- MOTHERBOARDS -

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the `brain' of your PC and what, only a few years ago, required a large warehouse to contain.  Now, due to micro-technology, it is all enclosed in a small chip like the one shown below.  The innocent looking components below are typical of what you will find inside of your PC plugged into your motherboard - and they are what make everything happen!!  The fan is necessary because of the heat generated by the CPU - and without the cooling the fan provides  your system would become very unstable (or freeze up totally).

                         

To forego a lot of history, PC CPU's today are manufactured by the "Intel" corporation and "AMD" (Advanced Micro Devices) and they come in a vast array of speeds and processing capabilities.  Intel has always been the "Microsoft" of hardware, and they manufacture wonderful processors (and a lot of other stuff), but AMD is no shabby outfit either (and their prices are about 25% lower than Intel).  Last report I heard is that AMD now has 21% of the processor market and Intel, being worried, is going to drop their prices!  And the beat goes on!

The trivia about who makes stuff is probably a big `so what' to most of you folks, so I will fill you in on what you are probably most interested in - what kind of processor should you look for in the PC you are buying.

Microsoft CPU's are either Celerons (single processor evolved from the MMX 166MHz chip) or PIII/PIV chips (dual processors which are double the speed of Celerons at the same clock rate).   AMD CPU's are either Durons (Celeron equivalent but faster) or Athlon/TBird chips (same AMD processor, competitor to the Intel PIII/PIV,  and twice as fast as the Duron). 

For you folks out there shopping, what kind of CPU/Motherboard combo to look for is a very confusing decision.  The industry has gone haywire with faster processors and faster motherboards and faster RAM, but when does `faster' become a big `so what!'.  I think we passed that point a long time ago around the PIII 800MHz era.  However, knowing you are interested, I'll submit a few tips on what to be aware of when you are shopping.

>  Intel PIII/PIV CPU's cost more than AMD Athlon/T-Birds, but are more forgiving on power supply and heatsink/fan requirements (the cost can balance out).

>  AMD Athlon/T-Birds, at the same clock speed, outperform PIII/PIVs.   However, as before implied, can be unstable because of the heat they generate.

>  Intel and AMD motherboards are unique to the CPU brand (can't plug an AMD CPU into an Intel PIV motherboard).

There are lot's more `faster than fast' CPU's coming on board, so stay tuned for following attractions.