EXTRAS: Intel CPU FAQs

Description: Frequently asked questions about Intel CPU's with the 1155 and 2011 chipset.

Q: How to install an Intel CPU:

A: Have your CPU and Motherboard ready to install the CPU into. Make sure that there is no dust in the CPU socket, you can use a can of compressed air to carefully clean out the CPU socket - it is important to be very careful not to bend any of the hundreds of pins in the socket. Notice the arrow in the upper left corner of your CPU. It will match the same corner of the motherboard. Place the CPU into the CPU socket so the arrows line up. Close the CPU retaining cover, making sure the front clip is secured below the screw head. Move the locking arm down to secure the font clip under the screw head, the locking arm will go under the extended piece of metal to hold it down. Your CPU is now installed into the socket and is ready for you to apply the appropriate thermal paste and CPU cooler assembly. It is important to NOT power up the system until you have proper cooling for the CPU in place.

Q: How to apply thermal paste to your CPU:

A: First install your CPU. Next squeeze out just a small amount of thermal paste in the center of your CPU - it should be about the size of a small pea or a BB. You want to make sure you do not put more than this on the CPU. When you put the CPU cooler on it will now spread out over the CPU to allow proper heat dissipation.

Q: What is Quick Sync 2.0?

A: Intel processors have a number of features built into them that allow for significant performance increase. One such feature is Intel Quick Sync 2.0. Quick Sync uses dedicated media processing to make video editing and viewing faster. It also allows for an increase in performance with media all around, like gaming, HD video streaming, and rendering. Intel Quick Sync 2.0's main function is for quicker video rendering when creating HD videos. It allows for faster conversion and building of the video into a working, viewable state much faster than previous processors. Compared to even the second generation Core series processors, the Quick Sync 2.0 and the third generation Core series processors are twice as fast in this function.

Q: What is Intel HD Graphics 4000?

A: Intel HD Graphics 4000 is a new graphics technology that is a step up from the older Intel HD Graphics 3000. It is built in to the Ivy Bridge processors of 2012. Some of its improved features include improved DirectX 11 shaders, hardware tessellation, DirectCompute support, and a dedicated level 3 cache. Other improvements include enhancements to the integrated video decoder called Multi Format Codec Engine (MFX) and improvements to QuickSync. The integrated video decoder allows for simultaneous 4K video decoding and supports MPEG2, WMV9, VC1, and H264 codecs. QuickSync now offers higher performance and better image quality when transcoding videos. A new feature is the added support for three independent displays. In most cases the three independent displays are supported if two of the displays are DisplayPort monitors, if one of the displays is an Intel Wireless Display (Intel WiDi), or if the built in display is an Embedded DisplayPort (eDP). It also has lower power consumption due to the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate production process and the ability to make the processor run faster than its base frequency due to Turbo Boost Technology 2.0.

Q: What is Turbo Boost 2.0?

A: The Intel© Turbo Boost Technology offers a short term increase in performance for the processors in the computer. Turbo Boost 2.0 becomes active when the operating system on the computer requests the processors to perform at the highest performance. This will push the processor speed, the power, and temperature for a short period. Turbo Boost will stay active until the operating system cancels the request for this service, or if the computer goes into a power saving mode such as sleep or hibernate.