Processor

[Jamie]

Okay, I'm going to be ordering a nice computer that I've been saving up for a while for. The only problem I'm having is deciding which processor to get (Intel or AMD)

It's between an Intel i7 2600 quad core @ 3.3ghz and an AMD 6 core ~ 3.3ghz. The i7 costs more but obviously has less cores than the AMD... how is this? and which should I get?

Here is the setup I plan on getting:

16GB DDR3 RAM (It's probably overkill, I don't care)
120GB SSD (OS + main apps.. will this make a good speed difference?)
1TB HDD
750W Power supply (is this good enough?)
Radeon HD6950 2GB (is this good enough? good fps for a lot of games?)

I will be using this computer for all sorts. I use Adobe Master Collection on a daily basis, I game via Steam, I use Skype, I watch movies, Listen to music etc etc etc... I want to be able to do all of this fast and smoothly. I appreciate your help!

[MentaL]

[cycoextreme]

adobe should be threaded for multiple cores so i would say AMD, plus the BULLDOZER 8 core CPU will be out sometime this month,
so if you were gonna spend money on an i7 anyway,

the 8core bulldozer will be prices somewhere around the price point of an i5, but with the performance exceeding that of an i5, so id say wait to get a processor unitl it comes out

[Hejula]

Okay, I'm going to be ordering a nice computer that I've been saving up for a while for. The only problem I'm having is deciding which processor to get (Intel or AMD)

It's between an Intel i7 2600 quad core @ 3.3ghz and an AMD 6 core ~ 3.3ghz. The i7 costs more but obviously has less cores than the AMD... how is this? and which should I get?

Here is the setup I plan on getting:

16GB DDR3 RAM (It's probably overkill, I don't care)
120GB SSD (OS + main apps.. will this make a good speed difference?)
1TB HDD
750W Power supply (is this good enough?)
Radeon HD6950 2GB (is this good enough? good fps for a lot of games?)

I will be using this computer for all sorts. I use Adobe Master Collection on a daily basis, I game via Steam, I use Skype, I watch movies, Listen to music etc etc etc... I want to be able to do all of this fast and smoothly. I appreciate your help!

Not really familiar with SSD's but I've heard most of people using normal hard drives for the OS, all that stuff and small SSD's for games and stuff... also get the Intel i7, I'm pretty sure that it does better in benchmarking then the AMD x6 :P

[KuroSaru]

@Jamie

Please note that the new 6core Intel CPUs are due out Q3 of this year. (aka in next month of so) they are $300s starting and its 6core + HT (12threads).

Id strongly recommend waiting till mid nov or end nov before you get a new setup.

Additionally when you get the ram get 1600mhz ram else you wont get the full potential of a i7 (current) or new (coming soon) cpus.

As for the new AMD bulldozer cpus all the bench marks ive read suggest the i5-2500k cpu (a very overclockable cpu) is as good as it.

Im personally planning to build a new rig myself ive got £2500 put away but im waiting till Q3 release of the new LGA2011 sockets with 6core Intel's cpu.

finally note 750watt should be fine if you stick to ATI/AMD GFX, if you go down Crossfire or SLI route id get a 1000watt minimum. and when you get a CPU try to get a different fan other than the stock (Assuming it comes with one) as regardless of the cpu you can always push it 200Mhz more aka 2.8Ghz to 3Ghz etc..

[MentaL]

Why go for a spec like that and skimp on the HD?

[MapleWTF]

Okay, I'm going to be ordering a nice computer that I've been saving up for a while for. The only problem I'm having is deciding which processor to get (Intel or AMD)

It's between an Intel i7 2600 quad core @ 3.3ghz and an AMD 6 core ~ 3.3ghz. The i7 costs more but obviously has less cores than the AMD... how is this? and which should I get?

Here is the setup I plan on getting:

16GB DDR3 RAM (It's probably overkill, I don't care)
120GB SSD (OS + main apps.. will this make a good speed difference?)
1TB HDD
750W Power supply (is this good enough?)
Radeon HD6950 2GB (is this good enough? good fps for a lot of games?)

I will be using this computer for all sorts. I use Adobe Master Collection on a daily basis, I game via Steam, I use Skype, I watch movies, Listen to music etc etc etc... I want to be able to do all of this fast and smoothly. I appreciate your help!

i7 (you should get the 2600k model so that you can overclock it, it goes easily up to 5ghz with air cooling) has Hyper threading(8 threads instead of 4 because of the 4 cores), try to get a hd6950 reference card so you can unlock it to a hd6970
750W is overkill unless you go crossfire.
AMD Radeon HD 6950 to HD 6970 Mod | techPowerUp
http://ark.intel.com/products/52214/...Cache-3_40-GHz)

The ram frequency (mhz) doesn't really give you any performance increase unless you happen to be doing some kind of heavy calculations.. so just go with the cheapest if you want to save a few bucks.

[Jamie]

Thanks for the help guys. Going to wait for some more opinions and make my decision!

Why go for a spec like that and skimp on the HD?

I already have a few hard drives in this computer, and some externals that will carry all my movies and shit.

[Hejula]

If you really do want 6 cores, you could get the Intel i7 980X which has 6 cores, 12 threads. Details below;

http://intel.ly/pKigk3

[MapleWTF]

If you really do want 6 cores, you could get the Intel i7 980X which has 6 cores, 12 threads. Details below;

http://intel.ly/pKigk3

However that's a bit pricey compared to the 2600k which is about 80% cheaper.

AnandTech - Bench - CPU You can see benchmarks there (just change the processors you want to compare)

[Rishwin]

Absolutely nothing you have mentioned justifies getting the i7.

My recommendation is an i5 2500k sitting at $100 cheaper than the i7. If you want to splurge money then go ahead, but you will not get 1% of extra "performance" out of the i7 than you would the i5.

Also only the 2GB 6950's can be unlocked to 6970's, so if that's something you're wanting to do then make sure you get that. But i wouldn't even bother flashing it, it's fast enough as it is.

Wow, there are so many people in this thread just talking out of their assholes... completely fucking clueless yet still think they are in a position to give advice...

[cycoextreme]

ummm, ok i dont know why this was moved to the repair bay, its not a repair question, its a build question

and im with rish on this, i7 is useless, i5 if you want performace is the way to go, if you are on a budget, get an AMD x4-x6, on an i5 with a decent cooler you can get the same performance from a stock i7

[Jamie]

Thanks for the information guys. It's between the i5 and the i7. I'll update when I get it.

[.Yoss.]

As for the new AMD bulldozer cpus all the bench marks ive read suggest the i5-2500k cpu (a very overclockable cpu) is as good as it.

Those benchmarks you read are probably false. So it could turn out to be worse or better than the 2500k but if I were to build something right now I would play it safe and go with the 2500k. Also about the overclockability of the bulldozer chip; 'Bulldozer' chip sets world record -- with help of liquid Nitrogen - CNN

[.Yoss.]

Update: Bulldozer FX benches have been released, these are some of the best results I've seen, unfortunately




There's more to it though, there seems to be something strange about the results shown by hardwareheaven and tomshardware in its f1(and other games) benchmarks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...x,3043-19.html
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...w-f1-2011.html