PC processor advice

[StephenL]

I'm thinking it will soon be time to build me a new PC. Now, I can follow the Intel road map where an i5 is better than an i3 but worse than an i7, but what is their equivalent in AMD processors? I presum AMD are still cheaper but just as good as their Intel rivals, but do they also still run hotter? I want my PC to need as little cooling as possible for noise reasons.

Can someone recommend a good but not expensive motherboard/CPU/graphics card combination? I want to be able to have 2 DVI monitors, and USB 3.0 ports.

[jamie allan]

Re: PC processor advice

Stephen,
I think you'll find the Intel i series have stolen a jump on AMD. If you are set on AMD try Maplin they do bundles that are significantly cheaper that buying the individual parts. http://www.maplin.co.uk/computing/mo...board-cpu-kits

[Ianf]

Re: PC processor advice

But always remember AMD `s always run hot, if your building your own rig make sure its got plenty of fans.

[StephenL]

Re: PC processor advice

Yes, and lots of fans means lots of noise, unless I go for expensive silent fans.

I'm not particularly pro or anti Intel or AMD, but I usually like to back the underdog!

[Rawcoll]

Re: PC processor advice

Stephen, I recently built a machine with an Intel i7 processor and an Asus P8P67-M PRO mboard. I didn't use the included processor fan but used a Cooler Master Vortex Plus instead. It's all fairly quiet under quiescent conditions, though since the processor fan speed is controlled by the mboard it can get a bit hissy when the processor has a lot to do (like when importing images into Lightroom).

Note that that particular mboard doesn't use the onboard graphics capability of processor, so it needs a separate graphics card. Other versions of that board do though. But it does have a USB3 interface. I used a fairly bottom end video card (not particularly interested in gaming or video): Asus HD6450 silent. It only has one DVI out though. Going for a passively cooled device I saved having another fan, and hence less noise.

I must say that although I quite enjoyed constructing it, I don't think I saved a significant amount of cash. Would I do it again? Don't know. I might think about buying a laptop instead.

[jamie allan]

Re: PC processor advice

I think it's generally agreed that if you need to buy an operating system to go with your new pc it's actually cheaper to buy the whole thing from the likes of PCWorld. They sell base units on their own and you can get refurbished ones fairly cheaply.
If you are intent on building one since you're in the east of Scotland you could look at the Silicon Group http://www.silicon-group.co.uk/ . I've bought from them before and they are reputable.

[StephenL]

Re: PC processor advice

Well, I've got a couple of legit, unused, copies of Win 7. And some SATA hard drives and a SATA DVD burner. So that should keep the costs down. I've just ordered a case and PSU from QuietPC, so I've made a start. The next bits will have to wait till next payday. I'm going to use an SSD for booting.

I'll take a look at Silicon Group, thanks.

[Kiwi Paul]

Re: PC processor advice

I've always built my PC's, I enjoy building them and can select the components that best suit. The last one I built which is my current PC was with an I7 processor, a cheapish Gigabyte motherboard and 4GB RAM with a 64GB SSD for the 64bit Win 7 and a standard HDD for storage, it's fine plenty fast enough.
I would imagine the latest generation of I5 processors are plenty fast enough, but I would get at least an I5 (not I3) and possibly consider an I7 if the cost difference isn't too much.
I think next time I upgrade I'll just consider getting a 17" laptop, you can get very high spec ones for 850 quid (I7, 8 GB RAM, 2x 500GB HDD, 3GB graphics card, high res display and Win7 64 bit), Dell have the best options for what I'd go for at the moment.
I get a docking station so it can be used as a desktop too.

Paul

[j.baker]

[Gwyver]

Re: PC processor advice

...Can someone recommend a good but not expensive motherboard/CPU/graphics card combination? I want to be able to have 2 DVI monitors, and USB 3.0 ports.

Stephen,
I built a Shuttle PC to run W7 not too long ago. I like the small-form-factor and it's quietness as a desktop system.
The graphics card I chose is: Sapphire HD 5450 512MB DDR3 - which is:

1. silent - because it doesn't require it's own cooling fan,
2. supports 1x DVI + 1 x HDMI (so you could easily connect a 2nd DVI via this) + 1x VGA.
3. Has ample video performance for the likes for Lightroom etc. (assuming you aren't into 3D game playing).
4. inexpensive.

[StephenL]

[Ulfric M Douglas]

Re: PC processor advice

That sounds like a very sensible computer, with the current price/speed cpu king.
Having done one with SSD, would you always use one on subsequent builds or do you think its neither here nor there.

I was going to build one a couple of months ago but got the graphics card first, stuffed it into my current cheapo machine and it worked great ... so no new computer for a while ... until next time.

[Gwyver]

Re: PC processor advice

Stephen,
I recommend you get into a routine of doing regular system image backups of your SSD drive.
I've seen numerous reports concerning a high failure rate of Ocz (and other brands of) SSD. There seems to be a trade-off between SSD read/write performance and long-term reliability. Intel SSDs are consistently & significantly more reliable than other brands - which seem to be competing more on price & performance.

[StephenL]

Re: PC processor advice

Chris - thanks for the heads-up on that. I was going to go for a Crucial drive, but took pot luck on the OCz.

I'm not a great one for doing backups of application drives - if it fails I'd sooner rebuild the OS from scratch, to get rid of the dead wood one inevitably accumulates. Data however is a different story. I've an internal backup drive as well as an external one.

Ulfric - yes, I would definitely go SSD. The speed boost is worthwhile, bearing in mind that my motherboard supports SATA3, which is faster than SATA2.

I only have Windows and the major applications of Lightroom, Photoshop and MS Office on the SSD. data will stay on a conventional (SATA3) hard drive. By doing that my 120Gb SSD is just half full. Any minor applications I'll probably install on the 1Tb HDD.

[Ian]

Re: PC processor advice

I'm a bit late here - sorry! But I have been doing some similar research. To take full advantage of Adobe Mercury Engine PLayback acceleration you need an up to date graphics card featuring stream processors (nVidia CUDA (at least 96 cores and 1GB DDR5 memory is recommended) or ATI/AMD Stream processor support) and the CPU needs to support the latest media acceleration instructions, which Intel Core i5 and Core i7 do and so do AMD FX-8000 series (Bulldozer) CPUs. 16GB or DRAM is recommended too. I would also install the OS on an SSD.

Ian