Which Computer To Choose?

[alanp1995]

So right now I'm stuck between 2 computers, I know that one is really old and one is really new but I'm sure that this i7 will perform smoothly for a long time to come have extra cores and good overclocking capabilities. Whereas the i3 is good, but it's a dual core and non overclockable. The 760 is supposedly around the performance of a 950 so not too worried about graphics performance. The i7 build is 500 Euro and the i3 is 600 Euro. Everything else is below.

 

Please don't say "The i3 is newer so get it", I get that point, but the price perfoance would be better in the i7 I think, so any opinions welcome!

 

i7 Build:

CPU: Intel Core i7-920 2.66Ghz Quad-Core Processor 

Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X58 ATX LGA1366 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Dominator 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master Elite 330U ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Antec 500W ATX Power Supply

Total: 500 Euro
 

i3 Build:

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case w/450W Power Supply

Total: 600 Euro

[Guest]

i3 build has a MUCH better upgrade path. I have a haswell i3 4170 and a gtx 950 and the performance is great. I'm not sure about that case/PSU combo though.

[ZeusXI]

5 minutes ago, alanp1995 said:

So right now I'm stuck between 2 computers, I know that one is really old and one is really new but I'm sure that this i7 will perform smoothly for a long time to come have extra cores and good overclocking capabilities. Whereas the i3 is good, but it's a dual core and non overclockable. The 760 is supposedly around the performance of a 950 so not too worried about graphics performance. The i7 build is 500 Euro and the i3 is 600 Euro. Everything else is below.

 

can alway get a Xeon 1231v3 for about 250$ USD, or 221 Euro. Runs like an I7-4790

[Thecomputerman]

Well I would go with the i7 even though the i3 has more storage and memory the processor is a really big factor  remember his i3 is good i5 is great and i7 is the best.

[BurblingBarbacoa]

100% get the i3. It is a dual core but has hyoerthreading and is by no means a bad CPU. It will be much faster in single threaded workloads and w I'll pull ahead of the i7 for gaming. It will offer a much better upgrade path with other, higher end skylake chips as well other things like ram. That case and PSU combo is good and the power supply is actually decent but it won't really offer compatibility with high end video cards that exceed that 450w. Maybe look at a Silverstone 600w sfx unit. 

[BurblingBarbacoa]

38 minutes ago, Thecomputerman said:

Well I would go with the i7 even though the i3 has more storage and memory the processor is a really big factor  remember his i3 is good i5 is great and i7 is the best.

Not really. If you are only looking at a single generation of CPUs, yeah. It goes in order Celeron, Pentium, i3, i5, i7. For example the i3 6100 is worse than the i7 6700k. However here we are talking about a multi generational gap. The i7 has more cores and threads but is still much slower and will fall behind in many things like gaming. Unless he is going more workstation work than gaming he is best off with a i3 6100. 

[cc143]

The x58 platform is 7 years old now, I remember it coming out back in 2009-10, altgpugh I was forced to use my own p55 based pc and it did the job, I would by no means go for such an old platform. (the 920 was I believe the bottom of the line cpu for the platform)

 

X58 is basically a dead end and God forbid you get a mobo or cpu failure you might be forced to upgrade anyway.

 

With the 1151 build you can just upgrade the cpu when you are able/it is necessary at some point down the line.

 

Also, you get a lot more features like USB 3.1 and m.2 (depending on the mobo).

 

What country are you posting from and what is hour maximum budget? It could be possible to get something better at that pricepoint.

[alanp1995]

19 minutes ago, cc143 said:

The x58 platform is 7 years old now, I remember it coming out back in 2009-10, altgpugh I was forced to use my own p55 based pc and it did the job, I would by no means go for such an old platform. (the 920 was I believe the bottom of the line cpu for the platform)

 

X58 is basically a dead end and God forbid you get a mobo or cpu failure you might be forced to upgrade anyway.

 

With the 1151 build you can just upgrade the cpu when you are able/it is necessary at some point down the line.

 

Also, you get a lot more features like USB 3.1 and m.2 (depending on the mobo).

 

What country are you posting from and what is hour maximum budget? It could be possible to get something better at that pricepoint.

I'm from Ireland and want to buy something ITX and Skylake. But when I saw the i7 920 and having owned a 760 before, I thought it would be a good deal for 500. My budget is between 500-600. So any suggestions for the price range, please do share!

[cc143]

I have been trying to configure something for a similar price from dabs.ie (first store I found in google) and basically come up with the same i3 rig you came up with. 

 

What I would do, provided this is not a prebuilt, is spend a bit more and change the i3 to an i5 6400/6500(preferably) and add an SSD down the line. 

 

Also, it would be preferable if you went with a single 8GB stick of RAM  instead for upgradeability. 

 

That said, 

 

1. Changing the CPU to an i5 would significantly change the performance of the pc (70Euro difference from dabs.) 

2. Under no circumstances go with the x58 pc, it far too outdated. 

3. Going with a 300W SFX PSU e.g. silverstone strider could a.cover your needs b. decrease the price of the whole pc.)

 

You could try pcpartpicker uk since many uk retailers ship to Ireland fairly inexpensively and you are likely to have more choice than if shopping from Irish etailers alone, amazon uk/ ocuk will surely be shipping to Ireland for instance. 

 

[alanp1995]

10 minutes ago, cc143 said:

I have been trying to configure something for a similar price from dabs.ie (first store I found in google) and basically come up with the same i3 rig you came up with. 

 

What I would do, provided this is not a prebuilt, is spend a bit more and change the i3 to an i5 6400/6500(preferably) and add an SSD down the line. 

 

Also, it would be preferable if you went with a single 8GB stick of RAM  instead for upgradeability. 

 

That said, 

 

1. Changing the CPU to an i5 would significantly change the performance of the pc (70Euro difference from dabs.) 

2. Under no circumstances go with the x58 pc, it far too outdated. 

3. Going with a 300W SFX PSU e.g. silverstone strider could a.cover your needs b. decrease the price of the whole pc.)

 

You could try pcpartpicker uk since many uk retailers ship to Ireland fairly inexpensively and you are likely to have more choice than if shopping from Irish etailers alone, amazon uk/ ocuk will surely be shipping to Ireland for instance. 

 

Going by what you said, this is what I'd be looking at yes? Does it look good? (Ignore prices) - 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/G4kCsY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/G4kCsY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£151.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£66.34 @ More Computers) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  (£27.48 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£37.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card  (£144.98 @ Novatech) 
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  (£34.46 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£51.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £515.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 03:16 BST+0100

[cc143]

7 hours ago, alanp1995 said:

Going by what you said, this is what I'd be looking at yes? Does it look good? (Ignore prices) - 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/G4kCsY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/G4kCsY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£151.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£66.34 @ More Computers) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  (£27.48 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£37.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card  (£144.98 @ Novatech) 
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  (£34.46 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£51.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £515.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 03:16 BST+0100

Yes, just go with a single DIMM of 1x8gb RAM instead so that you dont have to discard any in upgrading.