Looking for upgrade recommendations

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

My present system is
Foxconn P45A-S MB
Intel E8400 3.0 GHz dual core cpu
8 GB Gskill DDR2 1066 (4 x 2 GB)
GIGABYTE GV-NX96T512HP (GeGorce 9600 GT 512 MB) Video Card
with 2 Samsung Syncmaster BX2431 monitors
The system presently has 1 120 GB SSD and 3 1 TB 7200 drives. with 2
in a RAID-0 config.

I'm looking to update this system. The present limitation seems to be
the CPU, with a Windows performance rating of 6.6. System ratings
range from that to a max of 7.4 for the SSD (the boot drive).

The Foxconn MB has developed some issues... the PCI express x 1 slots
don't work with a PCI express SATA card that works fine in another
computer, and the sound system died about a year ago. So I'm thinking
to update to a more modern MB, something supporting a LGA 1155 CPU
type.

I don't do gaming, so I'll probably keep the graphics card which seems
to serve my purposes fine. (no noise since it's fanless) I do handle
some very large database files, (Access and Filepro) and do a lot of
Photoshop work and some video editing.

I'd like for the new system to be rock-solid... not interested in
overclocking, and want a pretty quiet system. I'll probably go with
twice as much memory this time, probably 4 x 4GB modules.

I'd like a recommendation on a MB and CPU... will probably want to
stay with Intel for the CPU unless there's a good option for an AMD
system. I don't have a clue as to the advantage of an i7 over an i5
CPU, nor within each which model to consider.

 

[Paul]

My present system is
Foxconn P45A-S MB
Intel E8400 3.0 GHz dual core cpu
8 GB Gskill DDR2 1066 (4 x 2 GB)
GIGABYTE GV-NX96T512HP (GeGorce 9600 GT 512 MB) Video Card
with 2 Samsung Syncmaster BX2431 monitors
The system presently has 1 120 GB SSD and 3 1 TB 7200 drives. with 2
in a RAID-0 config.

I'm looking to update this system. The present limitation seems to be
the CPU, with a Windows performance rating of 6.6. System ratings
range from that to a max of 7.4 for the SSD (the boot drive).

The Foxconn MB has developed some issues... the PCI express x 1 slots
don't work with a PCI express SATA card that works fine in another
computer, and the sound system died about a year ago. So I'm thinking
to update to a more modern MB, something supporting a LGA 1155 CPU
type.

I don't do gaming, so I'll probably keep the graphics card which seems
to serve my purposes fine. (no noise since it's fanless) I do handle
some very large database files, (Access and Filepro) and do a lot of
Photoshop work and some video editing.

I'd like for the new system to be rock-solid... not interested in
overclocking, and want a pretty quiet system. I'll probably go with
twice as much memory this time, probably 4 x 4GB modules.

I'd like a recommendation on a MB and CPU... will probably want to
stay with Intel for the CPU unless there's a good option for an AMD
system. I don't have a clue as to the advantage of an i7 over an i5
CPU, nor within each which model to consider.

(Benchmarks - benchmark type suited for picking Photoshop or video editing computers...)

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

Some examples.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
http://ark.intel.com/products/52214/Intel-Core-i7-2600K-Processor-(8M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz)

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W $325
Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K

* 32 nm Sandy Bridge
* 4 x 256KB L2 Cache
* 8MB L3 Cache
* Series: Core i7
# of Cores 4
# of Threads 8 <--- i.e. Hyperthreading

Intel Core i7-2600K @ 3.40GHz 9,095 Passmarks <--- benefits from Hyperthreading

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
http://ark.intel.com/products/52210/Intel-Core-i5-2500K-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_70-GHz)

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W $220
Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

* 32 nm Sandy Bridge
* 4 x 256KB L2 Cache
* 6MB L3 Cache
* Series: Core i5
# of Cores 4
# of Threads 4

Intel Core i5-2500K @ 3.30GHz 6,745 Passmarks

The problem with that (LGA1155) is, finding a decent motherboard for it. Too
many different designs have "boot loop" problem. So the Newegg customer
reviews prevented me from picking one. I'd probably pick one with Z68
chipset, if I could find a board without issues. Intel has chased out
all the competing chipset makers, so you can only get Intel chipsets.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4456/sandy-bridge-buyers-guide/2

The Chipsets: H61, H67, P67, and Z68

H67 no CPU multiplier overclocking (for K series)
supports GPU overclocking
Intel’s Quick Sync (video acceleration), as motherboard has onboard video connectors

P67 support for CPU multiplier overclocking (for K series)
no support of on-die graphics, no onboard video connectors, and
no Quick Sync as the HD3000 GPU only does Quicksync if effectively a monitor is connected.

Z68 does it all, CPU multiplier, GPU overclock, QuickSync, has onboard video connector
support. All subject to the CPU actually having a GPU inside (HD3000 or HD2000).

