QUAD PROCESSOR plus..... what else??

[jpeyton]

Dana,

The RAM you linked are still 1GB sticks. Try these instead. You'll pay a premium for 2GB sticks.

10,000RPM drives are noisy, and you'll probably only notice a difference if you have a stopwatch with you. I'd still go with an SE16, but get a Raptor if you want.

The performance difference between 965 and 975 is nil, with a slight nod going to the 965 chipset in many cases. Power consumption is almost always lower on the 965. There are no features advantages in the chipset alone; motherboards with a 975 chipset might add more ports, slots, etc., but if they're going to remain unfilled, what's the point? Save your money and add more RAM in the future.

I actually take back my recommendation for buying two SE16s in RAID1. Just buy one hard drive, buy a good external drive for backup (this is a good option), and just set the included software to automatically backup your files or mirror your drive while you sleep. You can do the same with a second internal hard drive, but external drives offer an extra layer of protection by being physically separated from your computer. RAID1 offers no performance advantage, offers the headache of dealing with a RAID controller (which can fail and make your drives unreadable), and doesn't protect against viruses/user error.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Good luck with your quad core build. I've never understood why people feel like entering a thread like this to suggest lesser hardware. If someone wants the best, I don't see why they should save some money and not get the best if they have the cash and want the power.

I mean, what else are you going to do with the money? Count it?

I agree in this case, because the OP seems to have a grasp on computers, but a lot of people want the best and don't know why. My neighbor HAD to have a Dell XPS a few years ago, got one with the 9800 which was the best video card at the time. And he's never played a single game on it.

I would love to have Quad Core system

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: QueBert

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Good luck with your quad core build. I've never understood why people feel like entering a thread like this to suggest lesser hardware. If someone wants the best, I don't see why they should save some money and not get the best if they have the cash and want the power.

I mean, what else are you going to do with the money? Count it?

I agree in this case, because the OP seems to have a grasp on computers, but a lot of people want the best and don't know why. My neighbor HAD to have a Dell XPS a few years ago, got one with the 9800 which was the best video card at the time. And he's never played a single game on it.

I would love to have Quad Core system

Unless dragon naturally speaking is multithreaded, 3 out of 4 cores will sit there at 0-1% usage over the entire life of the system.

If she wants to spend money just for the sake of spending money, then she should just say so, but if she actually wants to get the best performance and is willing to pay good money for it, then there is no reason to go quad core.

 

[BDawg]

If you want the best, why are you ghettoing out with a quad core? Get a dual quad processor Xeon with something like 32GB of RAM. That would make Dragon scream.

Seriously, it's your money, spend it as you wish. However, for what you're doing, going quad core is a total waste. Why not buy a realistic computer and give a chunk of money to a charity?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I agree with others the quad core CPU is totally not needed for the applications that you run and 2 or 3 of the cores will just sit there doing nothing(drawing more power and creating more heat). A good dual core CPU like a C2D E6600 would suit your needs better and cost 1/3 the price. The only possible reason for a quad core in your situation is bragging rights, and I'm guessing thats not important to you.

For the amount of ram that your wanting to use you will need to use the x64 (64bit) version of XP or Vista(or Windows server 2003). Make sure your tech guy understands this and finds the appriate x64 device drivers for all the hardware you are using. 32bit operating systems can only see and address a maximum of 3.25gb's of ram, and only allocate 2gbs to a single application.

And yes the WD 10k drives (raptors) that you linked are very nice, for your purposes I would get about 4-5 of them and put them in a Raid5 array. This would be a better use of your funds than a quad core CPU

And for the video card I would recommend a 7600gt or the X1600pro linked by Jpeyton, they will run Vista and all your apps just great and are pretty inexpensive. Adding a higher end card will only add heat and noise to your system.

 

[bob4432]

just order a alienware or falcon and be done with it

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Thanks for explaining your situation Dana. Here is a list of the exact components I would get if I were in your situation, with an explanation why:

Intel QX6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz Retail $970 - The best quad-core out there; slightly more expensive than the Q6600, but worth it.

Tuniq Tower $65 - The best heatsink/fan combo period. Much quieter than the stock CPU heatsink/fan.

