Processor selection can be summed up in three words: performance, power, and price. Our Best Gaming CPUs For The Money column includes general performance and pricing data that applies to both gamers and non-gamers alike, and additional performance data is found in our CPU Performance Charts. It’s also important to know that when our gaming gurus recommend an overclockable “unlocked” processor, the non-overclockable version may offer the same standard-speed performance for less money. Overclocking is a group of techniques designed to push a part’s frequency beyond its designed operational parameters (voltage, heat, etc).
Those same CPU charts show idle and peak power draw, and specific power draw under various types of applications can be garnered through thorough reading of our CPU reviews.
Today, enough software relies on multi-core processing that AMD and Intel have all but eliminated single-core products from their product portfolios. Single-threaded workloads are still fairly common at the consumer level, and technologies like Turbo Boost (from Intel) and Turbo Core (from AMD) are designed to accelerate CPUs when they encounter those lighter tasks. As you read through our processor reviews, the Apple iTunes workload we run is a good example of a single-threaded test.
It’s certainly nice to know that modern operating systems can spread the load of multiple tasks over several cores, and that software developers can break certain tasks into jobs that multi-core processors can handle concurrently. But you're still wondering how many cores you need. If some are good, are more better?
Not necessarily. Software isn't optimized to run across an infinite number of execution cores, and the more resources you duplicate on-die, the more complex your processor becomes, drawing more power. As with all things, there's a balance to strike, depending on what you use your PC for. If you're browsing the Web, responding to email, and writing in Word, most modern dual-core CPUs will feel plenty-lively. But once you start transcoding videos for your tablet or editing pictures taken on your DSLR, it gets a lot easier to overwhelm mainstream hardware.

Game developers have been trying to take advantage of multi-core processing for several years, yet we’ve rarely experienced a significant performance increase from having more than four cores. That’s probably why the largest manufacturer of desktop CPUs, Intel, focuses its gaming-oriented message primarily on four-core processors with the latest advancements in per-core and per-clock productivity.

Unable to match its chief rival in per-clock performance, AMD first countered by releasing processors with more cores for less money. The extra resources can come in useful in heavily-threaded tasks, but a big bump in clock frequency was the only thing that could keep AMD's older technology competitive in gaming circles. That came in late 2013 with two factory-overclocked models.

Power consumption is a major concern in environments where acoustics have to be kept in check. Typically, as you increase power, cooling requirements go up too. And that often means faster-spinning fans, which make more noise. The latest generation of low-energy Intel and AMD processors makes great strides in performance per watt used. Intel also offers even more miserly S-series variations of its Core i7 and Core i5 CPUs that can reduce heat inside high-performance machines.
Once you have a general concept of your own performance and power needs, the above-referred CPU Performance Charts, reviews, and Buyers Guide should help you narrow down a list of specific models you’d like to try. Of course, if you need a little extra guidance, check out Tom's Hardware's CPU forums, where you can ask questions and get answers.
- Step One: Size Up A Case
- Step 2: Select Your CPU
- Step 3: Select Your Graphics
- Step 4: Select A Motherboard
- Step 5: Select Memory
- Step 6: Select Storage
- Step 7: Select A Power Supply
- Other Components
- Step 8: Choose Your Vendor
- Step 9: Preparing For Assembly
- Step 10: Build The Platform (CPU, Cooler, And DRAM)
- Step 11: Install Motherboard And Power Supply
- Step 12: Install Cables, Cards, And Drives
Cheers!
Cheers!
Wonderful as usual toms.. Appreciate it..
Great article! No doubt this is going to help a lot of folks.
Thanks, guys!
I think you missed a section for "SLI - XFire", but it's great overall. Since its a guide for folks with little to no knowledge, I think it would help them to dispel myths and get some facts over XFire and SLI.
Cheers!
First I put the motherboard into the PC (not fastened) to see where the standoffs are going to be placed onto the case. Also I note what routes I'm going use for my cabling. Then I take the motherboard out and insert the standoffs and port plate into the case. Also I take my case cables (power sw, reset sw, USB, front audio and mic cables and put a twist tie around them all and place them near where they are to be plugged into the motherboard. These cables are easy to lose track of.
Next I place the power supply, and "bay devices" (optical drives, non-removable storage, etc) into the case and have those cables attached and either hanging over the outside of the case or routed behind the motherboard tray. This obviously depends on how you determined the cables will be routed earlier.
Then I take my motherboard, put the CPU, RAM, and cooling system on as much as I can. Then I place the whole thing into the case - usually at an angle at first, leading with the side with the RAM (which is normally going behind the case bays in smaller cases) in first.
At this point it's just a matter of aligning the motherboard with the standoffs and port plate. Plug it all in (including the case plugs which are conveniently out of the way and together).
Power it all on and volia!
Otherwise, it was a good article. People who are uncertain of building their own PCs can learn a lot from it.
The 647W is measured at the wall socket, as the article mentions input power. After taking into account the 85% efficiency of their power supply in this example, the PSU is only outputting 549.95W to the PC components at max load. Adding some headroom they come to the 600W PSU recommendation.
Personally I'd like a little more headroom, but the calculations in the article are correct.
Building your own is great fun, and most serious users should probably give it a try at least once in their lives. Given that, I'd recommend an annual "refresh" of this article, with updated info and re-validated links to corresponding reference articles and resource forums.
A great service to your readers!
I wanted to comment on the power supply part of the article. One is the efficiency and the total cost to use versus the front end purchase cost. A less efficient system will obviously create more total heat as wasted energy. But aside from possibly making someones room rather uncomfortable, it also increases your airconditioning energy use. A good rule of thumb is that an AC system will use 50% of the heat energy. To add the total annual cost, multiply that times the percentage of the year that the AC is on. So your example of a 647W system with 85% PSU would give (550W used):
647W - 550W = 93W at plug
93W * 50% = 47W AC energy
Total Energy (summertime) = 93W + 47W = 140W
If the AC were on the while year and the PC were on continuously, this is about $140 annually, or almost $12 per month added electricity in the summer. If you did the same thing with a cheap 70% efficient system, you get $248 annual cost which is $20.63 per month summertime cost. At a difference of $8, it does not take many months (of continuous on!) to make the more efficient PSU make much more sense.
The other topic I wanted to comment on is ESD. I am an engineer and work with ESD issues everyday. It is a very real an poorly understood issue by many because of the often hidden or delayed failures that it causes. ESD many time causes walking wounded damage without an immediate failure, which finally fails several months later. And if you look at websites sell PC parts, many people complain of DOAs. Many, many DOAs are caused by ESD. Memory, CPUs, motherboards, HDDs, and other sensitive systems are often returned as DOA, driving up the cost of the PC enthusiast market and adding frustration. In research texts, they estimate the global electronic failures due to ESD to be 40-60% of the total failures over product life.
So that little $5 ESD wrist strap is money well spent. Buy one and reduce your heartburn.
Charles
So that little $5 ESD wrist strap is money well spent. Buy one and reduce your heartburn.
Charles
The only problem with wrist straps is that most people don't want to be "tied" to anything. They're a great idea that's really rarely needed. Feel free to say otherwise if you live in the desert.