CPU Buyer's Guide 2.0

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smithereen

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Will be upgraded to reflect new releases next weekend!

Edit 1. Added TOC. Removed Core i5 750 from recommended CPUs until the dust clears.
Edit 2. Added appendix recommending LGA-775 and AM2 CPUs.
Edit 3. Recommended Core i3 530, recommended against Clarkdale Core i5s
Edit 4. Recommended 1055T and 1090T, reduced recommendation on i5 750 and i7
Edit 5. Minors changes. Reduced warnings against Socket 1156.
Edit 6. Minor changes, recommended i5 760, clarified i7 recomendations.
May be upgraded again soon to reflect any pricedrops, OCing or reliability results, etc.
Much of this is shamelessly pirated from Turpit's thread.

Credit goes to caamsa, chiadog, endyen, DirtyDrummer, grieve, navvara, Shadow703793, uguv, and Spitfire_x86 for contributing to past versions as well.

This is a very early edition, this will be updated when I have time. No promises for a timeline, though.

Table of Contents
1. Intro

2. Notes
2.0 Getting Help from the Forums and A Note on So-Called Fanboysim
2.1 A Note on Software

3. Multithreading

4. Performance and Value

5. Recommendations
5.0 Intel Sockets
5.1 AMD Sockets.
5.2 CPUs to Avoid
5.3 Recommended CPUs.

Appendix A: Dictionary of CPU Terms
Appendix B: Recommendations for Obsolete Sockets.

Don't forget to run Folding@home on your shiny new CPU! Tom's Hardware Guide is Team 40051.
 

bp_

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Thanks for all the work on this. I am getting ready to be a first-time builder (waiting for the re-release of the SB i5-2400) and found this post very helpful. I assume no mention of the 1155 socket on this thread because of the recall?
 

Fractoman

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Just found this guide, wondering if I could get some buying pointers on a 775 socket CPU purchase.

Currently have a old as dirt Core 2 Duo E6700 that is really starting to show its age in terms of playing games like Starcraft or running Fraps on certain applications and games at higher resolutions. I have tons of ram, my graphics card is an overclocked GeForce 260, just in case you were wondering. I just got an Intel D975XBX2 from a friend of mine who was throwing the thing away (crazy bastard throws away $200 computer components like they're used tissue paper) and I was wondering if upgrading to the Core 2 Quad Q6700 is a marked improvment, at least enough of one to warrant plopping $120-$180 on one off ebay to replace my crusty old E6700.

I've been checking out the CPU Hierarchy charts and my old processor is just barely two tiers below a Q6700. Main thing i'm wondering is since I haven't been able to fool around with over-clocking (since my last motherboard was a piece of shi...licon) would over-clocking my current CPU give me enough of a marked improvement in performance to warrant keeping it in place of getting a new processor, or should I just bite the bullet and go ahead and sink the cash in for a shiny (albeit used) quad core 65nm processor (and then over-clock it).
 

Personally it would be much wiser to save the money for a newer architecture. Why waste all that money on a chip that can be beaten by a Phenom II that cost a good bit less. I suggest waiting on Sandy Bridge or Bulldozer even if its just to wair for the 1st Gen Core I series to come down in price. I can not justify anyone spending that kind of cash on that old of a chip. I would say sell your old chip and motherboard and put it towards a new one.
 

smithereen

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If you post in the CPU forums, you'll get more responses.

If you can get a Q6700 for less then $150, do it IMO.
 

RAW-BERRY

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Great guide! I just had a quick question about the pricing of CPU's that I've noticed.

I've recently been looking at parts for a new PC I am building, and noticed something odd. I set my sights upon the AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2GHz at ~$115.00. However, looking back at my previous build, I noticed that the weaker and older Intel core 2 duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz is priced significantly higher at ~$179.00.

Is there some factor that I'm overlooking? The AMD processor seems better in every way, yet is significantly cheaper. Surely the Intel logo branded on the box can't make that big of a difference?
 

tecmo34

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It has more to do with price vs demand... The LGA 775 socket is "dead" so it becomes harder and harder to purchase parts / upgrades. As the stock levels decrease, this causes the price to increase as the demand exceeds the inventory.

The AM3 is the better option to go with...
 
The E8400 is not the weaker of the two though. It's actually a bit faster and may actually be the better overclocker.... but then the platform is dead :p
The point is that frequency is not everything. I've seen a number of people citing Ghz as if it was the only thing they needed to know lately.
 

mildgamer001

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im buying a toshiba laptop soon, it is just a regular cheapy one until i get money for a gaming laptop, but it a customized version so for some reason they didnt say what the speeds are on them, the prosesor options i can get with it are:

intel pentium dual core, and AMD C-50 dual core accelarated prosesor, which one should i get?

the AMD only had 1ghz i think, and the pentium had around 2ghz, but i know that pentium is fairly old, my 6 year old compaq uses pentium 4, but this is a new laptop and i need it at least fast enough to play minecraft and do schoolwork, etc etc.
 

MattKnowsHow

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Hi, I'm making my first computer, and I'm wondering if anyone here would be willing to take the time to check if it's compatible. I'm only 13, and I obviously don't have unlimited money, so I really can't afford to make a mistake when I buy the parts. I'm only 13, so I really need to make sure I get this right.
Here it is:
Case: $91.00
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid-Tower Gaming Case
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Corsair+-+Carbide+Series+400R+Mid-Tower+Gaming+Case/2994057.p?id=1218370120178&skuId=2994057&ky=2oh0NrwOl4j1qjM3Oy2gXfVGhMUl0WiJ&utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=Default&utm_source=RatingsAndReviews&utm_content=Default

Motherboard: $230.00
ASRock X79 Extreme6 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157289

Processor (CPU): $300.00
Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73820
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229

Operating System: $100.00
Windows 7 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

RAM: $125.00
Mushkin Enhanced Redline 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model 993996
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226274

Hard Drive: $100.00
Seagate Barracuda ST1500DM003 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148845

Graphics Card (GPU): $230.00
EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

Sound Card: $0.00
Realtek ALC898 (Comes with Motherboard)
No Website

Network Card: $0.00
Broadcom BCM57781 (Comes with Motherboard)

DVD Drive: $25.00
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

Total: $1201.00

Again, I'd really, REALLY appreciate it, thanks.
 

MattKnowsHow

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Nov 5, 2012
2
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10,510
Could anyone check the compatability of this setup:

Case: $91.00
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid-Tower Gaming Case
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Corsair+-+Carbide+Series+400R+Mid-Tower+Gaming+Case/2994057.p?id=1218370120178&skuId=2994057&ky=2oh0NrwOl4j1qjM3Oy2gXfVGhMUl0WiJ&utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=Default&utm_source=RatingsAndReviews&utm_content=Default

Motherboard: $230.00
ASRock X79 Extreme6 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157289

Processor (CPU): $300.00
Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73820
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229

Operating System: $100.00
Windows 7 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

RAM: $125.00
Mushkin Enhanced Redline 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model 993996
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226274

Hard Drive: $100.00
Seagate Barracuda ST1500DM003 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148845

Graphics Card (GPU): $230.00
EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

Sound Card: $0.00
Realtek ALC898 (Comes with Motherboard)
No Website

Network Card: $0.00
Broadcom BCM57781 (Comes with Motherboard)

DVD Drive: $25.00
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

Total: $1201.00

I'd really appreciate it, since I'm only 13, and my Dad is currently unemployed, so I can't afford to make mistakes, for the sake of money.
Thanks guys.