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Question

Intel or other?

Feb 4, 2013 12:13AM PST

I am planning on building a desktop computer and am now in the process of doing research. Back in the late 90s I built my first computer and used an Asus mobo. Then in 2003 I built another computer which I am currently still using. (Processor - 2.40 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4, 8 kilobyte primary memory cache, 512 kilobyte secondary memory cache, Not hyper-threaded. - Main Circuit Board - Board: Intel Corporation D845PESV AAA97671-107, Bus Clock: 133 megahertz). It has not given me any problems and is still running practically like new. Since I have had such good luck with this combination of Intel Mobo and Processor I really would like to continue with an Intel set up, obviously their newest products. I am also aware that Asus makes a very good Mobo and so far my research does not rate Intel's Mobo very highly. I also read that Intel will stop making desktop Mobos in 2017. I am also aware that just because I had good luck with Intel's older product is no guarantee that I will have that kind of luck with their newest products. I am in a quandary and would appreciate your input on motherboards and CPUs.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Personally I'd be fine with either
Feb 4, 2013 12:34AM PST

I think Dell uses Intel mobos, but 2017 is 4 years off, so I wouldn't be bothered about Asus. I use mostly Intel CPUs, but I've got a 5 year old laptop and a 4 year old desktop with AMD CPUs that're still running fine, so I don't think you'd go wrong with either one. The AMD CPUs are certainly cheaper. I think I'd be at least as careful about power supplies as I would be about mobos and CPUs.

Good luck.

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In Regard to power supplies
Feb 4, 2013 7:05AM PST

Beside the more obvious like wattage, brand, compatibility, etc. What is your take on modular vs the more standard type? Modular allows for better airflow but I would assume that there is some loss in "power" when using a connector. I lean toward the modular, partially for better airflow but also for ease in working with all of the "connections".

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Answer
Here's a quote about CPU choice.
Feb 4, 2013 12:40AM PST

"Our tests demonstrate fairly little difference between a $225 LGA 1155 Core i5-2500K and a $1000 LGA 2011 Core i7-3960X, even when three-way graphics card configurations are involved. It turns out that memory bandwidth and PCIe throughput don't hold back the performance of existing Sandy Bridge-based machines. "
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-4.html

So for the money you can get an i5 less than that and it will keep the video more than happy.

For the video card, I like this list. Even the first cards are far beyond what many machines have which does not make a lot of sense since the card at the bottom of this list isn't that much.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

For a motherboard, long ago tomshardware did a shootout and came away with 2 per cent differences or less in the benchmarks. I'd look at http://www.computershopper.com/components/motherboard and shop around.

Bob

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Thanks Bob
Feb 4, 2013 7:49AM PST

I haven't had a chance to check out the URLs that you posted. Actually, I am in the process of checking the computer shopper one on the top motherboards.

At the present time I don't think I need a really high end motherboard and cpu, although that may change. I can almost guarantee that I will not be doing any gaming, but I do use Adobe's Photo Shop and am planning on doing video editing. So I will need something that can handle that.

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Then pick off the bottom of the list.
Feb 4, 2013 9:15AM PST

It's blazing fast compared to low end you see in "gaming" desktops. Even the ATI 5450 1GB card is a sleeper low end card that runs only 20 or 30 bucks yet you see folk pay twice that for a lesser card.
Bob