Computer upgrade help

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bobby 55
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by bobby 55 »

Has anyone seen the ones with "X" prefix in action? Good heavens, hologram production (read the specs only) seems to be their capability. :P
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gamer0004
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Re: Computer upgrade help

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Intel has made a mess really. Celeron, Pentium, i3, i5 and i7, with i7 CPUs at two different sockets (1155 and 2011), i7s which are slower than i5s (because they consume very little power for example), Hyperthreading/No hyperthreading, different generations of i5 and i7 (Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge), different numbers of cores (i5 and i7 have 4, except for a few i7s which have 6, the rest has 2), K models (unlocked multiplier), P models (no integrated GPU, but often at about the same price so why bother), S models (low power consumption), T models (even less power consumption), X models (extreme, supposedly the most powerful CPUs and extremely expensive), different GPUs (2125 has the 2500 model, the 2100 and 2120 don't) and many different chipsets (I've completely lost them there. Not sure if Ivy Bridge can work on the old Sandy Bridge chipsets, but in that case we have H61, H67 P67, Z68, Z77, Z75, H77, Q77, Q75 and B75, and perhaps a few more).
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by DaveW »

gamer0004 wrote:Intel has made a mess really. Celeron, Pentium, i3, i5 and i7, with i7 CPUs at two different sockets (1155 and 2011), i7s which are slower than i5s (because they consume very little power for example), Hyperthreading/No hyperthreading, different generations of i5 and i7 (Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge), different numbers of cores (i5 and i7 have 4, except for a few i7s which have 6, the rest has 2), K models (unlocked multiplier), P models (no integrated GPU, but often at about the same price so why bother), S models (low power consumption), T models (even less power consumption), X models (extreme, supposedly the most powerful CPUs and extremely expensive), different GPUs (2125 has the 2500 model, the 2100 and 2120 don't) and many different chipsets (I've completely lost them there. Not sure if Ivy Bridge can work on the old Sandy Bridge chipsets, but in that case we have H61, H67 P67, Z68, Z77, Z75, H77, Q77, Q75 and B75, and perhaps a few more).
I'd like to think I understand computers fairly well and I can barely make sense of that (in terms of which I'd be better off buying) - so yeah, Intel seem to be making a mess of it.

Unfortunately they have the best processors and AMD aren't offering any real competition :( And I'll never trust an AMD/ATI product again after the issues with my last one.
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by Morpheus »

gamer0004 wrote:Intel has made a mess really. Celeron, Pentium, i3, i5 and i7, with i7 CPUs at two different sockets (1155 and 2011), i7s which are slower than i5s (because they consume very little power for example), Hyperthreading/No hyperthreading, different generations of i5 and i7 (Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge), different numbers of cores (i5 and i7 have 4, except for a few i7s which have 6, the rest has 2), K models (unlocked multiplier), P models (no integrated GPU, but often at about the same price so why bother), S models (low power consumption), T models (even less power consumption), X models (extreme, supposedly the most powerful CPUs and extremely expensive), different GPUs (2125 has the 2500 model, the 2100 and 2120 don't) and many different chipsets (I've completely lost them there. Not sure if Ivy Bridge can work on the old Sandy Bridge chipsets, but in that case we have H61, H67 P67, Z68, Z77, Z75, H77, Q77, Q75 and B75, and perhaps a few more).
I used to know Intel up until the end of the Core 2 Quad CPUs when i3 came then i5 and i7. Ivy Bridge replaced Sandy Bridge (22nm over 32nm of Sandy bridge) but it was the P, T, K, S etc...(I have even seen ones with E on them and QM) that I don't really understand the need for so many types. The one I was looking at originally was the Intel Core i7-3770 3.50GHz, Ivy Bridge (did not have a letter after the 3770) so I presume it was a K.

I knew Intel CPUs well until the i3s appeared and then hey lost me with the i5 and i7s. With know that some i5s are better than i7s, you'd really expect a newer i7 to out perform the older i5s but this is where Intel went wrong I think. Newer processors are not meant to be slower than older versions. When Pentiums and Celerons were the two main CPUs of Intel, you knew where you were with those, Pentium 4 was better than Pentium III, and as Pentium 4s went on, they got faster (My last Pentium was a P4, 3.6ghz HT and it worked well for the time). Celerons were the basic package for non performance computers and then you had Xeon for high end computers designed for business etc... there wasn't a bunch of different processors with each working differently depending on the letter they had after the model number.
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by AEmer »

I'm trying to help Jonas get a new computer.