Gigabyte DS3 P965 Retail $123 - Proven P965 chipset, solid-state capacitors, runs cool.

4xWintec 1GB DDR2 667 - $258 - Good inexpensive memory. You can pick other value RAM if you desire; Wintec is as good as any.

2xWestern Digital SE16 500GB $280 - Fast, quiet, pair them up in RAID 1.

Lite-On 20X CD/DVD Burner W/ LightScribe $35 - Fast, fairly quiet.

HIS Radeon X1600PRO Silence $73 - Silent, more than enough for solitaire and Vista Aero Glass.

Corsair HX620 PSU $155 - Dead silent, extremely well reviewed, solid and built-to-last.

Antec P180B ATX Case $100 - Made for quiet computing; good thermal separation of components; sleek black styling.

Total: $2059 Plus Shipping/Tax

I know this will be a point of controversy, but I don't see any reason to pick a 975 based motherboard over a solid 965 based motherboard. Performance difference is nil, power consumption is less on a 965 motherboard, and quad-cores run perfectly on 965 motherboards.

Same with the RAM. Value RAM is fine; no need to pay twice as much for performance memory.

Are you going to run your system at stock speeds (I assume so because it's a work computer)?

quoted for truth

qft, i dnuno if you know that one

really a grandma? i wish my granny were that kewl.

as for the silly folks saying you need to render cg to take advantage of dual/quad, they are full of it. multitasking is the killler app. the thing is, it doesn't matter if 90% of the time you dont really fully take advantage of the idle core. its that one time you are encoding a video/defragging/installing an app etc while running dragon naturally speaking and doing other things that would crippled a lesser system that more cores would keep you flying. its about a user experience that doesn't degrade much if ever, and not about trying to utilize allthe cores 100% of the time for something like rendering. it doesn't have to be used like that to matter. more more power you have, the more you will use it. plus, it will get used sooner or later, just look at all the uber fast hardware of the past that sooner or later weren't so fast for advancing software anymore. as more programs get multithreaded, it will just get sweeter on a quad. and yea, the p180 is a good case, quiet and well designed and not garish

 

[Dana Joan]

Thank you OrooOroo!

When someone asks for assistance with a specific processor, I can not understand why numerous people try to convince that person they REALLY DON'T WANT THAT PROCESSOR - they REALLY SHOULD BUY THIS ONE........

I am buying a QUAD. Those of you who think it's a total waste on my part - please stop reading this thread. Go somewhere else and convince someone else they don't want what they want.

If I use all quads just ONCE in the next 5 years - it will be there; if I don't need all 4 cores in the future - they will still be there.

Thank you for your support.

 

[jquintjr]

Originally posted by: Dana JoanWhen someone asks for assistance with a specific processor, I can not understand why numerous people try to convince that person they REALLY DON'T WANT THAT PROCESSOR - they REALLY SHOULD BUY THIS ONE........

I totally agree that you should be able to buy what you want. If you want a quad, go for it.

But to give you an idea of why the other side feels the way they do... Think about any car you've ever owned. I'm sure you've owned one with a v6 engine. You're essentially asking for a car with one v6 engine per wheel. You with me here? How would you explain this car to your friends? Not that you'd have to, it's your money. I mean someone in the world will sell you a car with four v6's, and you may have no problem paying for it. But it just isn't practical for your situation.

Nobody here is trying to fool you into buying a cheaper product, its about your intentions with the product, and the friendly, HIGHLY knowledgeable people here at Anandtech forums are advising you to get a car with only 2 v6 engines, if you will, because the cost vs performance usage simply does not correlate. The latest Core 2 Duo CPU will tackle anything made for it today with no problem.

But don't let this side step you. Buy the quad, just don't dismiss what others are saying. A lot of the folks here live for this stuff and know their ******. Pardon my french, but it couldn't be stated any better.

 

[Dana Joan]

BUT - what about the future??

I am 71-years-old - and my lifespan is limited. I will be stopping working soon - so I won't have the $$$ in 5-6 years to buy a quad when everyone else will be buying eight cores (don't know the term for eight cores!! )

If I get a duo core today - this computer will be obsolete in 5-6 years - and I won't be able to afford another one; I can now because I'm still working and my living expenses are much lower now (no kids to aupport any more!) In addition - the quad only costs $5.00 more than the duo right now!

