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Please school me on modern Processors

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  • Processors
  • CPUs
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September 4, 2014 3:19:15 PM

It has been a while since I have built a computer. It was much easier "back in the day" because there were not so many choices. I just read an article that talked about how more cores might not always be good for games and programs because there were not designed for them.

I am trying to pick the perfect desktop to build to meet my needs and I am trying to learn this new technology to help me pick the perfect system. Heck, I don't even know which motherboards work with which processors and RAM these days.

I am looking for an inexpensive workstation that I can use to study for MCSE (create VMs of server and workstation OSes) so I will need lots of RAM (16GB minimum). I also would like to occasionally play computer games like COD and Battlefield well. So I will need a decent processor and graphics card.

I don't want overkill here but I also don't want something that will underperform or be incompatible in a couple of years (it would be nice to be able to upgrade things and keep the base for five or more years.

So, all that said to get you guys to help me pick the right processor to start with? I am pretty sure Intel is the way to go here but can I get a processor that is below the newer i3, i5s? Or should I be using the at least an i3 or i5? As I understood that article these i series intel processors have four cores and it might be better to stick with two cores? How do I know what motherboard and what speed of RAM to use?

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September 4, 2014 3:24:23 PM

What is your budget? And yes, Intel is the way to go. If you tell me your budget I can post a great build that fits your needs. And will you be purchasing an operating system and monitor?

Also what is MCSE?

Also, the more cores a processor has means that the processor can calculate more simultaneous threads of data. For example, while gaming one core can calculate the artificial intelligence while another works on the physics engine. Some programs do not support multiple cores and therefore cannot use the full functionality they offer.
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September 4, 2014 4:54:59 PM

Thanks... Mcse is a Microsoft Certified Systems Enginer. What is the least amount you can do this for?
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September 4, 2014 4:59:13 PM

jemf7sk said:
Thanks... Mcse is a Microsoft Certified Systems Enginer. What is the least amount you can do this for?

Well, that depends on if you need to buy a monitor and/or OS

Edit: Oh wait, I doubt a Microsoft engineer needs to buy Windows XD
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September 4, 2014 5:14:34 PM

Okay, here is a build I pulled out of the blue:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $907.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-04 20:12 EDT-0400

Don't be scared by the price, I can modify the components to fit your budget in any way you want, and I am very good at making reliable cheap builds. The build has a 4-core i5 processor with a great frequency for accomplishing CPU-intensive tasks. Battlefield 4 uses 4 cores so it is a great benefit when playing it. The GTX750Ti is probably the most economic friendly GPU and will produce great graphics for your side gaming.

It has a Samsung solid-state-drive, the fastest there are, so you can install all your operating systems on it and place much larger files on the hard disk drive. It includes a wireless adapter for getting wifi and the case has 3 pre-installed fans. The 16GB of RAM will also be a huge benefit.

Also, to "school" you a bit, I know that the motherboard is compatible with the processor because as indicated by the names they use the LGA1150 socket. Also, all modern motherboards for the past 5 years use DDR3 RAM, so any DDR3 RAM will work with a motherboard that has a bus for DDR3.
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September 4, 2014 5:41:32 PM

Thanks.. Well, I was hoping to get by in the $600 range. I do need to make it legit and get Windows 8.1 Pro on there as well. What do you think? I have a monitor but might buy one or two more. How many monitors does this build support?
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September 4, 2014 5:53:18 PM

jemf7sk said:
Thanks.. Well, I was hoping to get by in the $600 range. I do need to make it legit and get Windows 8.1 Pro on there as well. What do you think? I have a monitor but might buy one or two more. How many monitors does this build support?

I am not sure how many monitors, that depends on how many VGA ports the graphics card has. Anyways, I will post a modified build in a second!
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a b à CPUs
September 4, 2014 6:00:34 PM

I managed to make it down to $560 without the OS and $700 with it here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) ($132.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $701.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-04 20:59 EDT-0400

You'll notice I had to sacrifice 8GB of RAM for this, but in today's standards 8GB RAM should be well enough for what you need.
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September 4, 2014 6:16:42 PM

Thanks!
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September 4, 2014 6:42:31 PM

jemf7sk said:
Thanks!

No problem!
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!