Are Sandy Bridge processors outdated?

[The Dude]

so i'm gonna buy this used computer for a reasonable price, and it has a Core i5-2300 (2.8 GHz) (sandy bridge), my question is, is it worth the money or should i go for something newer

 

[soldier44]

If you want it to last you a few years and play the latest games I would go with something newer. But if you just want a simple above average PC to tinker with for a while and save some money go with a SB.

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

so i'm gonna buy this used computer for a reasonable price, and it has a Core i5-2300 (2.8 GHz) (sandy bridge), my question is, is it worth the money or should i go for something newer

It depends on the price; as you know, Sandy Bridge is outdated, but the CPUs are still pretty good. If the computer is more than ~$350 then i wouldn't. It also depends on the other things in the system. It also depends on what you're going to use it for.

 

[James Mason]

It depends on the price; as you know, Sandy Bridge is outdated, but the CPUs are still pretty good. If the computer is more than ~$350 then i wouldn't. It also depends on the other things in the system. It also depends on what you're going to use it for.

Right, if you tell us what you're paying for it, we could better evaluate whether or not it's a good buy. Like this is a very solid computer right here for only $550:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro Rev. 2 36.7 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($12.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($24.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-E818AAT/BLK/B/GEN DVD/CD Drive ($21.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $539.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 10:45 EDT-0400)

 

[The Dude]

It depends on the price; as you know, Sandy Bridge is outdated, but the CPUs are still pretty good. If the computer is more than ~$350 then i wouldn't. It also depends on the other things in the system. It also depends on what you're going to use it for.

Right, if you tell us what you're paying for it, we could better evaluate whether or not it's a good buy.

well it's an hp pavilion p6000 series, for about a ~$600, the specs are:

Intel Core i5-2300 (2.8Ghz), 6Mo Cache L3, Socket 1155
Pegatron (Asus) Cleveland-GL8, Chipset Intel H67
4Go DDR3 1333Mhz PC3-10 600 Mo/sec , 16Go Max
1 To SATA 3G, 7200trs/mn
DVD+/-RW SATA Double Couche LightScribe - Lecteur de cartes 15 en 1
NVidia GeForce G405, 1024MoMo, Ports : HDMI, DVI-I and VGA
5.1 audio
Hp mouse and keyboard
windows 7 home premium key
and a 20" HP Lcd
as you see everything looks fine, the only thing that worries me is the processor (the GPU is too damn weak, but i'm gonna replace it of course)
i'm gonna use it for studies, multimedia and gaming (i'm not a hardcore gamer so running games on medium setting isn't a problem)

 

[risaccess1]

For what you want to do with the computer, I think the sandy bridge computer should be fine. However if you don't mind building a new computer by hand, (I know not everyone has the knowledge or desire to do this) you should definitely go with James Mason's part list. You get much more powerful and current hardware for less than the $600 sandy bridge computer.

 

[James Mason]

Yeah, that's pretty bleh for $600 especially when i recommended a better one for a lower price 😛
only thing I didn't include was the OS, which has a somewhat higher cost, because how you acquire your operation system is up to you:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro Rev. 2 36.7 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($12.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($24.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-E818AAT/BLK/B/GEN DVD/CD Drive ($21.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $627.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 13:14 EDT-0400)

 

[jaguarskx]

I would pass on that used HP.

The i5-2300 is still fine for playing games. Assuming the same clockspeed, a current generation Haswell Core i5 CPU is on average a little more than 12% more powerful than Sandy Bridge CPUs.

The reason why I recommend that you pass on it is because of the NVidia GeForce G405 which is a pretty weak graphics card. If you are going to be playing games with it, then you need to spend more money to buy a graphics card.

I recommend that you wait and save up a little more money. Hopefully going from $600 to $800 is not going to take too long and with $800 you can build a brand new PC with pretty decent performance. Buying a new pre-built PC is possible with $800 but will not perform as well as a PC that you build yourself. That's because brand name PCs have to earn a profit to stay in business so naturally a brand name PC can cost more than something you put together yourself.

 

[The Dude]

Yeah, that's pretty bleh for $600 especially when i recommended a better one for a lower price 😛
only thing I didn't include was the OS, which has a somewhat higher cost, because how you acquire your operation system is up to you:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro Rev. 2 36.7 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($12.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($24.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-E818AAT/BLK/B/GEN DVD/CD Drive ($21.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $627.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 13:14 EDT-0400)

actually you forgot the Lcd screen too, and i guess it's another $100, and the mouse, keyboard (about $20)

 

[James Mason]

Yeah, that's pretty bleh for $600 especially when i recommended a better one for a lower price 😛
only thing I didn't include was the OS, which has a somewhat higher cost, because how you acquire your operation system is up to you:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro Rev. 2 36.7 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($12.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($24.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-E818AAT/BLK/B/GEN DVD/CD Drive ($21.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $627.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 13:14 EDT-0400)

actually you forgot the Lcd screen too, and i guess it's another $100, and the mouse, keyboard (about $20)

While true, those are not normally included in the cost of a PC build, as most people already have one they can use.

 

[The Dude]

well, thank you for your help guys, i don't live in the US actually, so building a new PC is gonna cost way more, i guess i'll have to go with the HP pavillion, since it's fully equiped, and after doing some research, i found that the main differences between Sandy Bridge, and current gen Haswell, is the GPU (which i'm not gonna use because i'm gonna use a discrete graphics card), and Power efficiency (the PSU gives enough power).