Best CPU and other hardware for its price in 2012?
I was thinking is it better to get an old used Dual Core 2 over the modern day i3s?
I bought an AMD 64 X2 including monitor and Geforce Nvidia for only $80 :) How much faster is the i3's over the older generation dual cores? Also what type of CPU would you guys recommend for a good Linux Workstation + Multimedia (1080p)? I noticed that DDR2 Ram costs more then DDR3! :( Which is bad thing to get in an old computer. Having to pay more for something twice as slow! |
i3
Athlon 64 X2 Looking at these pages, I notice the key differences being die size and frequency. The i3 offers a larger frequency (depending on the one you buy) and it offers a 32nm die. The Athlon X2 offers a lower frequency (depending on the one you buy) and offers a (minimum) of a 65nm die. The larger the die size, the more power the processor consumes. Die info Also, speed info Alex Brinister |
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There is also the caches. The i3 comes with a 3MB L3 cache (some with 4), while the smallest and most updated Athlons come with 2MB L3 cache.
Specs on i3 models. Alex Brinister |
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It also isn't true that the larger the die size, the more power the processor consumes - if you turn down the clock speed, which generally you can do, the power goes down, but the die size stays the same. Quote:
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If buying a new mobo is possibly a good solution, you could buy anything, and in that case an Athlon X2 probably wouldn't be anyone's first choice (either the last of the Phenoms, probably with a higher core count, or a Bulldozer; for some people the FM1 series with integrated graphics might also be an option, but that seems like a dead end right now with the Trinity/Piledriver/FM2 parts coming along in a couple months, and, presumably, when that happens, the FM1 series will see no further development). That said, I'd probably be taking my money to Intel, in spite of the higher costs (on average) of mobos, these days Intel's low end parts do a cracking job, and it is difficult to argue for AMD, unless you have some kind of principled objection to giving Intel any money. AMD does need some successful new parts, and soon. |
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Alex Brinister |
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As for the desktop statement because I don't worry about power consumption as much as I would on a laptop. |
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