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Yay, Upgrade time! - Inspire me with hardware I can buy =-D
wraith808:
Yes, it's very timely- I'm checking into upgrading my wife's computer after I finish my daughter's, and it seems that it's not as costly as I originally believed!
Two comparisons if anyone can weigh in.
Motherboard
* ASUS P5G41-M LE
* ASUS P5G41T-M LE
I don't see the difference... I would go with the cheaper one, but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything...
Processor
* Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5400 Wolfdale 2.7GHz
* Intel Celeron E3300 Wolfdale 2.5GHz
My wife does Sims3 and browse and some homeschool stuff... so Sims 3 is as intense at it gets. Will the Dual Core be worth the $20 diff over the Celeron? Is it something that she'd notice? For video she'll have an x800 that I have laying around... AGP 256MB.
Thoughts?
JavaJones:
As I pointed out above, you can get a "bare bones" i7 system for under $600, shipped (free shipping, no tax from Tiger Direct).
The E3300 is also dual core. The main difference between those two is clock speed and cache size. Neither should make a huge difference. The x800 will probably be a bigger bottleneck for a 3D game like Sims 3 than the Celeron would be. Then again the difference is only $20, and it gets you 200Mhz more speed *per core*, so... *shrug*
- Oshyan
wraith808:
What about the motherboard? And suggestions on that? I just didnt see the difference...
Innuendo:
I don't see the difference... I would go with the cheaper one, but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything...-wraith808 (March 17, 2010, 08:22 PM)
--- End quote ---
Looks like the only difference I can see from a quick glance is that the P5G41T-M LE has 8 channel audio. The other only has 6 channel audio.
Will the Dual Core be worth the $20 diff over the Celeron? Is it something that she'd notice? For video she'll have an x800 that I have laying around... AGP 256MB.
--- End quote ---
For the difference in price go for the the E5400. The E3300 would most likely suit her needs, but the beefier processor may come in handy when she starts playing Sims 4...and you just *KNOW* there's going to be a Sims 4. ;D
Besides, down the line if that motherboard & CPU get re-purposed for something else (whether you give/sell it or just maybe make a cheap media center with it) the superior CPU might make it more appealing for its intended target.
wraith808:
Good points. :) Thanks for the info!
One last question. They have soooo many types of arctic silver... what's the difference? I've always just bought a middle of the line one (last time I got AS5), but never really understood...anyone want to take a crack at that? :)
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