new system

[Danolo]

I'm planning the purchase of a new computer and I'm finally in a position where I can afford a good one.

So, my question to any of you computer gurus out there is:

Which processor should I get?

Here's my choices

Intel Core i7

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black edition


What do you prefer, and why?

Thanks

 

[larry]

For no other reason than I don't want to second guess whether the amd is just-as-good or better, i pick intel every time. i7, sufficient memory for your needs, esata, a video card to suit, again, your needs, good power supply. get crackin'

 

[AnimalMagnetism]

both processors are very good, with a technological edge to the i7, which also costs more.
you will find the AMD in computers costing much less.


keep in mind processor is only a very small part of the equation
the motherboard and type and amount of memory are extremely important too

what are you hoping to do with the computer and what will be it's primary use?

my vote goes to i7 which i hear is about to have a very large price drop very soon

the new 6 core AMD processors look very good.

 

[basketcase]

I've always been an AMD fan. The performance of both is reasonably similar for normal desktop uses and AMD tends to be noticeably cheaper.

caveat: I haven't looked in to CPUs for a while.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Intel Rocks

Intel Core i7 is rock solid and gets my vote.

I have an Intel Core i7 2.80 Ghz in my Dell desktop. Got it last Nov and its performance has been phenomenal so far.....knock on wood. It has 8 GB DDR3 RAM, is lightning fast and does all kinds of multitasking with no strain or pain.

It boots up Win7 in 45 seconds and boots up Ubuntu in 35 seconds.
For an upgrade I am thinking about throwing in a SSD for a boot drive which would cut those above boot up times down to ~15 seconds.

Haven't been following what AMD is doing lately so can't comment on AMD.

 

[Bif_Butkiss]

I've always been an AMD fan. The performance of both is reasonably similar for normal desktop uses and AMD tends to be noticeably cheaper.

caveat: I haven't looked in to CPUs for a while.

Sorry, don't mean to point my finger at anyone but I haven't been an AMD fan since the AMD processor caught fire on a friend's desktop a few years ago, caused a fair bit of fire damage to his room as well. Since then I`ve heard that AMD`s have been known (on occaision) to get super hot. Maybe old info, haven`t heard anything about it in a few years. But I wouldn`t take a chance.

 

[DocOdd]

Historically there have been cycles of AMD becoming competitive with Intel for a while and then falling behind. From what I've been able to determine, we're in one of the AMD is behind periods. Even the 6 core AMDs don't seem to perform as well as the 4 core Intels according to the hardware sites I've read.

 

[bassnut]

I run an AMD 965 BE which I have overclocked to 3.9 GHZ with temps holding steady at 52 - 54 deg C on air cooling which is as high as you want to go with and AMD chip. Match that up with an MSI 790FX-GD40 Mother Board and some decent ram that is designed for an AMD Platform, yes it does make a difference and add you Video Card of your choice and you will have a nice system. Depending on the i7 chip you choose you can save around $1000 on the high end but more likely in the $300 - $500 range for most systems. I do allot of Video and can process a 45GB BLU-RAY in about 3 - 4 hours ...... the i7's are about an hour quicker for a comparison for your average chip (i7 920) out there, lets face it whi spends $1200 for a processor for a home system. If you are a gamer you won't notice any difference in preformance with your games. Any preformance gains here will be found in your video card choice. If Gaming is what your system is intended for I would recomend you go with the AMD platform and put your saving toward a better video card.

I like my PII 965 and my PII 920 Systems (about a 20% difference in preformance) but am working on an upgrade to the AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition (125W) Six Core Socket AM3 about $100 more and is getting up there almost with the i7 920's but still fals a bit short though not by much.

 

[basketcase]

Sorry, don't mean to point my finger at anyone but I haven't been an AMD fan since the AMD processor caught fire on a friend's desktop a few years ago, caused a fair bit of fire damage to his room as well. Since then I`ve heard that AMD`s have been known (on occaision) to get super hot. Maybe old info, haven`t heard anything about it in a few years. But I wouldn`t take a chance.