I'm just afraid that everyone else on this forum is young - and has many more working years ahead of him/her - so his/her perspective is somewhat different from mine. THIS WILL BE MY LAST COMPUTER! (I won't ever have a car with V6 on each wheel because I've already bought my last car!! AND - that was a Limited edition with all the bells and whistles - and I DON'T REGRET IT A BIT!!)

BUT - I guess I will switch to the duo. If it's obsolete in 5-6 years - and I can't afford another one at that time, I'm going to take up a collection on this forum so I can buy a quad then!!

 

[ManBearPig]

why dont you just set aside some of the money you planned on spending for the quad and use it to buy another computer when you say you cant afford one later? spend some now and some later, why all of it now? it'd be the same thing...

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Dana Joan
BUT - what about the future??

I am 71-years-old - and my lifespan is limited. I will be stopping working soon - so I won't have the $$$ in 5-6 years to buy a quad when everyone else will be buying eight cores (don't know the term for eight cores!! )

If I get a duo core today - this computer will be obsolete in 5-6 years - and I won't be able to afford another one; I can now because I'm still working and my living expenses are much lower now (no kids to aupport any more!) In addition - the quad only costs $5.00 more than the duo right now!

I'm just afraid that everyone else on this forum is young - and has many more working years ahead of him/her - so his/her perspective is somewhat different from mine. THIS WILL BE MY LAST COMPUTER! (I won't ever have a car with V6 on each wheel because I've already bought my last car!! AND - that was a Limited edition with all the bells and whistles - and I DON'T REGRET IT A BIT!!)

BUT - I guess I will switch to the duo. If it's obsolete in 5-6 years - and I can't afford another one at that time, I'm going to take up a collection on this forum so I can buy a quad then!!

what do you mean the quad is only $5.00 more than the duo??? i don't think anybody has recommend the 6800 to you, at the very most a 6600 which are ~$315

and i would say that a lot of the board is younger than you, no disrespect, but not everybody is ~20, but that doesn't mean anybody here wants to see anybody waste any $$$$

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Well when you post on a technical forum and repeat several times that your "non-technical" and ask for advice, thats what you will get. ADVICE

Try going to a truck forum and say I really know nothing about trucks, but I'm going to buy a dump truck to haul groceries back and forth from walmart. What options do I need on my dump truck. What kind of responses are you going to get?

You have indicated that you think everyone responding in this manner is "envious". Not the case here, and a pretty pompus attitude I must say. I myself am grey headed have grown children, have a mid six figure income, and mange the financial and computer resources for a fairly large company. I could care less what your financial situation is, and am not impressed.

And those who say a quad core will show an improvement in "multi-tasking" over a dual core simply don't have a clue, and have probably never worked with multi processor systems.

And why you find it necessary to pick and order your own parts is beyond me. You have repeatedly admitted your non-technical and have so arrogantly flaunted, you have a computer guy on the payroll that will do your dirty work. Yet you don't trust him to pick the parts? So you come to an internet forum and solicit the advice of total strangers? Then insult everyone that gives decent advice.

By all means, get that "dump truck" so you can tell all the ladies at the beauty salon you have a quad core computer. And pick up an Ultra X connect or a Powermax power supply to go with that.

<Flame off>
As the young people say

 

[Markbnj]

You have indicated that you think everyone responding in this manner is "envious". Not the case here, and a pretty pompus attitude I must say. I myself am grey headed have grown children, have a mid six figure income, and mange the financial and computer resources for a fairly large company. I could care less what your financial situation is, and am not impressed.

And those who say a quad core will show an improvement in "multi-tasking" over a dual core simply don't have a clue, and have probably never worked with multi processor systems.

And why you find it necessary to pick and order your own parts is beyond me. You have repeatedly admitted your non-technical and have so arrogantly flaunted, you have a computer guy on the payroll that will do your dirty work. Yet you don't trust him to pick the parts? So you come to an internet forum and solicit the advice of total strangers? Then insult everyone that gives decent advice.

