Intel or AMD

xiecs

Member
I am looking at buying a new machine. Do I go Intel or AMD. Every machine I've had in the past has been AMD, so it would be a change for me to go Intel. My current thoughts are:-

Intel® Core™i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
INTEGRATED INTEL HD GRAPHICS (HDMI, DVI, 1920 X 1200)

or

AMD BULLDOZER EIGHT CORE FX-8120 (3.10GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 550 Ti - DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready

All other specs are the same for both quotes, which are within a tenner of each other.

What do you think?
 

Corfate

Author Level
At the mo I'm out, but when I get back I'll make up a spec unless someone beats me to it :p

Few pointers:
Go for an i5 3550
Silver warranty
Corsair PSU
8GB ram :)

Also, what is the main uses of the pc?
 

xiecs

Member
At the mo I'm out, but when I get back I'll make up a spec unless someone beats me to it :p

Few pointers:
Go for an i5 3550
Silver warranty
Corsair PSU
8GB ram :)

Also, what is the main uses of the pc?

My main use is writing programs using Visual Studio, ASP.NET, MS Access et al, emails, Skype to my granddaughters in Oz, and trawling the internet.

I already have the 8GB Kingston Hyper-X specified. I've upgraded the PSU to the 450W, which should be enough for what I do. I don't hammer the machine as much as gaming would. If I go Intel, would it need a graphics card as well, because it would take me outside my allowance if I do?
 

Corfate

Author Level
You could go for something like this:


Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3550 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-M: MICRO-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6670 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 450MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £787.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/

Strong CPU to run those programs, fast SSD and HDD to open files + boot quickly. Also, that GPU should be suitable, though im not sure of the requirements of Visual Studio.
 

xiecs

Member
This is what I have decided to order.

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3550 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
SPIRE THERMAX ECLIPSE II UNIVERSAL DT EXTREME CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £614.00 including VAT and delivery.

I have two Samsung Spinpoint HDs, a 375GB and 500GB, and a DVD R/W drive in my current machine which I will be transferring over. That is why I have specified the 600W PSU. I will install Windows 7 Professional, MS Office 2010 Professional and Visual Studio 2010, and I use AVG Internet Security + Spybot as my security.

Thank you for your interest and help.
 

xiecs

Member
Machine Now Ordered

I have now ordered the above spec with the addition of

24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

for a total value of £631.00

Looking forward to it arriving.
 
Top