7 CPU's in 10 years and no problems for me.

 

[Anynym]

What do Tom's Hardware and the Ars Technica websites have to say about each of them?

 

[Bif_Butkiss]

Take a look at the poll results. Even though only 11 people have voted as of now I think the limited results will still speak for themselves.

 

[bassnut]

Take a look at the poll results. Even though only 11 people have voted as of now I think the limited results will still speak for themselves.

Just curiouse how many of these people that vopted for the i& actualy has one or is it a wish list from reading to many forums?

 

[Danolo]

Thanks for your input folks.... I think I've finally decided to go with the Intel I7

here's the system I've spec'd out so far:

INTEL CPU CORE I7-870 2.93GHZ 8MB LGA1156 RETAIL
ASUS SKT.1156 INTEL P55 ATX P7P55-LX
8GB DDR3 1333 (4X 2GB) Kit
ZOTAC VIDEO CARD GT240 1G DDR3 RTL 128B DVI VGA HDMI FAN RETAIL
2 X HDD1TB Western Digital GREEN Hard Drive
LG DVDRW GH22NS50 22X SATA BLACK WITH SOFTWARE BULK
ANTEC SONATA III 500 ATX MID TOWER 500W 3 2 (4) USB ESATA AUDIO BK 80-PLUS BRONZ
Power
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM 64BIT ENGLISH 1PK DSP DVD
All in One Media Card Reader

The best quote so far is from a local shop near to me at $1,246 plus HST.

I like the idea of buying from someone closeby for support....

Any suggestions to add to or modify the above system?

I am not a huge gamer, but I would like to try a few games... I do download and convert and burn a lot of DVD's, and that's about as fancy as I get with a computer.

One further reason I am going with the Intel, is that the AMD is an old platform... so they will probably supercede it with something new... The intel I7 is new and should have some staying power...

Comments? Suggestions?

 

[bassnut]

2 suggestions ......

1) Case ...... the Sonatta III is not a bad case but lacks allot of cooling (Heat Kills) ...... something more like ......
Antec Six Hundred Mid Tower Gaming Case ....... Our Price $92.99
Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced Black ATX Mid Tower Case (RC-692-KKN2) ....... Our Price $89.99
Both these cases will need a power supply .... Enermax EPR525AWT PRO82+ 525W Power Supply ....... Our Price $ 89.99

Casees and power supply were priced from Canada computers which is also in Toronto.


2) Video Card will not alow you to do very much gaming. Looks like it is a clearence card (I think) as I can't find any listings from the local shops here in Ottawa. I would suggest something similar to the below cards ..... if that changes your price too much you can reduce yourram to 4 GIG you will not need more than that for what you are planning to do.
Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI-E ....... Reg: $149.77 CAD
PowerColor AX5750 1GBD5-PDHG Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI-E ........ Reg: $153.77 CAD
XFX HD-575X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI-E ....... Reg: $158.77 CAD

or Crossfire a pair of Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 1GB DDR5 PCI-E *W2 ....... Reg: $96.77 CAD (Times 2) I am sure your shop can help you with the setup. These Viodeo cards are at least on todays technology instead of last years or earlier technology and you won't have to think of upgrading in a bit. If you are going to connect your computer to your tv the ATI card will fair much better than an NVIDEA based card.

 

[nova5]

Intel Core i7 would be my first choice here.

 

[Danolo]

2 suggestions ......

1) Case ...... the Sonatta III is not a bad case but lacks allot of cooling (Heat Kills) ...... something more like ......
Antec Six Hundred Mid Tower Gaming Case ....... Our Price $92.99
Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced Black ATX Mid Tower Case (RC-692-KKN2) ....... Our Price $89.99
Both these cases will need a power supply .... Enermax EPR525AWT PRO82+ 525W Power Supply ....... Our Price $ 89.99

Casees and power supply were priced from Canada computers which is also in Toronto.

