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Common Microprocessors Used on Personal Computers
If purchasing a personal computer the "processor" or "CPU" (abbreviation for Central Processing Unit) will have a significant factor towards the cost of your computer system-- the newer and more powerful the CPU, the more expensive the computer system will be.
The processor is responsible for everything your computer does. For example, the CPU runs the operating system, the software programs installed on your computer, and device peripherals such as printers and flatbed scanners.
The rate of speed that the processor executes commands is measured by clock speed, or often called MHz (megahertz). The processor requires a fixed number of clock cycles to perform each instruction. The faster the clock speed, the more instructions it can execute. Thus resulting in a faster running computer system.
There are many processors available, and not knowing the differences can be frustrating when it comes to spending or saving $200-$300 on a particular computer system.
Listed below are some of the more common processors and clock speed on the market today.
Name of CPU
Intel Celeron
Intel Pentium II
Intel Pentium III
Intel Pentium III Xeon
Intel Pentium 4
AMD K6-II
AMD K6-III
AMD Duron
AMD Athlon K-7
AMD Athlon XP
Macintosh G3
Macintosh G4
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CPU Speed
500 MHz - 800 MHz
233 MHz - 450 MHz
450 MHz - 1 GHz
600 MHz - 1 GHz
1.4 GHz - 2 GHz
550 MHz
450 MHz
750 MHz -850 MHz
1 GHz - 1.33 GHz
1.4 GHz - 1.8 GHz
466 MHz - 733 MHz
733 MHz
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Level 2 Cache **
128 KB, full speed
512 KB, half speed
256 KB, full speed
256 KB - 2MB, full speed
256 KB, full speed
N/A
256 KB, full speed
64 KB, full speed
256 KB, full speed
384 KB
512 KB, 1 MB, half speed
1 MB, half speed
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** Most modern personal computer's processor in fact have two processors. One is the processor itself (includes the Level 1 cache) and the other is the Level 2 cache. Processors are available with a range of Level 2 cache. This is a very performance-enhancing design.
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