- Aug 6, 2011
- 14
- 0
- 18,510
Hello!
I am trying to understand how CPU's work, and I have a specific question relating to this.
CPU's, like other computer parts, obviously have been getting much more efficient over time, due to progress in their architecture.
As far as I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong), this is due to two general developments:
1. the ability to place an increasing amount of transistors on the same sized chip.
2. improvements in the design of the placement of these transistors resulting in more efficient and speedy calculations.
And as far as I understand (again please correct me if I'm wrong), it is possible to have two chips that have identical architecture but different frequencies, resulting in more (less) performance and more (less) power usage and heat generation.
Now my specific question is this:
If there are two laptops promoted in a store, one with an i7 2.4 Ghz 4 core 8 threads, and another with an i7 2.0 Ghz 4 core 8 threads, is it the case that these laptops then have an identical architecture chip, but where the frequencies are set differently so as to balance performance and power usage differently, or does the 2.4 Ghz CPU truly have a more efficient and better architecture?
And what if we compare an i7 2.4Ghz with an i5 2.0 Ghz? Is the i7 then necessarily hotter and more power consuming?
In other words, are two different CPU models that are both i7 (or both i5) really truly very different in their architecture, or are they primarily just clocked differently?
I am trying to understand how CPU's work, and I have a specific question relating to this.
CPU's, like other computer parts, obviously have been getting much more efficient over time, due to progress in their architecture.
As far as I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong), this is due to two general developments:
1. the ability to place an increasing amount of transistors on the same sized chip.
2. improvements in the design of the placement of these transistors resulting in more efficient and speedy calculations.
And as far as I understand (again please correct me if I'm wrong), it is possible to have two chips that have identical architecture but different frequencies, resulting in more (less) performance and more (less) power usage and heat generation.
Now my specific question is this:
If there are two laptops promoted in a store, one with an i7 2.4 Ghz 4 core 8 threads, and another with an i7 2.0 Ghz 4 core 8 threads, is it the case that these laptops then have an identical architecture chip, but where the frequencies are set differently so as to balance performance and power usage differently, or does the 2.4 Ghz CPU truly have a more efficient and better architecture?
And what if we compare an i7 2.4Ghz with an i5 2.0 Ghz? Is the i7 then necessarily hotter and more power consuming?
In other words, are two different CPU models that are both i7 (or both i5) really truly very different in their architecture, or are they primarily just clocked differently?
Here's some more medicine for 'ya!
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