Screen size
Diagonal of the screen installed in a monoblock (see "Type").
In general, the larger the diagonal, the more advanced both the screen and the computer as a whole are considered. The large display size is convenient for games, movies, and some special tasks like layout of large printed materials; in addition, a higher resolution can be provided for such a screen, and more space is available inside the case for advanced components. On the other hand, a larger monoblock will cost much more than a relatively small one, even if the other characteristics of such models are completely the same. In addition, the power of the hardware is not directly related to the size of the screen — high-end monoblocks can be quite small.
As for specific numbers, a
diagonal of 20" or less is considered very limited nowadays,
monoblocks of 21.5" are small,
a 24" screen is medium, and values of
27" and
32" indicate large sizes.
Panel type
The type of matrix used in the monoblock screen (see "Type").
—
TN+film. The simplest and most inexpensive type of modern matrices. In addition to low cost, the advantages of TN + Film include good speed (short response time). But the overall picture quality can be described as average: in terms of brightness, colour gamut and colour reproduction quality, screens of this type are noticeably inferior to more advanced options. However this quality is quite enough for relatively simple tasks like surfing the web or working with documents, and in most cases even for playing games and watching movies; however, TN-Film screens are not suitable for professional work with colour.
—
IPS. A variety of matrices designed for high image quality. In terms of brightness and colour fidelity, such screens are indeed far superior to TN-film, making them excellent for professional use. In addition, these properties are valued among demanding gamers and movie fans. The response time in early versions of IPS screens was quite high, but in modern versions this feature is almost eliminated. But the unequivocal disadvantage of such screens is the rather high cost. Also note that nowadays on the market there are several varieties of IPS, differing in characteristics. For example, E-IPS is a relatively simple and inexpensive option, P-IPS and H-IPS are professional (when they were created, maximum attention was
...paid to colour reproduction), and AH-IPS was developed with an eye on ultra-high resolution screens. So it would not hurt to clarify the specific features of such a screen separately — especially if a monoblock is bought for design, photo processing and other similar tasks that involve careful work with colour.
— pls. In fact, one of the versions of the IPS technology described above, created by Samsung. During development, special attention was paid to both improving performance and reducing the cost of the matrix; in the end, according to the creators, they really managed to achieve higher brightness and contrast, combined with a lower cost. In general, the characteristics are comparable to mid-level versions of IPS.
— *VA. Various versions of VA technology — Fujitsu's MVA, Samsung's PVA and Super PVA, Sharp's ASVA, etc.; In general, there are no key differences in design between these versions. The *VA technology itself was created as a compromise between the speed and affordability of TN-Film matrices and the high-quality "picture" of IPS. The result is screens with more accurate and complete colour reproduction than TN, with good blacks and good viewing angles; the response speed was initially not very high, but in modern versions this drawback has been practically eliminated. At the same time, a feature of *VA screens is that the colour balance of the visible image depends on the viewing angle and changes with the slightest deviation from the perpendicular. With normal PC use, this phenomenon is almost imperceptible, however, such monitors are still poorly suited for professional work with colour.Brightness
The maximum brightness provided by the monoblock screen (see "Type").
The more intense the ambient light, the higher the screen brightness should be for normal visibility. The most "dim" screens in monoblocks are capable of delivering up to 200 cd / m2 — this is more than enough to work under ordinary artificial lighting, but under sunlight it will take at least 300 cd / m2. At the same time, modern monoblocks can also have a larger margin of brightness — in some models up to 500 cd / m2. This expands the possibilities for customizing the screen for different situations and user preferences. In addition, high brightness has a positive effect on image quality and colour saturation, in light of which it is often a sign of a fairly advanced screen.
Code name
The code name for CPU that the PC is equipped with.
This parameter characterizes, first of all, the generation to which the processor belongs, and the microarchitecture used in it. At the same time, chips with different code names can belong to the same microarchitecture/generation; in such cases, they differ in other parameters — general positioning, belonging to certain series (see above), the presence / absence of certain specific functions, etc.
Nowadays, chips with the following code names are relevant among Intel processors:
Coffee Lake (8th generation),
Coffee Lake (9th generation),
Comet Lake (10th generation) and
Rocket Lake (11th generation),
Alder Lake (12th generation),
Raptor Lake (13th generation),
Raptor Lake-S (14th generation). For AMD, the list looks like this:
Zen+ Picasso (3rd gen),
Zen2 Matisse (3rd gen),
Zen2 Renoir (4th gen),
Zen 3 Cezanne (5th gen),
Zen 3 Vermeer (5th gen),
Zen 4 Raphael (6th gen).
Cores
The number of cores in a complete PC processor.
The core is a part of the processor designed to process one stream of commands (and sometimes more, for such cases, see "Number of threads"). Accordingly, the presence of several cores allows the processor to work simultaneously with several such threads, which has a positive effect on performance. However note that a larger number of cores does not always mean higher computing power — a lot depends on how the interaction between command streams is organized, what special technologies are implemented in the processor, etc. So, only chips of the same purpose (desktop, mobile) and similar series (see "Processor") can be compared by the number of cores.
In general, single-core processors are practically not found in modern PCs.
Mainly desktop chips of the initial and middle level are made dual-core.
Four cores are found both in desktop CPUs of the middle and advanced class, and in mobile solutions. And
six-core and
eight-core processors are typical for high-performance desktop processors used in
workstations and gaming systems.
Threads
The number of threads supported by the bundled PC processor.
A thread in this case is a sequence of instructions executed by the kernel. Initially, each individual core is able to work with only one such sequence. However, among modern CPUs, more and more often there are models in which the number of threads is twice the number of cores. This means that the processor uses multi-threading technology, and each core works with two instruction sequences: when pauses occur in one thread, the core switches to another, and vice versa. This allows you to significantly increase performance without increasing the clock frequency and heat dissipation, however, such CPUs are also more expensive than single-threaded counterparts.
Speed
Clock speed of the CPU installed in the PC.
In theory, higher clock speeds have a positive effect on performance because they allow the CPU to perform more operations per unit of time. However, this indicator is rather weakly related to real productivity. The fact is that the actual capabilities of the CPU strongly depend on a number of other factors - the overall architecture, cache size, number of cores, support for special instructions, etc. As a result, you can compare by this indicator only chips from the same or similar series (see “CPU”), and ideally, also from the same generation. And that's pretty approximate.
TurboBoost / TurboCore
Processor clock speed when running in TurboBoost or TurboCore mode.
Turbo Boost technology is used in Intel processors, Turbo Core — AMD. The essence of this technology is the same both there and there: if some of the cores work under high load, and some are idle, then some tasks are transferred from more loaded cores to less loaded ones, which improves performance. This usually increases the clock frequency of the processor; this value is indicated in this paragraph. See above for more information on clock speed in general.
Passmark CPU Mark
The result shown by the PC processor in the test (benchmark) Passmark CPU Mark.
Passmark CPU Mark is a comprehensive test that allows you to evaluate CPU performance in various modes and with a different number of processed threads. The results are displayed in points; the more points, the higher the overall performance of the processor. For comparison: as of 2020, in low-cost solutions, the results are measured in hundreds of points, in mid-range models they range from 800 – 900 to more than 6,000 points, and individual top-end chips are capable of showing 40,000 points or more.