An Ice Breaker

How you can Choose a Processor / CPU?

By Dr. Michael, Lee Penrod, Benjamin Wieberg, and David Boss
Updated April 2, 2013

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Choices

In the current market you have fourteen main categories of microprocessors to choose for your desktop computers: Ivy Bridge Core series, Sandy Bridge Core series, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Pentium Dual Core, Celeron, Xeon, Phenom, Phenom II, AthlonII X2, Athlon X2, Athlon 64, Sempron, and Opteron.

Ranking of the 2013 top-10 Microprocessor Suppliers

The 2014 McClean Report, from IC Insights, shows a ranking of the 2013 top-10 microprocessor suppliers (as well as the leading foundry, DRAM, flash, DSP, MCU, standard cell, analog, and PLD suppliers). A subset of this ranking listing the top 5 MPU suppliers is depicted in Figure 1. The $58.6bn (USD) microprocessor market was the largest single semiconductor product category in 2013, accounting for 22% of total IC sales.

In 2013, tablet microprocessors represented nearly 6% of worldwide MPU sales compared to 4% in the previous year, while cellphone application processors accounted for 25% of the revenue total, up from 22% in 2012. MPUs used in PCs, server computers, and embedded-processing applications slid to 69% of total microprocessor sales in 2013 compared to 74% in 2012.

Figure 1. The top 5 MPU suppliers in 2013

11 Most Influential Microprocessor

11. Intel Pentium (1993)

Breakthrough application: Brand-name processors
After a court rejected trademarking "386" in a 1991 ruling, Intel realized that it would need to move beyond mere numbers in naming its widely anticipated new processor, which had been known as the 586. So the processor giant devised a unique, easy-to-trademark identity: Pentium.
Initially critics ridiculed the name, but in fact the Pentium opened a new era in consumer-microprocessor marketing. No longer were CPUs referred to solely by numbers such as 286, 386, and 486; instead they carried a brand name that resonated in the public consciousness.
That brand gave Intel processors a certain cachet that computer owners could easily brag about. Rival manufacturers could no longer produce clones and call them "486" or the like--a chip was either a real Pentium or a knock-off. The trademarked CPU became a status symbol, and it remains so today.