Advice on which CPU for my build

[horseatingweeds]

I'm building a new PC. I'll be using it for watching video (netflix, hulu, etc), compiling code, working with images, and the other normal stuff. No gaming.

I'm considering either the i3 Sandy or the i5 Ivy. I imaging any of the Sandy or Ivy Bridge processors will offer sufficient processing. It's the video I'm not sure about. On the laptop I'm using now, which I use mostly as a desktop, plugged into a 23" monitor, has an AMD M880G with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250. It struggles with regular video while I'm doing other things, and really can't handle HD.

Can anyone give me an idea of how well the integrated GPU in the i3 2nd generation (with HD 3000) or i5 third generation (HD 4000) performs? I've been looking around and reading a number of things. It's not very clear to me though.

Any advice would be great, thanks.

 

[ilysaml]

You just wanna use if for watching HD movies? The integrated HD 4250 should support full HD 1080P easily, What's your problem specifically?

Anyway the i5 Ivy is rated for fast encoding for HD x264, it will be more than enough.

All the Integrated Graphics since the HD 2000 and pre that support HD.

 

[amuffin]

i3 will do all those tasks easily!

 

[stealer0517]

I'm building a new PC. I'll be using it for watching video (netflix, hulu, etc), compiling code, working with images, and the other normal stuff. No gaming.

I'm considering either the i3 Sandy or the i5 Ivy. I imaging any of the Sandy or Ivy Bridge processors will offer sufficient processing. It's the video I'm not sure about. On the laptop I'm using now, which I use mostly as a desktop, plugged into a 23" monitor, has an AMD M880G with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250. It struggles with regular video while I'm doing other things, and really can't handle HD.

Can anyone give me an idea of how well the integrated GPU in the i3 2nd generation (with HD 3000) or i5 third generation (HD 4000) performs? I've been looking around and reading a number of things. It's not very clear to me though.

Any advice would be great, thanks.

id say either get ivy or amd's thing, I don't know what its called because for mobile i could care less.
but the hd 4000 outperforms my 310m (3000 outperforms my 310m in skyrim on a core i3m)
also, DON'T BUY A LAPTOP WITH A 310M the 310m sucks sooooo badly

 

[derek13417]

If you have the extra cash then go for the sandy bridge I5 2500K, they should also be coming down in price with the new line of IVY bridge processors coming in.

 

[KelvinTy]

Hi, I am just wondering are you trying to upgrade your Notebook? If so, not all notebooks are upgradeable. Please state the exact model number.

 

[wr6133]

As your not talking any gaming and everyone here is making recommendations based on gaming let me dangerously break the mould here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106001
AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano 3.0GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D

That outperforms the onboard graphics on Sandybride (HD3000) or Ivybridge (HD4000) proccesors. The CPU part of it is not as good as intel but none of your tasks demand that, the onboard graphics part of it is far ahead of intel which is more important to your needs.

It costs less too.

 

[horseatingweeds]

Thanks everyone.

I'm building a MicroATX desktop to replace a laptop I use as a desktop. It often struggles to play regular video, and is unusably punchy for some HD video. It has a Turion II and Radeon HD 4250.

I should mention my other goal with this system: Silence. I don't like constant fan noise. I don't mind if the fans start humming temporarily while I'm doing something demanding, but during normal use I'd like quiet. (This is why I plan to get an ASUS board with its fan controls)

wr6133, initially I was pondering the A8. But I keep reading that the CPU is sluggish--although these comments are likely regarding gaming. And the 1155 socket seems like it will stay modern longer than the FM1.

 

[wr6133]

FM1 is immenently to be replaced with FM2 (and trinity APU's). 1155 will be replaced next year with Haswell so Ivybridge is as good as that gets. I doubt you would find the Llano sluggish for your requirements its definitely not a gaming CPU but for what your after (essentially a HTPC with some other uses) is what it's designed for. You may even want to wait to see what trinity and FM2 brings as they promise a performance hike on Llano

 

[horseatingweeds]

My thinking is that in 4-5 years an 1155 socket Z77 chipset rig will be significantly upgradable. i3 Sandy -> i7 Ivy, DDR3 1600 -> DDR3 2400

One other thing I forgot to mention. I'll likely be running some virtual machines. I do that mostly on my Kubuntu machine (Phenom II x3, 16GB) now, but if this machine is fast enough, it would be nice to be able to enjoyably run Linux virtual machines on Windows.

 

[amuffin]

HT will be good for virtual machines.

Though I really am wondering why you are not going to wait for trinity :/

 

[stealer0517]

HT will be good for virtual machines.

Though I really am wondering why you are not going to wait for trinity :/

Because its either keep my core 2 duo e440 (2.0 ghz) and 2 ghz of RAM or upgrade now, also by the time I have more money for an upgrade ill probably go to Intel unless trin whops ivyies ass

 

[esrever]

the AMD A6 3500 tri core should do all of what you need it for and can be near silent with the right fan setup. AMD graphics are pretty much the best for HTPC builds since it does image quality and generally frames better than intel. Your other tasks aren't too demanding except if you do a lot of image editing.

If you need a lot of image editing I'd suggest the quad core ivys or sandys but if you just want a quiet PC that works for cheap, the A6 3500 is perfect for it.