Unofficial Basic Guide To CPU's

[BlackXbonE]

CPU cache is functionally identical to system memory. It simply stores data and instructions that will be used or will be used repeatedly in a high-bandwidth, low latency storage medium. Its saves the processor from having to wait for data to arrive from main memory, which can take tens of cycles (a very long time).

So the more cache, te faster i guess? And - i once heared that the more cores a cpu got, the more cache is needed. But if there were a 6 core CPU with 10MB cache and a 2 core CPU with 5MB cache, and each CPU yould only use 1 core for a specific task, would the 6-core one only get to use 1.66 MB and the 2-core one 2.5 MB of cache?

[LegacyStijncat]

I'm not natively speaking english.. but isn't there a "make" too much? 

As far as I can tell there are some grammar mistakes too, but nothing serious. Please don't see me as a grammar-nazi - even thoug i'm austrian -, my English isn't the perfect either. It's just that you wanted any mistakes to be reported

 

Nevertheless your guide was REALLY helpful to me, since I didn't really know about that IPC stuff so  I guess I have to thank you

B.t.w. - if IPC isn't displayed anywhere in the specifications, where do I find it then?

I'm only happy that you noticed it! If I make a big mistake, please send it!

I'm happy that you learned something!

 

Now, about finding IPC... It's nearly impossible. If you do some / a lot of research and work, you could find it exactly. But, you can also find it indirectly by reasoning. Look at benchmarks, and compare in the same price range. This will, instead of giving you theoretical IPC, give you practical IPS, which is way more important!

 

 

Your graphic for hyper-threading isn't; what you've depicted is essentially normal multi-threading, which all modern x86 processors are capable of.

 

Hyperthreading goes one step further by allowing idle functional units in a single core to be used by different processes at the same time; normally, the instructions from only one process can be executed per tick, which results in idle time if the CPU has to wait for data from memory. It effectively increases the number of independent instructions in the pipeline, leveraging superscalar (instruction-level parallelism) architecture.

 

CPU cache is functionally identical to system memory. It simply stores data and instructions that will be used or will be used repeatedly in a high-bandwidth, low latency storage medium. Its saves the processor from having to wait for data to arrive from main memory, which can take tens of cycles (a very long time).

Damn! I knew a mistake would pop up!

Any idea to display it correctly?

 

Thanks for the cache info! Will be using it in Update #2!

[SSL]

Damn! I knew a mistake would pop up!

Any idea to display it correctly?

 

Use a similar graphic to your IPC one below. With the non-hyperthreaded CPU, show boxes of one color going through the core, but leave some of the arms empty. In the hyperthreaded CPU, fill those empty arms with boxes of a different color. The colors represent the different processes, the arms functional units.

 

So the more cache, te faster i guess? And - i once heared that the more cores a cpu got, the more cache is needed. But if there were a 6 core CPU with 10MB cache and a 2 core CPU with 5MB cache, and each CPU yould only use 1 core for a specific task, would the 6-core one only get to use 1.66 MB and the 2-core one 2.5 MB of cache?

 

In theory, it depends on the workload. Modern processors actually have three levels of cache. Each cpu core has it's own small and fast L1 cache. L2 and L3 are progressively larger and slower though only L3 is shared. L3 serves to duplicate the contents of L2 so that each core can determine what the other cores are using - this is useful when two or more cores are working on the same task.

[LegacyStijncat]

ANewFace- the FX CPUs were very good option when they were released, that's why I got FX-4170. Now you compare them to Haswell, that's like comparing core 2 and core i. It's just not a fair comparison. My FX is slow at today standarts, but I can still play 90% of the games at high to ultra.

The guide is pretty good, nice work.

Thanks!

But, what you're saying, is wrong. You can compare anything. It just won't come out good against AMD, most out of the time.

[LegacyStijncat]

UPDATE 1: PCI-E Lanes added!
 
Since I obviously can't work full time on the article, I will be adding suggested things over time.
If you want to be notified of later updates, please notify me of it!
 

@BlackXbonE @FLUFFYJELLO @TomvanWijnen @Picky Peep @starcoaster @ANewFace @MageTank @CNY RMB @Abdul201588 @GrimNeo @Ceatra @JerkyMcDilerino @SSL

[JerkyMcDilerino]

Thanks for the headup teacher 

[Shakaza]

Great work so far!

[Ceatra]

-snip-

Ok

[LegacyStijncat]

Thanks for the headup teacher 

Ok

Is that a yes?

 

 

Great work so far!

Thanks a lot!

