The Role of the CPU
In general, the CPU is very rarely a bottleneck when it comes to performance. It is rarely noticed by most users because the tasks they perform are rarely CPU-intensive. Games generally use the video card heavily but not the CPU. The operations in which the CPU matters most are: video playback, file conversion, and compression. Most of us rarely care about file conversion or compression performance, since we generally tend to do those things in the background. However, there is one operation where the CPU is becoming more and more essential: video playback.
The YouTube Test
Since smooth video playback is very important to most users, there is actually a very easy test that can be done to see if the CPU is fast enough for typical usage. It’s called the YouTube test.
- Go to YouTube and search for some videos.
- Pick one that is available in HD (720p) format and play it. (Example: “Moon” HD Trailer)
- If it plays at a low frame rate or lags occasionally, there is a chance the CPU may be too slow.
- Open Task Manager (right-click the task bar and choose Start Task Manager).
- Go to the Performance tab.
- From the Options menu, choose Always On Top.
- Now go to YouTube and start playing the video.
- Watch the CPU usage carefully. If it spikes up to 90% or more, that is not good news. It means that your CPU is too slow.
If your CPU usage goes to 90% or more while playing a YouTube video, your CPU is a significant bottleneck. Unless you’re happy with choppy video, you should upgrade your CPU.
What Should I Upgrade To?
This is where Dacris Benchmarks comes in. Open Dacris Benchmarks and run the CPU test. You can run the other tests too but it is not necessary. Save your results (File – Save Results). Now, go to File – Compare Results and select a system with a CPU you’d be willing (and able) to upgrade to (e.g. Core 2 Duo E8400). Now you can see on the main screen what your CPU score would be with the new CPU. If the score is at least 5000 (the current YouTube threshold), it would be a good upgrade.
Summary
Try the YouTube test to see if your CPU can handle HD video. A CPU with a score of 5000 or more in Dacris Benchmarks can handle HD video at a smooth frame rate. So if your CPU scores less than 5000, it is likely that it cannot handle HD video on YouTube.
July 27, 2010
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CPU Upgrade – The YouTube Test
The Role of the CPU
In general, the CPU is very rarely a bottleneck when it comes to performance. It is rarely noticed by most users because the tasks they perform are rarely CPU-intensive. Games generally use the video card heavily but not the CPU. The operations in which the CPU matters most are: video playback, file conversion, and compression. Most of us rarely care about file conversion or compression performance, since we generally tend to do those things in the background. However, there is one operation where the CPU is becoming more and more essential: video playback.
The YouTube Test
Since smooth video playback is very important to most users, there is actually a very easy test that can be done to see if the CPU is fast enough for typical usage. It’s called the YouTube test.
If your CPU usage goes to 90% or more while playing a YouTube video, your CPU is a significant bottleneck. Unless you’re happy with choppy video, you should upgrade your CPU.
What Should I Upgrade To?
This is where Dacris Benchmarks comes in. Open Dacris Benchmarks and run the CPU test. You can run the other tests too but it is not necessary. Save your results (File – Save Results). Now, go to File – Compare Results and select a system with a CPU you’d be willing (and able) to upgrade to (e.g. Core 2 Duo E8400). Now you can see on the main screen what your CPU score would be with the new CPU. If the score is at least 5000 (the current YouTube threshold), it would be a good upgrade.
Summary
Try the YouTube test to see if your CPU can handle HD video. A CPU with a score of 5000 or more in Dacris Benchmarks can handle HD video at a smooth frame rate. So if your CPU scores less than 5000, it is likely that it cannot handle HD video on YouTube.
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