Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, JustAnEngineer
flip-mode wrote:Couple of points:
1. your situation is one of the rare ones in which an AMD X6 CPU might be the best choice -
Voldenuit wrote:flip-mode wrote:Couple of points:
1. your situation is one of the rare ones in which an AMD X6 CPU might be the best choice -
I disagree. The FX-6100 trailed an i5 2320 by 38% in Photoshop, and an i3-2120 by 12%. It was also slower than the i5 at video encoding. It was also slower than the old Phenom-II X6 1075T in most benchmarks. If the OP can swing the extra $40, the i5-2300 would be his best bet (including future proofing).
Photoshop is one application that works a lot better on intel than AMD at the moment. Since it's a large part of your computing workload, I'd give photoshop benchmark results more consideration in your decision making. there's a case to be made for discrete graphics, but Photoshop GPU acceleration is minimal at the moment, and you can easily add a cheap discrete card at a later date.
flip-mode wrote:Ah, well, scratch the FX 6100, but do take note that I spec'd the 1045T in the primary config. Thoughts on that one?
Anandtech "Bench" shows a 1055T beating a i3 2100 at Phtotshop CS4.
Voldenuit wrote:flip-mode wrote:Ah, well, scratch the FX 6100, but do take note that I spec'd the 1045T in the primary config. Thoughts on that one?
Anandtech "Bench" shows a 1055T beating a i3 2100 at Phtotshop CS4.
Bench reports Photoshop CS4 results in seconds, so the 1055T (20.1s) is slower than the i3 2100 (18.9). The i5 2400 (13.8s) was a whopping 30%+ faster than either.
I believe that the i5 is the most balanced choice for the OP's needs. If he can't afford it, though, he will have to compromise on some aspects:
i3: decent (not great) in photoshop, not good in video encoding.
FX 6100: decent (not great) in photoshop, not good in video encoding (but better than i3, and close to i5)
PhII X6 1075T: not good in Photoshop, pretty good at video encoding (as long as your application scales to 6 cores)
DSMok1 wrote:$135 - Core i3 2105 (HD 3000 Graphics)
I like the HD 3000 graphics--other alternative is to move up to Core i5. Do extra cores help a lot with Excel/R statistics work?
DSMok1 wrote:Total for everything: $850
Any comments?
ludi wrote:From some quick looking around there isn't a better price on a good-quality IPS monitor right now (which you WILL want for doing graphics work), even at a size or two smaller.
Voldenuit wrote:ludi wrote:From some quick looking around there isn't a better price on a good-quality IPS monitor right now (which you WILL want for doing graphics work), even at a size or two smaller.
It's eIPS. So it's still a 6-bit panel. It will have the viewing angles of an IPS panel, but color accuracy and gamut won't be much much better than a TN, and it will have less contrast and slower response times than a TN.
So I think it's an acceptable buy at the price but by no means a steal.
Thatguy wrote:I just got this exact monitor as a replacement for an older TN dell model. It is leaps and bounds better for viewing angles. Color accuracy is mediocre but i can't imagine you will mind unless you do a bunch of photo editing or have work that requires really accurate color reproduction. I also game a lot on it: FPS, RTS, etc. I haven't noticed a major difference compared to my old TN. It's definitely not as fast but i don't have any problems with games. That was my biggest concern with an IPS was the response time and i am glad i don't notice it much.
Voldenuit wrote:Thatguy wrote:I just got this exact monitor as a replacement for an older TN dell model. It is leaps and bounds better for viewing angles. Color accuracy is mediocre but i can't imagine you will mind unless you do a bunch of photo editing or have work that requires really accurate color reproduction. I also game a lot on it: FPS, RTS, etc. I haven't noticed a major difference compared to my old TN. It's definitely not as fast but i don't have any problems with games. That was my biggest concern with an IPS was the response time and i am glad i don't notice it much.
The OP stated that he does a lot of photoshop and wedding photography (which will presumably entail a decent amount of printing).
I don't think it is unsuitable for his needs, but at the same time, it doesn't sound enticing enough that he should run, not walk, to grab it .
ludi wrote:That monitor normally retails at $299, and Dell's next size down in their IPS series is a 21.5" (also eIPS, it appears) currently retailing at the regular price of $259. The info about being eIPS is an important point I hadn't realized initially, but even so: What is OP's next better option, and how much does it cost?
DSMok1 wrote:Your home build will be better than what you can get from an OEM at the same price. First off, you're using 8 GB of RAM - and OEM would usually draw some blood for anything over 4 GB. Secondly, your motherboard is going to be much better than anything an OEM will give you; for instance, Dell has probably crippled the BIOS of any Sandy Bridge computers it has sold so that they will never be able to upgrade to Ivy Bridge. Third, you case is ATX standard and will take any standard ATX motherboard - not so with OEMs, they're usually proprietary so that you can't upgrade the motherboard.What are the benefits with doing a build such as this vs. a pre-built OEM computer? I'd like to do it for the experience, but if the same computer is significantly cheaper with the pre-built... I may need to do that instead.
ludi wrote:Did you factor the cost of a Windows license into this purchase?
DSMok1 wrote:What are the benefits with doing a build such as this vs. a pre-built OEM computer? I'd like to do it for the experience, but if the same computer is significantly cheaper with the pre-built... I may need to do that instead.
Welch wrote:As for the case, I'd drop that thing like its a hot potato. Generally when you find a case that's in the 50-60 $ range and it includes a power supply, its an ULTRA cheap one, and I wouldn't hook much up to it. Take a look at the NZXT Elite 210 case (49.99) with USB 3.0 on the front or the 2.0 for 39.99, and grab something like the Corsair Builder CX430, was on sale for 16.99 after mail in rebate. that's 66.99 for the case and power supply, if nothing else spend a little bit more on a good PSU, everything relies on it.
DSMok1 wrote:$90 - Antec NSK 4482 Black / Silver 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply
Looks like a good case, not too big, good PSU.
Voldenuit wrote:DSMok1 wrote:What are the benefits with doing a build such as this vs. a pre-built OEM computer? I'd like to do it for the experience, but if the same computer is significantly cheaper with the pre-built... I may need to do that instead.
Dell Optiplex 390 Core i5 2400 w 4 GB RAM $499 after coupon (apply code '7RZXPX9M7$JLVR' at checkout).
It's really tough to build cheaper than the OEMs at budget price points. Flip-mode's comments on the outrageous prices OEMs chrage for minor upgrades (RAM, HDD) are accurate but disingenous - you can always buy extra RAM outside and install it yourself.
$499 will get you the quad core (what you want for photoshop and excel) and leave you enough money left over for an extra $20 for another 4GB of RAM from newegg and a monitor. It won't be as upgradeable as a DIY build, but the OP is not after a gaming rig. Since he will be using it for work and productivity the 3 yr warranty is something he can't get from a DIY build, either.