Intel, Nvidia and AMD: How to Choose the Right CPU and GPU

Intel, AMD, and Nvidia: The three big names you might think of when buying or building a computer, informing CPU and GPU technologies.

These makers have been in the game for a long time, and with news that Intel enters the GPU marketit is likely that Intel, AMD, and Nvidia will continue to dominate the computing space for some time to come.

But what do these companies and their technology mean to you? Well, we are here to demystify the technology offered by these companies.

Here are Intel, Nvidia and AMD computer components explained, perfect if you’re buying a laptop, PC or if you’re project to build a computer.

We’ve split this breakdown between CPUs and GPUs, to make it easy to follow.

CPU

The CPU (or processor) provides your computer’s processing power. Faster and more expensive processors let you do more things at once, often faster too. It comes down to the number of cores available and the level of performance offered.

The consumer CPU market is currently stuck between AMD and Intel for computers (phone processors are a different market).

AMD processors

AMD’s Ryzen series is powerful at cheaper prices than Intel. The argument is usually that AMD’s Ryzen processors make more sense from a cost-performance perspective, but sometimes there are exceptions.

If you are interested in purchasing an AMD processor, keep these things in mind:

• The first digit indicates base numbers. Ryzen 3 has four cores, Ryzen 5 has six cores, Ryzen 7 has eight cores, and Ryzen 9 has 16 cores. “Threadripper” (for advanced non-consumer applications) includes up to 64 cores. Cores regulate the number of processes that can be performed at any given time.
• In each basic category, the next four digits indicate the power. For example, Ryzen 5 5600X is more powerful than Ryzen 5 5500.
• “X” means it is a slightly faster model and “G” means it has graphics rendering capability.
• Some Ryzen listings will also state the generation, which is important to know for continued support.
• For PC builders: Ryzen processors usually come with a fan in the box, but you should probably check to be sure.

Intel-GPUs

Intel, processor market leader does things a little differently from AMD. Intel’s processors are generally a bit more expensive, but consistently outperform their direct AMD rivals when it comes to benchmarking.

If you are interested in purchasing an Intel processor, keep these things in mind:

• The mark prefix indicates the intended use. “Core” processors are the most powerful high-end processors offered, while “Pentium” and “Celeron” models are used in budget and budget products. We will focus on Core processors, as Pentium and Celeron do not have additional modifiers. Intel Xeon is intended for more advanced, typically non-consumer applications. Cores regulate the number of processes that can be performed at any given time.
• The “brand modifier” is the following for Core processors. These are i3 (two cores), i5 (four cores), i7 (between four, six or eight cores) and i9 (between eight and 16 cores), with more cores available for the higher number.
• The “generation indicator” comes next, being the digits after the “i3/5/7/i9” prefix excluding the last three digits. This includes 12th Gen, 11th Gen, etc.. Although a next-gen processor is no more capable than a more powerful older-gen processor, it is still useful to know this for continued support.
• The SKU numbers are as follows. These are the last three digits of the processor and indicate the amount of processing power available.
• In addition, there are product line suffixes. There are many, including G1, E, F, G, H and HK. Intel has an explainer on what each of these means.
• For PC builders: Intel processors including the letters K, KF, KS, XE or X not include coolers. You will need to purchase one separately.

GPUs

GPUs manage the graphics processing capacity of your machine, which means how pretty your games can look or how high-quality graphics you can be able to render in design applications.

The GPU (graphics card) market is a bit different from the CPU market. Although we talk about AMD and Nvidia below, keep in mind that Intel is technically the market leader in GPUs, thanks to the integrated graphics in the processors. Also, while AMD and Nvidia design the GPUs in this market, you’ll usually end up buying one from an aftermarket manufacturer (such as Gigabyte, ASUS, or MSI). There is no real “best” manufacturer, but you can take your pick based on aesthetics, price, and reviews.

Nvidia GPUs

For gamers, Nvidia is generally the most famous graphics card manufacturerits stock usually selling well ahead of rival AMD.

Here’s what you need to know about Nvidia GPUs:

• Nvidia GPUs currently top the RTX 30 series (formerly 20 and 16 series), selling the RTX 3050, 3060, 3060Ti, 3070, 3070Ti, 3080, 3080Ti. Range of 3090 and 3090Ti cards through aftermarket manufacturers. The higher the number, the better the performance.
• The Suffix “Ti” indicates higher performance, but also higher cost.
• The “VRAM” (GB) value in a card’s name signifies the amount of RAM the card has available for video caching, which results in smoother gameplay or graphics rendering.
• For PC builders: GPUs are typically very power hungry, so make sure you have a power supply up to the task.

AMD-GPUs

AMD, as in the CPU market, is a budget-performance choice, although its cards are generally fairly well received by reviewers.

Here’s what you need to know about AMD GPUs:

• AMD currently lives up to its RX 6000 series (formerly the 5000, Vega, and 500 series), selling the RX 6700 XT, RX 6800, RX 6800 XT, and RX 6900 XT. The higher the number, the better the performance.
• The suffix “XT” stands for “Extreme” and simply identifies a high performance card.
• The “VRAM” (GB) value in a card’s name signifies the amount of RAM the card has available for video caching, which results in smoother gameplay or graphics rendering.
• For PC builders: GPUs are typically very power hungry, so make sure you have a power supply up to the task.

It is more or less that

Hopefully this has debunked some of the confusion around CPUs and GPUs. When I got into PC building I was very confused, but 10 years later it comes pretty easy.

If you are interested in building a computer or have questions about specific parts, we have an explanation for that.

Hope your parts and computer shopping go well from now on.