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Over the course of the last year or so we’ve seen GHz become less of a focus when it comes to processors. Instead, we’re seeing a shift towards processors that do more work per clock, have larger caches, are more power efficient, and of course we’ve seen dual-core processors hit the market. So what is dual-core all about, and how does it weigh up compared to single-core?

The Intel Atom is a small, inexpensive, energy-efficient microprocessor that is found in the majority of netbooks shipping today. Designed by Intel Corp. from the grounds-up and to be introduced into a wider range of computing environments, Atom and its derivatives will power many of the low-power computers to be sold in 2009, and beyond. This TekSpek explains what Atom is, and how it's changing the market.

Intel’s been on a mission of late. That mission revolves around grouping and standardising key technologies under various banners that are designed to ensure hardware compatibility and consumer ease of use. We’ll take a closer look at three such technologies that fall under the headings of Centrino, Viiv, and vPro, respectively.

Explaining how a modern GPU works in completeness would take a book. Or two. Per class of chip. Per vendor. They’re extraordinarily complex pieces of engineering and production, and the end result contains more transistors than multiple modern x86 processors.

Stating basics, every personal computer that's currently sold requires some form of CPU, motherboard, memory, storage, and graphics that output to a display. These components are common to both desktop and laptop computers.

A motherboard’s main job is to act as a conduit between the various hardware elements that make up a PC. It needs to be able to link the desired CPU(s), system memory, graphics card, hard drive(s), and add-in cards and enable them to work in harmony.

If you've used a computer for any duration of time you'll have come across the terms “kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte” and so on. Then there's “kilobit, megabit and gigabit” to add a bit of confusion and to top it all off you've maybe heard or read terms like “gibibyte” on occasion.

This TekSpek explains what Green Computing is, what it means to the consumer, and how energy-efficient components can be beneficial in the home.

In computing terms, system buses are used to connect various components to the motherboard’s core logic and, often, to each other. Modern PCs run with a multitude of high-speed buses ranging from the interconnects between, say, the chipset and the CPU, graphics card, memory, and peripherals.

For many people reading this TekSpek, opening up a desktop PC and upgrading it, or even building one from scratch, isn’t that big a deal. If you know what goes where, it’s not all that hard. However, there seems to be some form of stigma surrounding laptops when it comes to upgrading them. There need not be, though.

Laptop sales are booming, with industry analysts predicting that up to 70-million units will be shipped in 2006. The figure’s seto to rise by over 15% in the next 3 years, so laptops are seriously big business.

This TekSpek explains what netbooks and nettops are, how they work, where you'll find them, and what the future holds for low-cost computers.

When looking to upgrade your PC, RAM is one of the first places to look. More RAM reduces the amount the page file is used, speeding up programs and allowing you to run more applications simultaneously

What makes a PC tick? Is it the processor, graphics card, RAM, or a plethora of other peripherals. It’s all those and more, but none would be much use without a means of connecting said components in an efficient manner. That’s where your humble motherboard comes in. Its job is to ensure that all devices can communicate correctly, and the beating heart of any motherboard is the chipset it’s based upon.

This TekSpek explains the essentials required to run a 64-bit operating system and native 64-bit applications on a modern 64-bit capable PC system.