Help me choose between...

[Borand]

This

or

This

I'm really not up to speed on the performance differences between the most recent Intel/Amd processors so would appreciate it if someone could fill me in a bit please and let me know if the 200 pound price difference is justifiable

 

[Imgormiel]

This

or

This

I'm really not up to speed on the performance differences between the most recent Intel/Amd processors so would appreciate it if someone could fill me in a bit please and let me know if the 200 pound price difference is justifiable

Neither, you are going to replace most of those parts in a matter of months anyway. And seriously on the Intel one, 430w PSU???!!!! ROFL....no!!

But if you are forced to then take the Intel one. There was a review of that processor on Gamespy iirc, been trying to find the link but so far can't. Nice processor but that package needs more love. You can't seriously buy a new pc at that price and expect it to be the dogs bollocks - well, Thadius might

 

[Kami]

As Imgormiel has said the Intel is the better CPU but both of them have fairly weak packages. Personally i'd look elsewhere, you need a MUCH better power supply for starters and you could probably get everything at a much higher spec for £50 more elsewhere.

 

[Imgormiel]

As Imgormiel has said the Intel is the better CPU but both of them have fairly weak packages. Personally i'd look elsewhere, you need a MUCH better power supply for starters and you could probably get everything at a much higher spec for £50 more elsewhere.

But still, you have to be careful. I seriously wouldn't spend anything less than £600 for a cheap comp and probably more like £1,000 for the top end of the scale without going nuts.

 

[Cromcruaich]

Looks ok, and ive no problem with picking up bargains. Its reasonable coz you are not paying for bundled OS.

Additionally nothing wrong with PSU, quality is much more important than that top line wattage, the current crop of chips are actually less power hungry than the old Athlons - they supply it with that PSU, simply email them with the graphics card you plan to use and get them to say it will provide enough power.

The intel one is a very good system, that processor is the lowest price 4mb l2 cache core2duo, and is a step up from the E6300 and E6400.

Only reason i'd not buy a system at the moment is because i'd want to wait for the cheap DX10 compatible graphics cards, but if you already have a card spare, then yea, looks fine.

Would want an extra 1gb of RAM though.

Finally what i'd do is just go to a site like microdirect, ebuyer or scan and see how much you can get the components for seperately.

 

[Cromcruaich]

The question of is the price difference justifiable is down to what you want to do with the PC, and your own personality. The core2duo is the superior chip at the moment, but if you are buying a PC to play DAOC on at rez of say 1280x1024 then well, both systems will do it for you equally as well. Now if you think you'll be pushing the thing later by wanting to play recent games at 1600x1200, and it gets under your skin that you cant turn on that 8x antialiasing and still get 40 fps, then maybe the second option would be best.

 

[Cromcruaich]

Having just done a bit of site surfing, it does look about £50-75 overpriced, but you are paying for the testing and assembly.

 

[Imgormiel]

Looks ok, and ive no problem with picking up bargains. Its reasonable coz you are not paying for bundled OS.

Additionally nothing wrong with PSU, quality is much more important than that top line wattage, the current crop of chips are actually less power hungry than the old Athlons - they supply it with that PSU, simply email them with the graphics card you plan to use and get them to say it will provide enough power.

The intel one is a very good system, that processor is the lowest price 4mb l2 cache core2duo, and is a step up from the E6300 and E6400.

Only reason i'd not buy a system at the moment is because i'd want to wait for the cheap DX10 compatible graphics cards, but if you already have a card spare, then yea, looks fine.

Would want an extra 1gb of RAM though.

Finally what i'd do is just go to a site like microdirect, ebuyer or scan and see how much you can get the components for seperately.

True that with regard to some old AMD systems, but with having the dogs bollocks ie wanting to run 2x vid cards, sound card, nice set of fans/cooler etc then you will want something at least 500w which you can get for around £35 with PSU installed into a nice snazzy black case. Some suggest 750w which I saw on a recent review on Gamespy, and that system, although not running quad core processor but the processor mentioned here in this thread, was still the dogs bollocks and I could see that it was built to last.

But if someone wants a mobile cheap running system for nothing in particular then sure I would recommend it to someone who just wanted a pc for home use as an office or something

 

[Cromcruaich]

Way things are, we should all be seriously looking at what power we burn on our PC's - is it really a sensible choice to go for a whopping great powersupply, then stick on two top end gcards just to get some more fps in a computer game?

 

[Imgormiel]

I agree with this issue, it makes environmental, economic and priority sense for the user as the software market lags miles behind the hardware market and has done since 2002.

The trouble is there is this big RnD (research and development) that just goes on and on pushing the limits of computers to see how far and long the edge of it is. And until that stops (not likely in the near or distant future) people will always want the best or near to best. And ofc the software will always be around to explore those new boundaries. It's not just the fps though Crom, it's also the overall performance and peeps want the best.

Although I do agree with your overall assessment

 

[Cromcruaich]

Aye, lukily ive been able to avoid the ever continuing quest for more PC performace from playing daoc - ive not had to upgrade for years coz its all ive played.

Also made the decision to scale down to one itx based server. Not sure what to do about next PC, I will certainly go for a quite and small form factor one, but also want to cut down on the juice it uses, but still I want to be able to play the latest FPS games if I quit daoc.

 

[Coolan]

having skipped over alot of the chat, im running 2 7800gt's amd 4000+ 3hd's 2cd's on a 430w psu, its not all about the power but also the quality of it, although the psu did set me back £80