graphics card industry is developing at a much faster pace. I mean, if you look at some of the benchmarks for the high-end graphics cards, they churn out FPS(frames per second) so much higher than 40 FPS that it doesn’t really matter how much more you’re getting over 40. Once you get more than 40FPS, the human eye can’t really distinguish between 50FPS and 60FPS. So what’s the point of buying a high-end NVidia or ATI graphics card if a lower graphics card can get the job done just fine?
If you’re thinking about upgrading right now, I don’t really think it’s the time. Let’s say you have a 9800GTX, a good graphics card now-a-days at a good price. That card can take on most games well, and if you’re thinking about upgrading just so it feels good, I wouldn’t do that. Even if it’s for playing higher-end games(Crysis comes up at the top of my head), I still wouldn’t do it. You can always lower the quality just a bit, and play it at a playable FPS. And in the economic situation we are all in right now, I think that’s more than enough.
Well, that’s all I got for now. Stay tuned for more articles! Which means… subscribe! I”m going to be writing something new every single day!
And don’t forget to comment, because comments just make my day so much better!
See you all later(in my blog!)!! Good night!!
~| Icarus
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EVGA’s Next Monster: X58 Classified
Hey everyone, Icarus here. Sorry about yesterday, my Internet was so slow that I could not even go on Google and research. But I am back, and my Internet is working with me, and I’m going to take advantage of it.
For years, EVGA has been a major competitor in the motherboard market, releasing consistently-efficient and high-quality motherboards sporting NVidia chipsets and the well-known EVGA logo. However, since NVidia agreed to allow Intel to go as far as enabling SLI between two graphics cards, many motherboard makers that have been loyal to NVIdia chipsets have had to somewhat go in between both Intel and NVidia, and start making motherboards of both NVidia and Intel chipsets. And EVGA has had to do the same.
Now EVGA has taken its first few steps in the X58 market, and according to many reviews of EVGA’s X58 motherboards so far, have come with guns blazing; like their previous NVidia chipset motherboards, they are doing amazingly well. But it’s EVGA, they don’t just stop at the “ordinary” level; they constantly strive for much higher standards for performance, ignoring price most of the time, to provide the best of the best in every aspect of the motherboard. And now, they have done it again.
According to rumors given by world-class overclockers, EVGA has recently been building a prototype motherboard of the X58 that exceeds far beyond the regular specs of normal motherboards. This, my friends, is called the X58 Classified. Now, traditionally, EVGA has been calling its step-up motherboards the “FTW”(For the Win); for example, the EVGA 780i FTW motherboard. Now, they have discarded this moniker(for now, forever, I don’t know for sure), and used the new moniker “Classified”. Now, the name itself is somewhat intimidating; when we think about the word “classified”, we think of something secret, something that may even be dangerous. And yes, this motherboard may be, indeed, a KILLER motherboard. Not for us, but for other motherboard vendors, because it may perform so well that it may leave all other motherboards in its dust.
So far, not much information has been released. However, I know this much; there are three full x16 PCI Express slots for Tri-SLI configurations, and still room left for x1 PCI Express slot for audio cards. Now, here’s the killer part; there’s another PCI Express slot. That means there’re a total of 4 PCI Express slots, all on one motherboard, and one left for the audio. This is, indeed, an enthusiast’s dream-come-true; you can have Tri-SLI, good audio, AND you can now have a PhysX card that further enhances your PC gaming/graphics experience. Can’t ask for more than that!
Now, unfortunately, there is not much released about its capabilities. But I know this: this is one motherboard that everyone will be dying for. This, just from the specs, is a Killer Motherboard.
Now, if I catch more on this motherboard, I will post them here, so sit tight. And hope I made up for the lack of a post yesterday by writing this post.
And please, comment away! Tell me what you think, because my readers, you are the most important to me. If you have any questions, any suggestions, or any topic you want covered, just leave a comment! I’ll be posting everyday, and a comment always makes my day that much brighter. And my posts better 
And don’t forget to subscribe! I will be posting quality articles everyday!
That’s all I’ve got for now. I’ve had school off this week(President’s Week off 
), but for those of you, actually most of you, who have been going to school and work, it’s Friday tomorrow. Relax, come back on my blog to read my post, and just enjoy your weekend. See you all later!
~| Icarus
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