Recommendation engine

[dr4gn]

A couple weeks ago I'd asked about what went into figuring out graphics card recommendations. I got some great pointers and after a bit of coding and looking around for specs/data, I've got what is a reasonable recommendation engine.

Go to http://onebitbetter.com/parts/search and enter in a part name and it'll figure out some upgrades. You can tweak some things around (like price, how you want things ranked, power supply reqs, etc.).

It's very beta in that there's definitely more that could be added but it seems usable now and I want to know if I'm on the right track (and what people want to see).

Thanks!

 

[king smp]

Cool
i will go check it out and report back

 

[iam2thecrowe]

it recommends a 9600gt as an upgrade from an 8800gts, they are nearly identical in performance. I fail to see the point of this site. it recommends very minor upgrades which are pointless. If your going to upgrade, you want to notice a difference.

 

[king smp]

I tried a HD 4650
and it recommended a HD 5570
I tried a Core2Duo E6600
and it recommended some C2Q like a Q9450

I guess it tries to stay within the specs of older part
like wattage rating and socket type

The OP is recommending COMPATIBLE upgrades which is tricky
You might have had a HD 4650 with a 350w PSU
then upgraded your PSU to a 600w
so the engine wont know that you can support a better higher powered card

Maybe you could have the user specify some basix system info
like PSU wattage and socket type wanted
Just a thought
I like it though
for noobs it is a good thing
and enthusiasts wouldnt need a site like that
Heck half the fun of upgrading is reading all the reviews and benchmarks
and comparing specs for the enthusiast
but for a noob who just wants to know what will work
then I think it is a good site
can build alot of ad revenue off a site like that

 

[dr4gn]

Thanks for the feedback.

I do need to tweak the minimum performance boost so it doesn't give out recommendations that don't offer significant improvement. I probably have it set too low. Another thing might be the benchmark scores I'm using... I'm still working on the right way of combining out different scores.

The first set of recs you see after the part search is based on what's compatible. So it does take things like what the minimum system power is for a graphics card, the cpu socket for a cpu, etc. You can go and tweak those options with the sliders, etc on the right to see what else you can come up with. If it wasn't obvious you could do that, I'll figure out how to make it obvious.

I did put together a Windows app that does collect up the basic system info: the "Advisor" if you got a chance to look at the rest of the site. I might need to see what other things are accessible from the OS. I'm working on figuring out how to make it more useful (aka figuring out if you're running out of hard drive space and notifying you of that, etc.).

And I do agree, half the fun (maybe more) is reading the reviews and benchmarks. I'm aiming the tool and site as something that gives the "noob" or casual user a starting point. All the information is out there but not necessarily in one place...