Advice on CPU for experimantal build

[Sgt Rock]

Hi everyone,

I'm stuck and need some help/experience determining which CPU to buy for an experimental build.

I am working on a computer I intend to use to educate myself - I'm tired of being intimidated by computer basics like updating a bios, drives, loading images, partitioning, formatting, RAID, etc., etc. Experimenting on my primary home i5-2500 that I built is getting crazy. So, I'm building an affordable computer to mess with - what I have so far is listed below. I'm trying to balance price and future upgradability. A year or two from now I'll drop a better CPU into it, but until then, I don't need to overdo it.

On a side note, I don’t do any gaming on the computers - that’s done on an Xbox - so I've stuck with the Intel integrated graphics and the H67 chip-set for the SATA III and RAID ability.

As for the CPU, the i3 was my choice until the reading the CPU guide here in the Forum and two articles on xbitlabs.com reviewing the G540 Celeron verses the G620/G84/G85 Pentiums verses the i3 series (links below). With the costs of the i3s ~ $130, the Pentiums ~ $90-100, and the Celerons ~ $50-60, the articles make a good case for the Celerons and the Pentiums. The reviews on New Egg are also very favorable for the G530 Celeron and Pentiums.

Here's my dilemma - I understand the data in the reviews, but I don't have the experience to turn that into real world usability.

For $50 a G530 Celeron sounds interesting, particularly for what I'm doing, but if I start experimenting with audio programs or reinstalling ISO images is the G530 going to become slow as mud? Is it even worth considering a Celeron or a Pentium for what I'm doing? $50 -$60 sounds a lot better than $135, but slow is downright…..painful!

I'd really appreciate any advice you have that might put these CPU levels into a real-world context and keep me for spending too much or getting too little.

Thanks for your help,

Links:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/celeron-g540-g440.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-g850-g840-g620.html

Parts from New Egg:

Rosewill R101-P-BK MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($29)
Cooler Master GX 450W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Bronze ($29)
CPU ? (GPU)
Intel BOXDH67BLB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard ($85)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) ($40)
WD Caviar Blue (320 or 500 GB) 7200 SATA 6.0Gb/s ($70 - $100)
LITE-ON DVD Burner ($18)
Windows 7-64 bit Home ($99)

 

[rolli59]

Well not fully understanding what you are doing then the Celeron review answers the computing power question for example not a large difference between the G540 celeron and the G620 pentium but a huge gap from the G440 to G 850! link to page http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/celeron-g540-g440_4.html#sect1
Looking at the prices at newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%20600095610&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20 I personally would go either with G530 (probably the best buy performance/price) or G850 depending on what you want to spend.

 

[popatim]

The G530 will serve you well if audio and ISO and the hardest things your going to run.
I would suggest an uefi bios motherboard as that is what we'll have going forward.

Have fun learning.

 

[esrever]

an low end amd system usually has a lot more stuff to play around with compared to an intel one. Particularly on OC and other options in the Bios.

but the celerons would be good enough. I don't see the need for anything faster than a atom for your needs.

 

[popatim]

I actually had a x2 245 in an HTPC for a while and found it a bit sluggish even for day to day use for my tastes. Swapped in an x3 and its much much better.

My dualcore i3 htpc doesnt exhibit the sluggishness I was getting in the amd build. Since it is an i3 it could be the HT kicking in but HT doesnt usually add much performance-wise.

 

[Sgt Rock]

I actually had a x2 245 in an HTPC for a while and found it a bit sluggish even for day to day use for my tastes. Swapped in an x3 and its much much better.

My dualcore i3 htpc doesnt exhibit the sluggishness I was getting in the amd build. Since it is an i3 it could be the HT kicking in but HT doesnt usually add much performance-wise.

Thanks Popatin - and to the others who replied - your comments helped me narrow things down.

I was afraid of the possibility for sluggishness which caused me to be hesitant to order the G530 without asking - I think I will cut down on the mbo and try the G830 or G850 instead.

I like your idea on the uefi mbo - I'll have to look a little harder and give up the h67 chip - ASRock has several cheaper models with the uefi.

Thanks, I appreciate your help.