When you are choosing or building your next gaming PC, there are several factors to consider. Obviously, the overall budget of the machine is a key consideration. After this point (unless money is no object and you can afford the highest of high-end gaming rigs), decisions need to start to be made on which components need to be prioritized in your purchase decision. Most modern triple-A release games have high processing and graphics requirements, and one of the key factors in determining if your computing setup can run the latest games at a suitable quality is the CPU. Here are just some of the reasons why a fast, modern CPU is vital in the world of modern gaming.
More cores equal more power
In the early decades of gaming, computers would not be expected to have additional cores in their CPUs. The first-ever multi-core CPU was released by IBM in 2001 in their “Power 4” computer. This was the first time a CPU was available in dual-core design. In essence, the more cores a CPU has, the faster it can process instructions. Modern PCs that are suitable for gaming today really need to have a minimum of four cores to ensure that they can run games to a reasonable level. The CPU holds together the framerates of the game, animations, and draw distances. The faster it can process information effectively, the smoother the gaming experience. Six core CPUs are great for modern gaming applications as they allow massive amounts of processing to take place. These can be found in computers such as the Lenovo AMD Ryzen 5 PCs that are equipped with the six-core Ryzen 5 CPUs and offer an outstanding gaming experience.
Modern CPUs have fast clock speeds
In addition to the number of cores a CPU has, the clock speed is also an important factor in enabling the play of modern games. For the uninitiated, this is the speed at which the CPU can complete its total processing cycle. This determines how quickly different programs are loaded and executed. In modern CPUs, this is measured in GHz so. For instance, a CPU with a clock speed of 4.1GHz would be able to execute 4.1 billion processing cycles every second. With the most CPU-intensive games requiring immense amounts of processing operations every second, clearly, a fast clock speed is a key factor in determining which CPU is right for you and the type of games you want to play.
Overclocking
Overclocking is the term used to describe running the CPU at higher speeds than the manufacturer’s set speed to free up additional performance. A lot of CPU producers do not sell their hardware set at its fastest possible speeds for the sake of reliability. However, most modern CPUs are produced with the recognition that users will overclock them to squeeze out the absolute best in performance and should be able to withstand a moderate increase by overclocking the CPU. Overclocking does run the risk of making computer crashes and freezes a more frequent occurrence and can damage a computer over time. It is also likely to void the warranty your computer came with, so it is more advisable to buy an advanced CPU that has a fast speed in the beginning.