Thanks Bassnut.. those are both amazing cases. Can you suggest case a bit more traditional with lots of cooling? The right side of the case will be against a wall with only 1" clearance, and the top will only have 2" clearance. The system is to be set up in our RV and so space is limited. The left side of the case is wide open, as is the front and back.

If not, I will have to make fairly major changes to my work space.. Any suggestions?

Thanks

I'm gonna go study those video cards now.

 

[Danolo]

2 suggestions ......

1
2) Video Card will not alow you to do very much gaming. Looks like it is a clearence card (I think) as I can't find any listings from the local shops here in Ottawa. I would suggest something similar to the below cards ..... if that changes your price too much you can reduce yourram to 4 GIG you will not need more than that for what you are planning to do.
Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI-E ....... Reg: $149.77 CAD
PowerColor AX5750 1GBD5-PDHG Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI-E ........ Reg: $153.77 CAD
XFX HD-575X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI-E ....... Reg: $158.77 CAD

or Crossfire a pair of Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 1GB DDR5 PCI-E *W2 ....... Reg: $96.77 CAD (Times 2) I am sure your shop can help you with the setup. These Viodeo cards are at least on todays technology instead of last years or earlier technology and you won't have to think of upgrading in a bit. If you are going to connect your computer to your tv the ATI card will fair much better than an NVIDEA based card.

You mention "connecting to the TV". Is it common practice to just have one monitor, for both TV and computer uses? I have two, one of which is mounted on the wall above the old computer case, and so if I get rid of that TV that will solve the top clearance issues for the case, as detailed above. Would I then need a tuner card for the computer? Hmmmmm, on second thought, no i would not... most TV's come with a tuner built in and a cable or FTA system would plug into one of the monitor's input ports as it does now. Very interesting.

I guess the issue is how do I watch TV while doing something else on the computer... if I replaced both monitors with a bigger one (YAH!!!!!) could I use picture-in-picture with these cards?

So, of the three video cards listed above, which one? They all are about the same price, all with 1 GB.... what differentiates them?

Thanks

 

[Danolo]

if you're doing hardcore multimedia then i7 otherwise save some pennies and get the Phenom

Hmmm... what exactly do you mean by "hardcore multimedia"?

 

[WoodPeckr]

Thanks for your input folks.... I think I've finally decided to go with the Intel I7


Any suggestions to add to or modify the above system?

Looks like a good choice.
I'm very happy with performance of my Intel i7 since last November.

Putting in a SSD boot drive is something you make want to consider.
You can then use the HDD you selected above (2 X HDD1TB Western Digital GREEN Hard Drive) for storage.
SSD drives have dropped in price quite a bit and they have far better performance than traditional HDDs.

Here's what SSDs are going for in the US, not sure about cost in Canada.
Here is a highly rated 80 GB SSD which is perfect for a boot drive with Win7.
They come in all sizes but cost more the bigger you go.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167023

Here are some reviews to peruse of the SSD to give you an idea of what they deliver to a system.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rue&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

 

[AnimalMagnetism]

I would upgrade the video card. the GT240 is last gen technology with no support for Direct X 11 which you get from the ATI Radeon cards 5700 series. they should be dropping in price because ATI is about to release the 6700 series this month.
it might be a little overkill with 8Gig of memory, 4 is plenty for most users
your 2 1TB hard drives are the energy efficient model and tend to be a little slower than the BLACK vesrion of the drives.
why not get an SSD to put the operating system on for booting up quickly and then a secondary 1.5TB drive for storage
see if you can get a lite on 24x dvd burner. it's much better than the LG and roughly the same price. lite on maufucture most drives ur burns and rips will go quicker and smoother with that

overall what you have chosen will do the trick, but a few changes here and there will give you more speed better future proofing