We're currently looking at the Ivy Bridge I7. We need a motherboard, ram and the I7.

I recommended him the I7 because of the significantly reduced power usage, and because I think the internal GPU on the I7 could become significantly more relevant over the next 3-5 years that he's likely to run that processor; what with the current miniaturization, I actually believe a desktop processor can stay relevant for a very long time, and the lower power requirements are better suited for his current rig.

So what do we get him to go with it? Forget about SLI and crossfire, all we want is ram that run as fast a frequency as reasonable (fuck timings) compared to the price, a motherboard ram-combination that is near 100% likely it will run as specified, and whatever little motherboard amenities we can get him. You know, things like adjustable fan connectors, many fan connectors, a good vendor site with a good reputation for keeping bios'es up to snuff, on/off and restart buttons on the motherboard itself, a DR. Debug diode, USB 3.0 and sata 3.0, even an easy way to reset the bios if possible...

Some manufacturers will include these things that just make debugging things easier (As-Rock included a lot on my latest), so it's worth grabbing these things if possible.

But yeah, what are your thoughts. As gamer said, the Intel CPU's and chipsets is a bag of mixed nuts, and it's hard as hell to figure out what's good and what's not.

That's why I typically go with AMD, but they just weren't performing on their last update, and I don't have faith they'll pull it together for the coming generation either. Intel, on the other hand, is at 22nm and doing some of their finest work ever, so right now, it looks like it has to be Intel...nomatter how much of a value proposition the quad phenoms are, it just won't make up for being so far behind when we're talking this class of CPU.
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Re: Computer upgrade help

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What about an Asus mobo? I've only got an P6T and it has three auxiliary fan slots and two USB 3.0ports. With the the Thermaltake fulltower I have that's a 6 fan potential. They (Asus mobos) have the **BIOS updater thingy (not the technical term... hehehe). It's *LG1366 though, but I'm only using it as an example. I have 8 gig of Kingmax (?!) RAM that's doing it's job.

Also that mobo survived the recent shitty-ness of other components, including a faulty PSU. :P

* I thought it was LG1155, not according to the Asus website.

** EZ Flash.
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by AEmer »

So here's what we're going with:
An Ivy Bridge core I7 3770 CPU
An Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 motherboard
8gb of Kingston HyperX genesis ram with modelnr. KHX2400C11D3K4/8GX

Total price is...not cheap.

But honestly, not that expensive either. It's a full-on upgrade of all the crucial components of the computer; Jonas already has an SSD as I recall, and in general it's an absolutely ridiculous amount of speedy components inthere.

I reckon only overclockers or people on intels special high performance platform are going to have a speedier setup for at least a year.
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by Jonas »

Well except the videocard, that's gonna stay a GeForce 260GTX for a while. Hopefully.
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bobby 55
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Re: Computer upgrade help

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Holy Crap! Colour me envious. :P

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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by Jonas »

The order has been placed.

No further input will be accepted.

Thank you for your cooperation.
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gamer0004
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by gamer0004 »

At the threat of the mighty ban hammer, I must say it looks good :)
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by AEmer »

It better run every fucking game smooth as hell though.

The combined price of this wasn't that far off from what I gave for my setup a year ago, of course...I think it was around 25% cheaper for me.

But Jonas setup performs about least 60% better than mine on paper, and in reality it may be even more significant if it means less hickups and slowdowns. Which it should.
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by bobby 55 »

It'll cope with Deus Ex and TNM anyhow. :mrgreen:

Seriously though, all of Jonas' work requirements should be well and truly met with that rig.
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by Jonas »

I actually use my laptop for work. It's not a gaming laptop, but it runs Unity well enough :)
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bobby 55
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Re: Computer upgrade help

Post by bobby 55 »

Ah yeah, you work in an office now. Also you don't want your SSD cluttered with *cough* non essential stuff. :)
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