Lighten up. She was obviously using "envious" lightheartedly, and nobody else seems to have taken offense. She certainly hasn't insulted anyone here in my reading of the thread. I also can't find any fault with her financial reasoning. She said it's her money and this is what she wants to spend it on. She never said she was wealthy, and I don't see why you feel the need to wave your own professional equipment around the forum. I have to be honest with you: managing "the financial and computer resources for a fairly large company" is not a description, by itself, that would put you on my short list of gurus to consult when specifying a new rig.

I don't think you're wrong about the technical question, in this case, but I think you went out of your way to be nasty about how you said it, and nothing she did warranted the attack, in my opinion.

To the OP: buy the quad core if its what you really want. I run a dual core here and rarely see both cores pegged, although it does happen from time to time. I don't do rendering, or speech recognition, just software development, writing, and games, so for at least two of those three categories my processor requirements are spikey. I don't load them up. As another poster mentioned, however, there is value in multiple processing units (at least more than one) for those times when the system would stop being responsive due to a single CPU-intensive task. There's a big win from 1->2, and it goes down from there.

That said, if you are buying a quad core, are near your budget limit (or expense tolerance threshold, whatever), and _don't_ have a nice widescreen LCD monitor and surround sound speakers, skip the quad core, get the dual that others suggested, and upgrade your desktop environment .

Good luck and have fun with it.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Markbnj you are absolutely right my comments were completely out of line and mean spirited. I sincerely apologize to the OP, and can only chaulk it up to previous similar bad experiences.

I highly recommend that you go to Dell or Gateways small business site and configure a tower server system with a high level of data security (server class CPU, raid5 w/ hotswap drives, registered ECC ram, etc..) and a full service plan. It will cost a little more ($4k-$6k for a quad system) but the peace of mind and level of service and reliability are well worth it. Many of the recommendations you will get here are for gaming enthusiasts systems (striker motherboard, tuniq tower, highspeed ram, etc...) and are just not appropriate for your business critical applications.

 

[vailr]

A Mac Pro has 2 dual-core CPU's.
Dual-boot Windows & OSX with Boot Camp.
With at least 2 GB memory.
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macpro/

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: jquintjr

Originally posted by: Dana JoanWhen someone asks for assistance with a specific processor, I can not understand why numerous people try to convince that person they REALLY DON'T WANT THAT PROCESSOR - they REALLY SHOULD BUY THIS ONE........

I totally agree that you should be able to buy what you want. If you want a quad, go for it.

But to give you an idea of why the other side feels the way they do... Think about any car you've ever owned. I'm sure you've owned one with a v6 engine. You're essentially asking for a car with one v6 engine per wheel. You with me here? How would you explain this car to your friends? Not that you'd have to, it's your money. I mean someone in the world will sell you a car with four v6's, and you may have no problem paying for it. But it just isn't practical for your situation.

Nobody here is trying to fool you into buying a cheaper product, its about your intentions with the product, and the friendly, HIGHLY knowledgeable people here at Anandtech forums are advising you to get a car with only 2 v6 engines, if you will, because the cost vs performance usage simply does not correlate. The latest Core 2 Duo CPU will tackle anything made for it today with no problem.

But don't let this side step you. Buy the quad, just don't dismiss what others are saying. A lot of the folks here live for this stuff and know their ******. Pardon my french, but it couldn't be stated any better.

2 v6's is just as absurd as 4 v6's by that analogy really. only make sense if your car could split up and drive to several locations at once i guess. you don't know her financial situation, going by simple bang per buck you'd probably buy something really cheap and prebuilt like a emachine apparently she can afford it and like a lexus it doesn't have great bang for buck, but its nicer and thats what matters. and as i said before its not like you have to utilize the cores 100% of the time to gain benifit, its an absurd assumption. its those times you choose to run defrag/scanner and whatever else you need to while you are at your pc to save time and still be able to use your pc, thats what makes it worth it.

i only have a pentium d, but i can tell you it was a nice jump from single processing. and sometimes i do wish i had more than 2 cores once i load it up doing things. if you can build your own pc, you could probably load up your processors. by some of your standards dual core is absurd because while surfing the web most of the time your second core is just a big ol waste of cash.

