What is processor

Aprocessor or micro-processor is the 'brains' of a computer system. It is the processor that controls the working of all of the hardware and software.

The processor is sometimes referred to as the Central Processing Unit (CPU).

There are many processors available and processor specification is usually one of the first things considered when buying a new personal computer (PC). The type of processor and its speed have the greatest impact on the overall performance of a computer system. Processor performance is related directly to its speed of operation and its architecture

Competition among processor manufacturers is fierce and because of this there is a wide and diverse choice of processors in the market place. Processor manufacturers, such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are continually developing more advanced processors and new models are released within the space of months rather than years. This is in stark contrast to earlier processor developments, such as the 8086, 80286 and 80386 which were released years apart.


And a  processor, or "microprocessor," is a small chip that resides in computers and other electronic devices. Its basic job is to receive input and provide the appropriate output. While this may seem like a simple task, modern processors can handle trillions of calculations per second.

The central processor of a computer is also known as the CPU, or "central processing unit." This processor handles all the basic system instructions, such as processing mouse and keyboard input and running applications. Most desktop computers contain a CPU developed by either Intel or AMD, both of which use the x86 processor architecture. Mobile devices, such as laptops and tablets may use Intel and AMD CPUs, but can also use specific mobile processors developed by companies like ARM or Apple.

Modern CPUs often include multiple processing cores, which work together to process instructions. While these "cores" are contained in one physical unit, they are actually individual processors. In fact, if you view your computer's performance with a system monitoring utility like Windows Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac OS X), you will see separate graphs for each processor. Processors that include two cores are called dual-core processors, while those with four cores are called quad-core processors. Some high-end workstations contain multiple CPUs with multiple cores, allowing a single machine to have eight, twelve, or even more processing cores.

Besides the central processing unit, most desktop and laptop computers also include a GPU. This processor is specifically designed for rendering graphics that are output on a monitor. Desktop computers often have a video card that contains the GPU, while mobile devices usually contain a graphics chip that is integrated into the motherboard. By using separate processors for system and graphics processing, computers are able to handle graphic-intensive applications more efficiently.

Difference between intel processor and AMD processor


Key Difference: AMD and Intel are two different companies that are competing with each other to capture the semiconductor industry. The major difference between the two is price, while Intel offers high prices for its products; AMD offers cheap prices for the masses.

Anyone who has ever gone shopping for a computer or a laptop has heard the names AMD and Intel. Both of these companies are big players in computer microprocessor and semiconductor chip markets. These companies have been serving as the biggest competitors to each other and have even faced a few litigations. Though both the companies produce microprocessors, semiconductors and other computer hardware, they are different from each other in many ways.

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) is an American multinational company that creates semiconductors, processors and other hardware for computers. It was founded in 1969 and has been in a constant battle for market share with Intel. Intel Corporation is also an American multinational company that produces semiconductors and other hardware for computing systems. It was founded in 1968, one year before AMD and has managed to capture approximately 70% of the market.

In an attempt to capture the market it is often under legal disputes as it has been known to employ a lot of ‘underhand’ techniques to maintain the leader in the market. In 1975, AMD and Intel had a short partnership working on Intel’s 8080 microprocessor for IBM. However, that partnership quickly dissolved with each company starting its own endeavors. While, Intel’s objective is to provide the most technologically advanced systems, AMD offers the customers’ value for their money. AMD processors are usually cheaper compared to Intel processors of the same architecture.

The main rivalry between the companies is often boiled down to motherboards and processors.
The primary difference between AMD and Intel motherboards is that they only accept the same kind of processor. Hence, an AMD motherboard would only work with an AMD processor, and likewise, an Intel motherboard will only work with an Intel processor, and not the other way around.
  The reason for this is the fact that each processor requires a different socket type. Intel motherboards have LGA 1156 and LGA 1366 sockets, while AMD motherboards have AM2 and AM3 sockets.

However, the fact that an AMD motherboard would only work with an AMD processor, and likewise for Intel, the sales and market share of Intel and AMD motherboards directly correspond to the sales and market share of Intel and AMD processors. The number of slots and the amount of RAM that the motherboard can accommodate is mainly dependent on the make and model of the motherboard. This of course has an effect on pricing. Hence, a motherboard with more SATA ports and/or with more RAM compatibility will cost more.

Pentium is the brand of processors that belong to Intel, while AMD sells the processors under the AMD name itself. The Pentium processor is a consumer-level product. It is placed higher than the low-end Atom and Celeron products but below the faster Core i3, i5, i7 and the Xeon processors.

As compared to Intel Core, Pentium has a lower clock frequency, a partially disabled L3 cache, in addition to disabled hyper-threading and virtualization. One of the main difference between the processors is the fact that Intel is often more expensive than its AMD equivalents. This generalization also applies to Pentium. This price difference is often driven by Intel, as it often holds the top spot when comparing the performance of microprocessors.

Also, Intel processors, such as Pentium have longer pipelines than AMD processors. This allows them to have a much higher clock speed than what could be normally achieved. However, AMD has found another way to compete with the increased clock speed, in the means of storing and accessing the CPU memory.

Intel Pentium processors store their memory in an L2 (level 2) cache. This is almost double the size of AMD Athlon processors’ cache. The L2 cache is a memory bank that stores and transmits data to the L1 (level 1) cache. The L1 (level 1) cache in turn, stores and transmits data to the processor itself. Hence, the larger the L2 cache, the faster the processing speed.

AMD Athlon processors have roughly half the L2 cache space of a Pentium processor; however its L2 cache space is integrated directly into the processor itself. This allows AMD Athlon processors to access their cache data much quicker than Intel Pentium processors, providing a faster processing speed despite its size.

So, even though technically AMD Athlon processors’ clock rate and cache space are listed as less on paper, it provides comparable performance to Intel Pentium and all at a relatively lower price.
Both the companies aim to come out with the next best thing and stay a step ahead of each other. Hence, their products are always closely related with minor differences that each of the company thinks will make their product better. Due to this, the processors of the two companies are virtually the same.