[TomvanWijnen]

Awesome! Please put me on the notification list

Btw, maybe you could add something about PLX chips in the section about lanes. 

[LegacyStijncat]

Awesome! Please put me on the notification list

Btw, maybe you could add something about PLX chips in the section about lanes. 

Thanks, and will definitely notify you!

Thanks for the recommendation!

First, I will need to fix my hyperthreading GIF, then add the cache section, but afterwards I will definitely add PLX!

[Shakaza]

Thanks a lot!

You're welcome! I firmly believe in giving credit where it's due. People are far too eager to decry something they don't like, and far too few say when they approve of it, which can be disheartening. I don't see any of that here, but I always feel it's good to say! 

[LegacyStijncat]

notified

Does that mean you are notified that I was notifying you that you can get notified?

Or that you want to get notified?

[Ceatra]

Is that a yes?

Yes

[GrimNeo]

@Whiskers do you think this post could get pinned? if it were to stay as a crowd-sourced information page and the OP keeps up the maintenace with good input posts i reckon it could become a handy reference guide for newbies

Up to one of the mods

@Glenwing

 

@Stijncat All work and no play

 

Thanks again. I will just follow the thread.

[LegacyStijncat]

AT_Whiskers do you think this post could get pinned? if it were to stay as a crowd-sourced information page and the OP keeps up the maintenace with good input posts i reckon it could become a handy reference guide for newbies

I'm flattered, thanks a lot!

 

Up to one of the mods

AT_Glenwing

 

AT_Stijncat All work and no play

 

Thanks again. I will just follow the thread.

No problem!

It's nice that you follow it, thanks!

The notification list I make during updates, is meant for people that DO want to be notified when new updates arrive, but don't want to be notified everytime someone posts a comment.

[GrimNeo]

I'm flattered, thanks a lot!

 

No problem!

It's nice that you follow it, thanks!

The notification list I make during updates, is meant for people that DO want to be notified when new updates arrive, but don't want to be notified everytime someone posts a comment.

It's ok. I only get like 900 notifications a day.

[LegacyStijncat]

A section on RAM types wouldn't go amiss, RAM generation and supported speeds does depend on the CPU and chipset (another topic there I guess)

Damn! I should've added chipsets and sockets in the first place. Gonna raise the priority of those topics, they will be added after HyperThreading has been fixed.

And, yeah, RAM wouldn't be too bad of an addition at all! But, it'll be on the bottom of my priority list, since it isn't involved with the CPU itself.

[LegacyStijncat]

-Snip-

Thanks!

Will definitely use some parts, but I will cut away things that don't matter, and add other things you may have missed. I will start on the section after I fixed the HT gif!

[LegacyStijncat]

Update 2, sockets, has been released!

Took me quite some time, but another subject is off my list!

Hope you guys enjoy it, and please point out if I made any mistakes!

Thanks for the help with this, @starcoaster!

 

@TomvanWijnen @starcoaster @Ceatra

[harrynowl]

Nice, I like the diagrams and well written demonstrations

 

Good effort!

 

It might be worth comparing CMT (Such as AMD Bulldozer) and SMT (Hyperthreading) as well.

 

I had a post with a bit of info here if there's anything (pictures etc) that might help.

[LegacyStijncat]

Nice, I like the diagrams and well written demonstrations

 

Good effort!

 

It might be worth comparing CMT (Such as AMD Bulldozer) and SMT (Hyperthreading) as well.

 

I had a post with a bit of info here if there's anything (pictures etc) that might help.

Thanks a lot!

I won't focus on Multi Threading, since it just isn't worth the effort. Even though I will definitely read what you wrote, this is meant as a basic guide. When this is 100% done, you will know anything that matters to consumers. If a complete beginner reads this, he should be able to 1. make the CPU part of a rig and 2. know exactly which CPU he needs!

This is also why I linked to Linus' explanation of HT. I won't be able to do anything like that, without confusing anyone (which I try to avoid heavily)!

[LegacyStijncat]

Update 3: Chipsets has been added!

 

It's a little sloppy, since chipsets are a difficult and confusing subject. If I made any mistakes, please point them out!

If anyone has any further questions, please, don't hesitate to ask!

 

Next on the list is cache. This will take a long time, since I'll be out of home for a few days, and I don't know how cache works exactly myself. But I'll get it done as soon as possible!

 

@TomvanWijnen @starcoaster @Ceatra

[Ceatra]

-snip-

Can you explain North Bridges? and South Bridges? 

[TomvanWijnen]

Can you explain North Bridges? and South Bridges? 

+1!