 

[jpeyton]

Agreed; this is a lot of fuss over nothing. All you guys wanting her to go dual-core; would you be happier if she spent the same money on a C2D X6800 instead?

Quad-core is more future proof. It's absurd for you to assume what she'll be doing with her computer 2-3 years down the line.

 

[DanBaer]

Hi Grandma, (BTW I have 6 grandchildren and one adopted Great Grandson).
I am in a similar position to you in that we sold the company I was president of in 99 and I failed retirement so I write for a for two magazines and I consult and do market research Etc. I went back to school for my MCP and A+ just to support my computering hobby.

Here is what I just built. I also could care less what it costs. I do extreme multitasking and I also game just not shooters, they bore me.

Asus Commando Mobo (I like the 965 chipset but I also like the ICH8R southbridge even more)
Qx6700 Quad CPU
2 Gb Cordair Dominator PC2-8500 W/ DRAM cooler
BFG 1000 Wt PSU (this rig usually draws less than 400 Wts)
BFG 8800GTX OC
X-Fi Fa1tality Pro soundcard
Zalman 9500 LED (The Tunig tower is also excellent, perhaps even more efficient but ugly)
2 150 Raptors in RAID 0
2 more Raptors in non RAID for pictures, music, data files Etc
External Maxtor for back up
A couple of Plextor DVD burners
Thermaltake Armor Aluminum case
Two Samsung 244T monitors
Vista Ultimate
Other normal stuff.
WIth the exception of the imature NVIDIA graphics drivers for Vista and DX10 and the absolutly garbage Creative Vista drivers all is fine. This rig does anything I want with multiple rips, photoshop renderings Etc all hapening at once.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: DanBaer
Hi Grandma, (BTW I have 6 grandchildren and one adopted Great Grandson).
I am in a similar position to you in that we sold the company I was president of in 99 and I failed retirement so I write for a for two magazines and I consult and do market research Etc. I went back to school for my MCP and A+ just to support my computering hobby.

Here is what I just built. I also could care less what it costs. I do extreme multitasking and I also game just not shooters, they bore me.

Asus Commando Mobo (I like the 965 chipset but I also like the ICH8R southbridge even more)
Qx6700 Quad CPU
2 Gb Cordair Dominator PC2-8500 W/ DRAM cooler
BFG 1000 Wt PSU (this rig usually draws less than 400 Wts)
BFG 8800GTX OC
X-Fi Fa1tality Pro soundcard
Zalman 9500 LED (The Tunig tower is also excellent, perhaps even more efficient but ugly)
2 150 Raptors in RAID 0
2 more Raptors in non RAID for pictures, music, data files Etc
External Maxtor for back up
A couple of Plextor DVD burners
Thermaltake Armor Aluminum case
Two Samsung 244T monitors
Vista Ultimate
Other normal stuff.
WIth the exception of the imature NVIDIA graphics drivers for Vista and DX10 and the absolutly garbage Creative Vista drivers all is fine. This rig does anything I want with multiple rips, photoshop renderings Etc all hapening at once.

This is one banging granny!

 

[jquintjr]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo2 v6's is just as absurd as 4 v6's by that analogy really. only make sense if your car could split up and drive to several locations at once i guess. you don't know her financial situation, going by simple bang per buck you'd probably buy something really cheap and prebuilt like a emachine

Well it's quite obvious that two v6's would be silly on a vehicle. But I think my analogy gets to the point. And I don't care if she has Bill Gates' fortune, it's simply a waste. The dump truck analogy by GuitarDaddy states it PERFECTLY, whether you agree or not.

But I'll say it again, non-tech grandma, buy the quad if you want it. I suppose if they had a 8 core CPU, they'd call it an Octa-core or such.

If you're worried about the "future", then there's no reason to not get a dual quad board with 2 quad CPUs. Heck, I too worry if my computer can keep up with future apps and games, and all I have is a solo 4000+ AMD with 2gb of memory. There's really nothing that I can't do with current games and apps but get into seriously advanced graphics for that something "extra" that I may be missing, but really I am not missing anything. My PC will tackle a lot of different things for years easily.

Good luck with your build. Any grand kids? They might get some real use of it if you let them, lol.