*******
I did not pick LGA1366 or LGA2011 solutions, as they'd raise the price a bit.
LGA1366 is triple channel RAM, and LGA2011 is quad channel RAM. The LGA1155 is dual channel.

*******

Now, on the AMD side, the latest thing is Zambezi. (AMD has Llano APU chips on FM1 socket,
but they stop at around $139 and don't have as much horsepower. APU = CPU side + GPU side.)
So Zambezi is about the best they have.

AMD FX-8150 Zambezi 3.6GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor $250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960

Core Zambezi
Multi-Core - Eight-Core (actually 4 core, with a better kind of hyperthreading)
Name FX-8150
Operating Frequency 3.6GHz
L2 Cache 8MB
L3 Cache 8MB

AMD FX-8150 Eight-Core 8,264 Passmarks <--- that's why it is $250, better than 2500K
from a stock benchmark perspective

Picture of cores, with certain part of each core replicated. Looks like 4 cores visually.

http://wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AMD_Bulldozer_8-core1.jpg

One nice thing about AMD, is you can find cheaper motherboards if you want. $90

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767

You have to spend a *lot* more time analyzing these boards, than I did
when copy/pasting the above. The problem is, when some of these boards
come with USB3 ports, they use "third-rate" USB3 controllers. As
far as I know, the NEC one was OK, but the other ones have had a
few issues. Same goes for sound chips - some seem to have a few
issues. And using bad LAN NIC chip choices on the motherboard, is another
problem. (Asus has had a few, where they burn out after several weeks of
usage. And some NIC chips have higher CPU usage under high load, so when
you're transferring data at 117MB/sec to another computer over GbE link,
one of the cores on your processor will be humming.)

Detailed analysis for all manner of defects, takes a lot of time.
The customer reviews just help with the obvious stuff, like a lack of
QC or robust design.

Paul

 

[Flasherly]

My present system is
Foxconn P45A-S MB
Intel E8400 3.0 GHz dual core cpu
8 GB Gskill DDR2 1066 (4 x 2 GB)
GIGABYTE GV-NX96T512HP (GeGorce 9600 GT 512 MB) Video Card
with 2 Samsung Syncmaster BX2431 monitors
The system presently has 1 120 GB SSD and 3 1 TB 7200 drives. with 2
in a RAID-0 config.

I'm looking to update this system. The present limitation seems to be
the CPU, with a Windows performance rating of 6.6. System ratings
range from that to a max of 7.4 for the SSD (the boot drive).

The Foxconn MB has developed some issues... the PCI express x 1 slots
don't work with a PCI express SATA card that works fine in another
computer, and the sound system died about a year ago. So I'm thinking
to update to a more modern MB, something supporting a LGA 1155 CPU
type.

I don't do gaming, so I'll probably keep the graphics card which seems
to serve my purposes fine. (no noise since it's fanless) I do handle
some very large database files, (Access and Filepro) and do a lot of
Photoshop work and some video editing.

I'd like for the new system to be rock-solid... not interested in
overclocking, and want a pretty quiet system. I'll probably go with
twice as much memory this time, probably 4 x 4GB modules.

I'd like a recommendation on a MB and CPU... will probably want to
stay with Intel for the CPU unless there's a good option for an AMD
system. I don't have a clue as to the advantage of an i7 over an i5
CPU, nor within each which model to consider.

Foxconn. Nothing really against a better system, but while looking
over P4 builds I'd picked out Intel boards. Basic spare system to
kick around in case of need for a backup. New Intel MB and a pulled
P4. Problem is, since last visiting, evidently I didn't act fast
enough and they're stocked now with ... Foxconn, Biostar, and a
likes. At the premium end, sure, there's a few ASUS, maybe a MSI.
$50 and more MBs in outdated configs. These days, without looking in
much detail, MBs are big bucks in a quality config -- after hitting
the gamer and hardware sites for reputability reviews. Not much less
likely than $100 for more along $200 for premium features.

This is a gigabyte and my other is asus. Might be tempted to go a
gigabyte again were I buying new stock, though. Used to be an ASUS
man. Those other names I don't fully trust. But I put the emphasis
on longevity. Fixed a corrupted Windows OS on a system I built for
someone this week. It's an Athlon chipped (not slotted) at 1.2Mhz.
Told him it's amazing for being over 10 years old (only had to replace
a failed 80M Seagate, so far) -- 'Why,' he told me, 'I don't need it
for anything more than an hour or two a day on a 56K Supra connection
for $4 monthly access rates.' 'What are you trying to tell me -- it's
going to break?'

Last time I opened it, I couldn't even find an accumulated layer dirt
from the fans. Some things, I guess, there's just no answer for. I
did, however, think to mention to him I might brag about it. He's not
big into computers, so that make an impression, either.