processor question?

Question

Hiya,
Can someone tell me what a processor is and what it actually does?
I have an intel celeron processor with 1.18 ghz and when my pal looked at it he sorta smiled and said "your processor aint so great" so it got me wondering what one actually is - whats a good one - how would one install it and what difference the thing makes to a pc - so if you are clued up on processors please fill me in on ANY info about them
cheers

Answer 1

A computer can basically be broken into 4 parts.

You have a hard drive that stores all of your programs (such as internet explorer) and other information.

The RAM, or memory, that stores information temporarily. The RAM comes into play when you open a program from the hard drive, it will be stored in the MUCH faster memory for quick access. Most computers don't have enough of it to store ALL of the information, so it's kept on the hard drive until it's needed.

Then the processor, or CPU, which does all the math required to run the computer. The processor plays a part in almost every aspect of the computer and will generally have the greatest impact on performance, assuming the other components are not severely lacking. The processor is what decides how to act on the information stored in the memory.

Finally you have the video card, which takes information from the processor and formats it in a way that your monitor will understand.

Computers are always advancing and it's nearly impossible to stay up with the latest advancements. Contrary to what the marketing people at Dell or HP would like you to believe, it's not always necessary to keep up with emerging technology. If you only browse the interent and send email, a 1ghz computer will suffice. Having a faster processor will have little impact on these areas because they take so little to run anyway. Games are the main reason to upgrade as they run heavy on every part of the computer.

Changing a processor is not much more difficult than a light bulb but there are a lot of standards and specifications you have to look into. There are literally thousands of possible combinations as to which processor you can and can not use. It's best not to mess with it if you're not confident.

A basic computer for internet and email would be 1-2ghz, 512meg of ram, 40-60 gig hard drive. Any more for those purposes would be wasteful.

Answer 2

A processor is self explanitory in a sense, it processes how the computer operates, when you click something instructions are then passed onto a processor to then send them off to the correct places (it goes into a lot more detail) for example opening a program this is a RAM (Random Access memory operation) when you are doing something, writing a letter its stored in ram until it is saved..

Anyhow 1.18ghz is not great it is most likely your machine is perhaps 4+ years old, that is guessing :P, but anyway the faster your processor the faster more efficient it can process tasks etc, about upgrading if you have no clue, get a trained person to install one for you

Answer 3

If your computer has that processor then, you might as well just upgrade the whole system. As the processor would be to expensive for you to change seperatly. But I believe the BEST processor on the market now is the new Intel Quad Duo Core. Btw they cost about $1000 for just the processor, but they are the fastest.

Answer 4

celeron is the tuned down version of the p4 meaning it dont go thru as many processes so in fact your processor aint so great

Answer 5

Your friend is being a techno-snob. Almost 2 gig is a very good processor.

Answer 6

i think its one of those primitive punch card comps

Answer 7

Here you go!