Another Processor thread!!!

OK folks, I've done a search, I've even spoken to the mighty DosBox, but I'm still in a bit of a quandry.

My main machine at home needs a better engine under the bonnet (Currently on a P4).

My options are (ranked in order of cheapness!!):

1) By a Core2Duo (probably e8400) to swap out, keep all other bits (Foxconn MoBo) £110
2) Upgrade Mobo, CPU and RAM to Phenom X4 (prob the 955), and new DDR3 RAM £250-£300ish
3) Upgrade Mobo CPU, and RAM to i5 £350-£400

So, bang for buck terms what's your thoughts?

The machine is used to multitrack audio mix down (CuBase); basic video work (although HiDef) with Premiere elements, and the usual email, office type apps.

Hit me!!!

I'd go i5.

especially the kind of work you want it for, you should see a marked improvement. The benches for the new chipsets look great Intel Core i5-750 Processor BX80605I5750 | Intel Core i5-750,BX80605I5750,Lynnfield,LGA1156,CPU,Proocessor, Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield LGA1156 CPU Benchmark Performance Test Processor Review | Benchmark Reviews: Performance Computer Hardware Tests an

AM2 Platform and that Phenom II 955. You wont get better value for money from that, and the 955 is marginally more comparable than the i5 at default factory clocks.

C2D's are still alive and running well, would you honestly get dual core, when quad is so available to you?

If it were me? and I had the money, I'd have the i5 platform (overclocked naturally), dont forget the i5 has a built in graphics processor, not on the board, in the processor. So could be quite handy.

I would go for the i5 personally. You can clock it higher if you want too and it will last longer than the AMD. However the AMD at base speed is marginally better on benchtesting, and I mean marginally.

Damn you all!!! Here's me hoping for a cheap wonder chip!!;)

Seriously though, thanks for the feedback so far.

Agreed, if your budget can stretch to £400 then an i5-750 is the best option.

The new Core i3 might also be another possibility as you could get a mobo,ram and that processor for around about £250


As an aside I'd be surprised if you could upgrade from a Pentium to a Core2Duo chip and still keep the same motherboard? IIRC correctly the socket's are the same so it would physically fit but the voltages are different so it won't actually work? If you can as others have suggested mayble looking at something like a Core2quad Q9400 might be the best bang-per-buck option.

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Originally Posted by Domino

I'd go i5.

especially the kind of work you want it for, you should see a marked improvement. The benches for the new chipsets look great Intel Core i5-750 Processor BX80605I5750 | Intel Core i5-750,BX80605I5750,Lynnfield,LGA1156,CPU,Proocessor, Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield LGA1156 CPU Benchmark Performance Test Processor Review | Benchmark Reviews: Performance Computer Hardware Tests an

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Thanks Mike. I told him to go for an i5 when I talked to him the other day. I just think he's being cheap! C'mon Rick, you've got the money. Core 2's are soooo dead now anyway.

*I am in no way tryign to influence his decision so that I can get a look at an i5 in action before getting one for my media PC.

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Originally Posted by nephilim

I would go for the i5 personally. You can clock it higher if you want too and it will last longer than the AMD. However the AMD at base speed is marginally better on benchtesting, and I mean marginally.

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Define: Intel i5 "lasting longer" than the AMD 955.

I still have my 6400 BE Dual Core AMD. Overvolted to 1.55v and clocked at 3.76Ghz, been running like that for the last three years and has yet to fail me.

Im supprised its lasted this long with what you are asking of it! My Core2 E6750 is starting to show its limitations when im using Reason4.

Got to be the i5. Plus then you can turn it into a hackintosh and use logic ;)

I can't remember the exact FoxConn model at the mo, but it was a recommended in PCPro a few years back, and I got it because it was a socket 775 board and supported Core2Duo chips.

On the i5 front I guess I'll have to look at saving up some pennies. If I go that route it'll have to be 64bit Windows 7 as well.

I'll have to tell Tiny Tim there'll be no Xmas this year.:D

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Originally Posted by Drummer_Boy

I can't remember the exact FoxConn model at the mo, but it was a recommended in PCPro a few years back, and I got it because it was a socket 775 board and supported Core2Duo chips.

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It may not support the 45nm E8xxx series, best check that. Certainly not without a BIOS update anyway.

I have an i5-750. I've overclocked it to 3.2GHz using the overclocking tools that come with the motherboard. I also bought mine when 1600MHz DDR3 was a little cheaper, and got me some GSkill 4GB 8-8-8-24 dual beauties for about £65. I was previously running a C2D E6550, and the difference (in games, mainly) was staggering. I was playing a lot of counter strike source at the time, and even with keeping the same graphics card (8800GT) I quite literally had a 100% improvement in framerate.

Fact is, the i5-750 is better for multi-threaded work (such as video) by virtue of its architecture, and you can overclock it quite thoroughly with a decent cooler.

Problem is, the Intel package as a whole can come to quite a bit more than the AMD system, and the difference isn't enormous. Although I'll admit that I would have preferred an i5 when I rebuilt back in November, the cost of the P55 motherboards in particular put the price far beyond that of the Phenom II even though the processors weren't massively dissimilar in price. The RAM can be a little more for the Intel as well due to the need for the voltage to be within certain limits (because of the onboard memory controller).

Basically you're going to have to look through a load of i5-750 reviews, consider the results on the benchmarks that are important to you (compare to the Phenom II X4 965 if necessary, the results will not be much higher over the 955 and you can overclock the 955 to stock 965 levels quite easily with the included cooler) and decide if the performance difference is worth the increased cost.

For what it's worth, I <3 my X4 965, Photoshop runs like a dream and gaming is a beautiful thing to behold.

Some good stuff in here.

For what I'm looking at I can get a i5 MB with built in graphics for less than a AM3 MB and an extra graphics card.

That might balance up the monies somewhat!!

Good point on the processor core type, I'll check the FoxComm manual tonight and see.

If your editing video, in no way should you be using on-board graphics.

i5 really is the safe bet though.