Know your processor !
What's a Core i7 and why is it better than an i3? There's also Core i5? And what about AMD? Figuring out your processor is half the battle of buying a PC. What are cores? In simple words, a core is the part of the processor responsible for carrying out calculations needed to execute programmes. When a chip has multiple cores, it means it can process multiple instructions at the same time, thus increasing the software's speed. Intel has three main Core families... Core i3: Has two cores and Hyper Threading (HT) - a technology that simulates more cores than actually exist on the processor. This improves performance of programs that can utilize the extra cores. The i3, however, lacks Turbo Boost for extra muscle when needed. Ideal for average users. Core i5: Has four cores, but no HT. Consumes a little more power than i3. The i5 comes with Turbo Boost that allows for an increase in clock speeds in the range of 300 to 400MHz. For example, if the processor has a speed ...