New PC?

[fotovandenatuur]

I have a Dell windows pc P4, 1600mhz. I'm testing a new PC right now with a Intel dualcore 2,66 D805 processor. 1gb of memory. I'm doubting to go for the heaviest Core Duo processor.

I'm running lightroom and paintshop pro (I expect to run photoshop in the future). It runs on the D805 but my question is: Is it better to pospone a bit and save the extra money and go for the dual core?

Any suggestions are welcome!

thanks
Rob

[feppe]

I have a Dell windows pc P4, 1600mhz. I'm testing a new PC right now with a Intel dualcore 2,66 D805 processor. 1gb of memory. I'm doubting to go for the heaviest Core Duo processor.

I'm running lightroom and paintshop pro (I expect to run photoshop in the future). It runs on the D805 but my question is: Is it better to pospone a bit and save the extra money and go for the dual core?

Any suggestions are welcome!

thanks
Rob
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=108561\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The thing with computers is that you can always wait for a bit more and get better, faster and cheaper products.

What has worked for me in the 20+ years I've worked with PCs - and practically my whole life with computers - is to buy the 2nd best product level at any one time. If you buy the best and the latest, there are some problems:

- it's relatively more expensive than the 2nd best - law of diminishing returns
- newest products might and often do have driver issues, or might even not work well and will be phased out. 2nd-best products have been around for some time so they're safer in that regard

What I do is I postpone any upgrade until it is necessary and get the above, 2nd-best product. The only time it is prudent to wait for a bit longer is when there is an obvious tech jump. Right now it is Vista, as for example video card manufacturers have not caught up with it, yet. So if you want a video card which works with Vista well, I'd wait for a few months if at all possible.

As for processors, I don't know if there are any tech advances announced that will go live soon. But as said, you will surely get a faster and cheaper processor in a few months.

[Christopher]

Ok I have two workstations here. One with a Intel C2D with a 6700er CPU, 4GB Ram, 2 graphic cards and it's running on Windows XP Prof 64bit.

The second one has an Intel C2D 6300 CPU which is overclocked to 2,8Ghz, 2GB Ram and windows XP Prof.

Now for your question I would now always go with a Intel C2D. Why ? Because it is the future... why investing in something old ? The C2D is certainly a LOT fatser than any other P4. The P4 generation is dying and not woth any money. Even the smalles 6300 for 200 crushes your D805 easily. It always depends on the Money available, but I would certainly go for a C2D and min. 2GB Ram.

[gorosh]

C2D is definitely way to go. You can get fro example E4300 + Gigabyte P965 DS3 for ridiculously small amount of money, an you can easily OC E4300 over 3.6GHz (it's stock speed is 1.8GHz, so you're looking at 100% OC). Since E4300 has higher multiplier than E6300, 9X, it's enough to have FSB 400 (for 3.6GHz - 400 x 9), meaning that you can have your ram at 800MHz in 1:1 ratio with FSB. Overclocking C2D system is dead easy, and it would really be a sin not to overclock them (you can even get nice OC without tempering with voltages).

As for which model - I really wouldn't advise you to buy "first in the line" processor, since you always pay extremely high premium for such products  - sometimes they cost twice as much as one of the processor lower in the same line, but have only 5-10% performance advantage.

I'd say go for either E4300 / E6300 or E6600 (I have E6600 on Asus P5W DH Deluxe and it's a pure bliss). Such system will last you for long time, especially if you're only into 2D graphics / photo editing.

[fotovandenatuur]

Thanks for your answers! It's really helpful.

I have decided to go for C2D, probably the 4300 because of budget.

Rob

[fotovandenatuur]

C2D is definitely way to go. You can get fro example E4300 + Gigabyte P965 DS3 for ridiculously small amount of money, an you can easily OC E4300 over 3.6GHz (it's stock speed is 1.8GHz, so you're looking at 100% OC). Since E4300 has higher multiplier than E6300, 9X, it's enough to have FSB 400 (for 3.6GHz - 400 x 9), meaning that you can have your ram at 800MHz in 1:1 ratio with FSB. Overclocking C2D system is dead easy, and it would really be a sin not to overclock them (you can even get nice OC without tempering with voltages).

As for which model - I really wouldn't advise you to buy "first in the line" processor, since you always pay extremely high premium for such products  - sometimes they cost twice as much as one of the processor lower in the same line, but have only 5-10% performance advantage.

I'd say go for either E4300 / E6300 or E6600 (I have E6600 on Asus P5W DH Deluxe and it's a pure bliss). Such system will last you for long time, especially if you're only into 2D graphics / photo editing.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=108956\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thank you Gorosh. Probably the overclocking Í won't do yet. It's a bit to technical for me (I think;-)  )

[fotovandenatuur]

I have the following offer from a local store:

Atx Midi tower
Intel Coconut Creek   
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 (2*1,86 Ghz)   
FCPGA fan   
1024 Mb   
250 Gb   
Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (256 Mb)   
5.1 channel surround   
Nee   
Samsung    
XP   
Intel Pro 10/100   
Acer 17" TFT   
Nee   
Norton internet security   

Total 768,- euro.

Any suggestions for improvement?

[fotovandenatuur]

I think I found a better offer on alternate.nl (I would also update to 2Gb)

Behuizing      
Type    Procase Zirco   
5,25 inch, extern    2 bay(s)   
3,5 inch, extern    2 bay(s)   
3,5 inch, intern    2 bay(s)   
Formaat (BxHxD)    180 x 400 x 420 mm   
Voeding    350 Watt   

Processor      
Type    Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300   
Snelheid    1.866 MHz   
Bussnelheid    1.066 MHz   

Geheugen      
Totaal capaciteit    1.024 MB   
Aantal modules    2   
Type    DDR2   

Grafisch      
Chipset    NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS   
Interface    PCIe x16   
Geheugen    256 MB   
Aansluitingen    1x DVI-I, 1x VGA 1x TV-Out   

Moederbord      
Chipset    Intel® 945G   
Aansluitingen    1x IDE, 4x SATA, 1x Floppy, 1x PCIe x16, 1x PCIe x1, 2x PCI, 1x PS/2 muis , 1x PS/2 keyboard, 1x serieel, 1x parallel, 4x USB2.0, 1x RJ-45, 1x VGA, 3 x audio jacks (Line In / Line Out / MIC In)   

Netwerk      
10/100/1000 Mbps   

Optische drives      
16x DVD±R/RW DL Brander   

Harddisk      
Harddisk 1 250 GB ( 8,9 ms / 8 MB Cache / 7200 rpm / S-ATA2 )   

Overige hardware      
Cardreader: CF-I, CF-II, SM, MMC, SD, MD, MS, MS-Pro   

Gewicht      
14 kg   

Software      
Windows Vista Home Premium. Voorgeïnstalleerd: Roxio Creator Suite   

Opmerking      
Bij deze pc wordt niet meegeleverd:    toetsenbord, muis, monitor, printer, scanner   

Garantieperiode      
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