So I'm in the market for a new desktop computer. The last time I bought one (the one I'm typing this on right now) was probably at least 8 years ago now. They make Ipods with bigger hard drives at this point, if that's any indication. Anyway, I'm pretty savvy when it comes to tech stuff, so I know what I want as far as memory and HD capacity and all that, but I'm a little stuck when it comes to trying to choose what processor to go with. AMD vs. Intel? I'm not that familiar with AMD products, although one of my older PCs was running one and I thought it was fine. I'm not sure which model is their standard now though. If I choose to go Intel - Core 5 or Core 7? For the most part I really just do everyday stuff on my computer (check email, shop, read blogs, etc.) but I also do a lot of video stuff too (ripping, encoding, burning), which goes horrible slow with my current set up, as you can imagine. Do I need to go for top of the line Core 7? I'm not going to be doing any gaming or anything, so it's probably not necessary, but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be worth it just to spring for the better processor just for maximum speed and longevity, as I probably wouldn't have to upgrade any time soon. Any opinions here from experienced users/computer shoppers?
I think you should buy an IMac I have used Macs since 1991 and have found them to be excellent for everything
Well, I do like Macs, but they are unfortunately WAY out of my price range for the kind of thing I'd want.
The general rules I mostly follow when purchasing a new computer (especially if you don't need the gaming power) is pretty much purchase one step below the top of the line. The difference in performance usually isn't worth the extra markup in my mind. But even then it will depend on personal preference. When judging whether to go with AMD or Intel, it generally comes down to which processor performs better at each performance level: sometimes it's AMD, other times it's Intel. Of course if you're an enthusiast and take pride in one brand or another, do what makes you happy. I think brand performance was relevant back 20 years ago when the difference between Sony and Sanyo could be applied in a general sense. That hardly applies for technology now as many brands can excel in one release versus 6 months to a year down the road. I'll stop preaching now haha. From the core 5 and 7 processors, which particular ones are you planning on in terms of processor speed and features? Edit: Here's the chart that I'll use to compare AMD vs Intel (you can see AMD doesn't quite have anything near top of line against Intel atm): http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
I heard from a computer dealer that the differences between Core 3, 5, and 7 are irrelevant unless you're using software specifically written to take advantage of the "turbo" features of the higher Core values. Not sure how accurate that is, but he seemed to be pretty knowledgable about his stock.
generally speaking (especially if you are editing video), I would always go for faster processing speed. but Andy has a good point. You might research if your video editing software can take advantage of the Core 7 Processor. If so, I would go for it. If not, either upgrade the software so that it can or settle for a slower processor. video editing with a slow machine = no fun.
I usually buy with the same logic expressed here by Chottomatte and go one step down from top of the line, as I rarely am ever doing anything THAT system intensive, but at the same time don't want my machine to crawl along at a snails pace. The video editing that I do is hardly anything massive; like I'm not editing a movie in Final Cut Pro or anything like that. It's more like me attaching subtitle files to .avi's and re-encoding them to burn and stuff like that.
I just bought a 2500k i-5 and I can say that it is pretty freakin amazing for the price. Combined it with an ASUS MB using UEFI and 2 64g sata3 SSD's in striped raid and 8 gigs of 1600 DDR3. Does all the gaming I need. If you are using more HT intensive apps like 3D modeling then I would go for the 2600k i-7 but I would stick with sandy bridge. All the MOBO's you can get now have b3 stepping and wont suffer drive failure issues like initial SB MOBO's.
Sorry, let me try again. For the prices there is no reason to get anything less that an Intel i5 2500k processor. If you really need muscle then buy the i7 2600k. These chips use the new Sandy Bridge architecture so if you later need to replace or upgrade the processor you will have the latest motherboard standard until Intel changes again.
No, I'M sorry. I wasn't implying that you were unclear in what you wrote. I just have no idea what any of it means! This is all WAAAAY above my head. But I don't need to know what any of it means...I'm just reading the thread cos I'm bored.
