ThruIT

Intel sure has been busy these last few months, releasing desktop i5 and i7 processors a few months back and a the new “Pine Trail” netbook platform. Now they’ve dropped new CPU’s onto the market with the i3 CPU and more in the i5 line of processors. All of these processors use Intel’s new 32nm chip die, allowing for lower power requirements and less heat (important for the all-critical mobile market). All of these processors include built in graphics capability, which is attractive to the low-end market and even potentially htpc builders (time will tell and we’ll see how the chip stacks up in terms of crunching 1080p video).

After reading my last post, hopefully you have realized that knowing how a computer works can save you time and money the next time you’re in the market for one. In the interest of time and money, I thought I would dig a little deeper into this subject of buying a new computer.

Let’s start with the basics:

What do you want your computer to do well? This is the familiar question rattling out of any Best Buy moron with half a brain trying to make his way through college. In order to better understand this question you need a crash course in what does what for your computing – ahem – “pleasures”.