The Fastest Processor Available

By the processor, in IT-Hardware parlance we mean the large square metal component sitting most prominently inside the motherboard. It is responsible for conducting most of the arithmetic, logical, co-ordination, management etc. of the resources and tasks and operations inside the computer system. The processor does its activities in a systematic order of processes i.e. Fetch, Decode, Execute and Store. One such completion of the cycle per second is referred to as the clock speed or the frequency of the processor, calculated in Gigahertz. Other parameters like types of processes being executed, power consumption, over-heating etc. also matter in determining the speed or performance of the processor. A core of the CPU is central part of the CPU that receives instructions, performs operations for the instructions sent. A single processor can have multiple cores to accomplish a largenumber of operations simultaneously or do parallel operations on a single set of data/instructions. CPUs are classified thus as single core, dual-core, quad-core etc. Intel being the first company to produce processors is the leader of the pack producing the largest number of processors yearly. Other popular brands include AMD (Advanced Micro

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Devices), Nvidia, Samsung, Qualcomm, IBM (International Business Machines) etc. Launched in November 2020, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a desktop processor with 16 cores – is one of  the fastest processors available. It has a boost clock speed of up to 4.9 GHz, a large 72 M cache (memory). Intel’s fastest processor the Core i9 10900K has a clock speed of 5.3 GHz. But with 10 cores compared with the former’s 16 the Intel i9 10900K gives a lower clock speed. That said both these processors are mostly gaming devices. However, the AMD TR3990X processor introduced before the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is comparatively faster when it comes to being used for regular purposes like in office, professional or personal use etc. The AMD ThreadRipper 3990X has a clock speed of 4.3 GHz but with its massive 64 cores, it is able to process data more faster and efficiently.

The AMD ThreadRipper 3990X processor comes from the Ryzen Family of AMD. Other processor families from the same brand include AMD Athlon, Sempron, Opteron, Duron etc. A 3rd Generation CPU , the AMD ThreadRipper 3990X has the new AMD TRX40 motherboards featuring the debut of advanced PCIe® 4.0 connectivity on high-end desktop, delivering more bandwidth for creators than ever. The 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ has already demonstrated its value to special effects artists for major motion picture studios. 64 cores provide an astonishing 128 threads of simultaneous multi-processing power, while 288MB of combined cache and vast I/O from the enthusiast-grade AMD TRX40 platform work together to deliver incredible performance. Although available in India at a cost of  a whopping ₹3-4 Lacs, the processor is a resource on its own. Called the ultimate in processing for visual effects and video editing professionals, this processor is a leader in the race of multi-purpose desktop processing. Although no processor can be said to be the best of the best of the league, given its multi-purpose nature and massive processing prowess the AMD ThreadRipper 3990X processor can be crowned as the top-most desktop processor available today.      

Economy during Covid Times

The Coronavirus or Covid pandemic wrecked havoc in the lives of a large number of people, societies, nations alike. Moreso, the economies of countries got affected drastically at the onslaught. The Indian economy was growing at a rate of 3% - 4% before the advent of the pandemic say, March-April 2020. Moreover in the year 2019 the economy was growing at the rate of 6% ,5%  annually. The first lockdown in India was announced in March 2020. All schools, colleges, markets, shopping malls, hotels/restaurants, parks, public and private functions/events were banned. Industries, factories ,construction activities etc. came to a halt. However online services like Work From Home(WFH) ,online shopping ,meetings via video conferencing were the order of the day. But a large chunk of the population were left jobless with little or no earning. The economic growth thus got slowed down. The profitabilities of companies – both government and private decreased, income from tax, incomes of employees, workers and daily wage earners too slumped. Covid-related expenditures both public and private inflated. Purchase of medicines, disinfectants, vaccines, drugs etc. cost the exchequer dearly. The economic growth rate moved to as low as almost -24% in the first quarter i.e. April-June 2020 of the Financial Year(FY) 2020-2021, followed by -7.5%   in the next quarter i.e. July-September 2020. Thus the annual growth rate of FY 21 i.e. April 2020 - March 2021 was -7.3%. Likewise a second Covid wave stuck the country by around March- April 2021. Although nationwide lockdown was not announced this time, partial to complete lockdown was imposed in most of the states. The second wave infected more number of people and more died than the last. The economy too is likely to contract, this time may be more. The last contraction was termed as a Technical recession. Although Covid infections and deaths have started receding since May 21 still some states have increased lockdowns. The Central government announced economic stimulus package worth 20L crores last time which would provide some resilience to a faltering economy. Moreover moratorium on EMI for six months, financial packages, cash-in-hand schemes in some states and reduction in IGST etc. on purchase of medical equipments would help the economy a lot better. Yet historic unemployment rates 14%, insecurities of sources of income/revenue and frequent lockdowns would be a dampner to the growth of the economy. The way forward would be to contain and fully get rid of Covid infections and the pandemic and putting the economy back on rails on a firm footing to achieve reasonable growth rates.

Corona virus

Corona virus or SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19 disease that has killed more than a million people worldwide and scores of others infected. Still no vaccine has been available to cure the disease named - COVID-19. Several medicines that were used to cure

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other similar type of illnesses have been used namely- Remdesivir, Favipiravir, Chloroquinine, Dexamethasone etc. Corona virus caused COVID-19 still remains unknown with newer symptoms appearing. Although mostly it looks like normal influenza still corona virus causes severe infection to lungs, failure in vital organs of the body and ultimate death due to breathing difficulties- Asphyxia. 

The symptoms of the disease - COVID-19 include headaches, muscle pain, skin rashes, dry cough, persistent fever, nausea, loss of smell, loss of taste, shortness of breath etc. Although these symptoms are common there are also some asymptomatic patients i.e. patients having no sign of any of these. These cases are more dangerous. But Rapid Antigen Test and RT-PCR Test (Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction Test) can prove the presence of the virus or disease. Swab samples from the nose or mouth are used to test.

More scarier part of COVID-19 is that it gets transmitted from people just by touch, standing with an infected person for more than few minutes or even by suspended air particles. Lockdowns given all over did prevent further infection but still more people have contacted the virus and the disease. Frequent hand-washing ,use of hand-sanitizers and social distancing - staying atleast 1 meter apart can slow infection of the disease and prevent it.