Check Computer Temperature

If you think that your computer is overheating, you can check the temperature of the CPU, the hard drive, and of the other components that the sensors included with your hardware measure. It's important to do so because many electronic components can be damaged by excessively high temperatures.
The instructions below will show you a couple of different ways to check your computer temperature.

Instructions

1. Check the computer temperatures with BIOS. Not all BIOS include the temperature monitoring options, so you might or might not succeed with this step. To get into BIOS - turn the computer on, and while it's booting, look for a line that says something like "Press F2 to Enter Setup", but it could be a different button, like F1 or F10. Press that button to enter BIOS and look for a tab named something like "Hardware Monitors" or "PC Health", and you will find the temperatures there.

Note, however, that while in BIOS, your computer is not doing all that much, so the temperatures might be lower than what you normally experience.

2. Download a software program that can check the temperatures from within the operating system. There are quite a few of them available for Windows and Mac, but with some searching you can find a Linux program as well. I'd recommend Everest (works on Mac too) or SIW - look for links in the resource section.

3. Once you have installed the program, run it, and then check the temperatures under Hardware->Sensors tab in SIW or Computer->Sensor in Everest.

4. Note that normal CPU temperatures run anywhere from 30 to 60 degrees Celsius. If yours is higher than that, you might want to have your computer checked out before it gets damaged any further.

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Overclock a CPU

Overclocking a processor means enabling it to operate above the manufacturer's specified frequency. Many Internet sites provide instructions for overclocking. Processor manufacturers and many computer experts believe the slight gain in performance (only perceivable on CPU-intensive software) isn't worth the expense or considerable risk.
Instruction

1. Get whatever tools you need: screwdriver, needle-nose pliers, motherboard manual, cooling hardware, etc
2. Find out whether your motherboard can be adjusted in the BIOS setup, with jumpers or not at all.
3. Find out clock-speed limitations of the motherboard..
4. Run all Windows and any third-party diagnostic applications you have. Fix all system problems.Make a complete backup of your system, documents and applications you don't have on CD-ROM. Do not overwrite these copies.
5. If you have a BIOS-adjustable motherboard, make changes according to your motherboard manual, and skip to Step 15.
6. Shut down computer.
7. Leave computer plugged in to surge suppressor.
8. Disconnect all peripherals from computer.
9. Remove cover of chassis.
10. Ground yourself to computer with any professional grounding equipment you have. Otherwise, ground yourself by touching a metal part of the chassis.
11. If your motherboard has adjustable jumpers, locate the jumpers that control the CPU speed.
12. Use needle-nose pliers to change jumper settings. Move jumpers to positions indicated in your motherboard manual for the clock speed you want. Check the Internet for recommendations.
13. Install a CPU heat sink, heat-sink compound, and a specialty cooling fan, if appropriate and possible.
14. Put system back together, and reboot.
15. If computer does not boot, and CPU still works, try lowering the clock speed. If that doesn't work, restore the original configuration.
16. Check all functions, and run a CPU-intensive program.

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Dual Core Vs Quad Core Processors- Which Is the Correct Choice?

Dual Core Vs Quad Core Processors

A lot of people aren't knowledgeable about the technical details involving computers when purchasing a new pc or getting an upgrade for their laptop computers.

The same goes when deciding about buying dual core vs quad core processors. Will your computer's performance really be enhanced so much by buying a quad core processor instead of a dual core processor?

Well, the answer is, it depends!!!!!

Is a Quad Core Processor Faster Than a Dual Core Processor?

If you buy a computer with a quad core processor instead of a dual core processor, it should be twice faster than dual core, right? But its not correct. Benchmark tests have proven that there is little or no improved performance on most applications when upgrading from dual core to quad core processors that are identical except for the number of cores.

Software and Multi Core Processor Technology

Even some operating systems can't handle multi core processors. Your computer's operating system must be able to handle thread-level-parallelism, or TLP, in order to support multi core processors.

Should I Buy a Quad Core Processor or a Dual Core Processor?

But unless you are an avid high end gamer, do frequent video editing, or use 3D rendering software, the extra cost of quad core processor vs a dual core processor is probably not worth the investment.

For better performance, your money would be better spent on a CPU with more GHz and/or more CPU cache memory. Having a multi-core processor will deliver enhanced performance when multi tasking. Various software applications use multi-core processors for efficiency, but games and graphics are the types of software where the majority of users would find quad core processors most useful. The truth is, percentage wise very few software titles are able to utilize multi-core processor technology. A multi-core processor is a CPU that uses two or more cores independent of one another to process information. The cores are usually attached to a chip multiprocessor, also known as CMP. Dual core processors contain two cores and quad core processors possess four separate cores. Different multi-core processors work in various ways. Some share cache, others do not.

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Different Types of Computer Processors

Different Types of Computer Processors

Traditionally computer processor design and innovation has advanced at an exceedingly fast rate. As a corollary, the market for computer processors is vast and often times confusing to a first time explorer. However, learning the key feature sets and functions that set each processor apart from one another is not very difficult at all.

Brands

Since the inception of mainstream computing into the homes of society, but there has been consumer and commercial level computer processor manufacturers. The Intel Corporation is undoubtedly the first name when any consumer thinks of the word processor is mentioned. Intel has been producing the most top-line computer processors for several decades now. AMD or Advanced Micro Devices is Intel's only true competitor in the computer processor market producing computer processors, which rival the speed and power of Intel's.

Architecture

When considering the architecture of a computer processor, there are really only a few key factors to consider. Whether the processor has a 32-bit or 64-bit core determines whether or not the processor can run your software correctly. The amount of on die processor cache memory is also of importance, as this integrated memory space is where processor instructions are held before execution. Finally, is the system a single, dual or quad core processor? While multicore processors do have their advantages there is still a lack of software able to utilize multicore processors.

Clock Speed

The clock speed of a computer processor determines the rate at which a processor executes instructions on data. Today this rate of execution is expressed in billions of instructions per second. Though having a computer processor with a high clock speed is advantageous, it alone is not the only factor that dictates overall system performance. Higher clock speeds increase all system tasks, such as web browsing, movie encoding, and system utilities like anti-virus software.

Maintenance

Computer processors must be maintained according to their manufacturer's specifications in order to perform at their full potential. All too often consumers will pick an expensive cutting edge processor while neglecting support hardware for their processor. Different processors require different power supplies, proper heat sink/ fan combos, and adequate memory in order to function correctly. Above all, different processors require different cooling solutions. Each processor has its own TDP (Thermal Design Power) which is an indication of heat output which must be dissipated.

Current Models

The most recent offerings from Intel and AMD are the Core i7 quad core and Phenom II quad core processors respectively. The Core i7 supersedes the Core 2 series of dual and quad core Intel processors and the Phenom II supersedes the Phenom I dual and quad core model AMD processors. Outside of extreme gaming or high-end 3D graphics applications, even the Phenom II and Core 2 older model processors are more than adequate for the home user and come at a much lower price point in most cases.

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