What Desktops To buy - AMD Vs Intel

[glennda]

Its that time of year - just had my alocation of money given to me and i have to decide what spec to buy.

last year we purchased Intel Core I3 540 3.06ghz CPU, Intel Dh55tc Mobo, 4 Gb (2 x 2gb ram), Samsung 160Gb HDD.

What i want to know is whats the difference realistically between AMD and Intel?

I'm currently thinking something like
Intel I5 (although not sure which model), Intel Board, 4GB Ram, 160gb drives

Would there be a noticeable amount of increase in speed with a SSD? or is it not worth the extra cost for classroom pc's?

[jamesfed]

Were pushing on with Thin Clients (Intel atom in the client and AMD Opteron in the server) and AMD Fusion based PCs with solid states - already got a fair mix of the two.

The thing I personaly like about our fusion PCs (Zotac Zbox AD02s) is their tiny size and they site (speed wise) nicely between Atom and i3 while still delivering the graphics power of a larger PC.
SSDs are a must as well for us now - 64Gb sits around £100 and makes up about 1/3 of the total cost of the machine.

[Millgate]

Hi glennda,

Just a thought, but we can provide you with some trial units so you can compare for yourself. Are there any inparticular desktops you are looking at?

Thanks

Luke

[glennda]

Hi glennda,

Just a thought, but we can provide you with some trial units so you can compare for yourself. Are there any inparticular desktops you are looking at?

Thanks

Luke

I'm going to be looking at custom builds - that the next stage in plan I'm just deciding what to trial!

@jamesfed As for thin clients its a bit of a no go as we don't have the server infrastructure to support 240 thin clients! plus i have over 700 more which i would need the server room a size of a classroom to support (i've looked before but license cost is huge!)

[Millgate]

No worries. Let me know if I can help

Cheers

[j17sparky]

Obviously depending on what you are using them for but; imo SSDs increase performance far more than a faster CPU or RAM to spare. As long as the CPU is up to the task I'd go for SSDs. Personally in your case I'd look at i3 with SSDs over i5 with standard HDs.

[glennda]

Obviously depending on what you are using them for but; imo SSDs increase performance far more than a faster CPU or RAM to spare. As long as the CPU is up to the task I'd go for SSDs. Personally in your case I'd look at i3 with SSDs over i5 with standard HDs.

That is what i was thinking - also does anybody know what the CS5 suite is like once installed in HDD size? As this is one thing i will be looking to purchase as if it is stupidly large then 64gb ssds are out the window!

[j17sparky]

That is what i was thinking - also does anybody know what the CS5 suite is like once installed in HDD size? As this is one thing i will be looking to purchase as if it is stupidly large then 64gb ssds are out the window!

It's stupidly large. Which apps will you be using? Most of the actual apps are fairly small, its the content thats the killer.

[glennda]

It's stupidly large. Which apps will you be using? Most of the actual apps are fairly small, its the content thats the killer.

i don't know yet! its something i want to go to next year/year after but if these machines are in the rooms until 2014 they need to be able to cope!

[PeteHopton]

I am an AMD Fan, but the AMD desktop offering is nowhere near that of the Intel. AMD servers based on the 6100 chips are awesome value for money.

This year you only want to get sandy bridge i3 i5 or i7, or if you're strapped for cash there are some new 'g-series' sandy bridge pentiums. Forget about discrete graphics, the new GPU on die will do everything you will want it to.

Spec with 4 or even 8 gb of RAM, as it's cheap right now. Spec in a 'hybrid' HDD, effectively a normal 320gb HDD with 4 gb of SLC SSD cache in front of it.

Depending on where you are based in the UK, additional funding may be available from the carbon trust or local authorities if you pick an energy saving model - have a look for the energy saving trusts 'energy saving reccommended'.

[RTFM]

I'm going to be looking at custom builds - that the next stage in plan I'm just deciding what to trial!

I'd seriously recommend having a look at the new VeryPC offerings. The new cases really are bullet proof and the spec / price is strong in comparison to competitors.

I'm sure they'll offer trial units (or send someone with some for you to have a look at?).

[PeteHopton]

If anyone is interested, best bet is to contact one of VeryPCs resellers like @Millgate or drop VeryPC a line by the website and they will work with you to find a reseller.

[localzuk]

I was going to personally be buying AMD, until I double checked my figures and found out that an i5 2400 + mobo + ram came in at £30 more than a phenom II x6, and that performance went up by about 1000 points in PC Mark.

As others have said, Intel is currently the way to go for desktops.

[Millgate]

If anyone is interested, best bet is to contact one of VeryPCs resellers like @Millgate or drop VeryPC a line by the website and they will work with you to find a reseller.

We work with Very PC as well as everyone else so if anyone needs any info, please feel free to get in touch.

Cheers

Luke