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How many cores in a processor is necessary? Looking to buy desktop
Posted on 5/15/20 at 1:57 pm
Posted on 5/15/20 at 1:57 pm
I have bought a desktop since 2011, so I have a single core processor. I don’t do gaming but need windows 10, good sound quality for things like Zoom and YouTube and good multitasking typically using 5-6 programs at once. What would you suggest? I do like the look of the all in one desktops, but don’t need a touchscreen. Is a budget under $1,000 realistic or do I need to go higher?
4
Posted on 5/15/20 at 2:00 pm to Ohiosportsfan
For $1000 you could build a pretty bad arse non gaming machine.
Posted on 5/15/20 at 2:14 pm to Ohiosportsfan
If you aren't gaming or editing video, then basically any modern computer will be fine. Especially if you've been using one from 2011.
Don't worry about processor cores.
Personally, I would avoid an all-in-one like the plague. They have all the downsides of a laptop (heat issues / thermal throttling, poor or no upgradeability / repairability, less bang for buck) without the major upside (portability). You are paying for looks. If I really wanted the space savings, I would get a small form-factor machine (like a NUC or similar) that can mount to the rear of the monitor. But that's more of a personal and subjective decision. If you like an all-in-one and it fits your budget, buy it.
If you regularly use 5-6 programs at once, and if you have the space, I would recommend a multi-monitor setup. IMO there is no better way to spend an extra ~$150-200 on a computer than to add a second monitor. Maybe turn one of them vertical for browsing or reading long documents.
Don't worry about processor cores.
Personally, I would avoid an all-in-one like the plague. They have all the downsides of a laptop (heat issues / thermal throttling, poor or no upgradeability / repairability, less bang for buck) without the major upside (portability). You are paying for looks. If I really wanted the space savings, I would get a small form-factor machine (like a NUC or similar) that can mount to the rear of the monitor. But that's more of a personal and subjective decision. If you like an all-in-one and it fits your budget, buy it.
If you regularly use 5-6 programs at once, and if you have the space, I would recommend a multi-monitor setup. IMO there is no better way to spend an extra ~$150-200 on a computer than to add a second monitor. Maybe turn one of them vertical for browsing or reading long documents.
Posted on 5/15/20 at 2:18 pm to Ohiosportsfan
Truthfully, most programs are not written to take advantage of multiple cores. A few like video or photo editing programs that are processor intensive are, but otherwise they are written mostly for a single process.
Being able to run multiple applications at once smoothly depends more on available RAM, 16GB will usually suffice.
A separate video card is often useful and more capable than the video processor integrated in most motherboards. Most integrated sound systems on motherboards are good enough for most things, unless you are looking to output audio to a good set of speakers or to a stereo system.
Being able to run multiple applications at once smoothly depends more on available RAM, 16GB will usually suffice.
A separate video card is often useful and more capable than the video processor integrated in most motherboards. Most integrated sound systems on motherboards are good enough for most things, unless you are looking to output audio to a good set of speakers or to a stereo system.
Posted on 5/15/20 at 2:27 pm to jdd48
Nice! I have a microcenter near me so if I built my own is that a hard task? Is it all click and play or do you have to solder stuff? I literally have no idea.
Lastly do you compare AMD to i5 or i7 in this scenario?
Any examples of how you’d spend $1000 would be awesome
Lastly do you compare AMD to i5 or i7 in this scenario?
Any examples of how you’d spend $1000 would be awesome
Posted on 5/15/20 at 2:59 pm to Ohiosportsfan
I've built computers with both and either will work fine. Comes down to cost and performance you are willing to pay for. You can check CPU Benchmark to compare performance and cost of the various chips.
For most people an Intel i-5 or Ryzen 5 are good enough as long are you are not interested in gaming. The charts will have a speed rating for each processor, that is the total processing power. More important is to click on the link and look at the Single Thread Rating and compare those across different models/version/manufactures. Like I mentioned most software will use just a single process, so this is a more important comparison.
For most people an Intel i-5 or Ryzen 5 are good enough as long are you are not interested in gaming. The charts will have a speed rating for each processor, that is the total processing power. More important is to click on the link and look at the Single Thread Rating and compare those across different models/version/manufactures. Like I mentioned most software will use just a single process, so this is a more important comparison.
Posted on 5/15/20 at 4:35 pm to Ohiosportsfan
All these parts on newegg:
G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB (2x8) - 70.99
Intel 660P M.2 1TB NVME Drive - 118.99
MSI PRO Z390-A - 129.99
Fractal Design Focus G Black ATX - 53.99
Intel Core i5-9600k - 199.79
Windows 10 Home OEM - 109.99
EVGA 650 B5 650W - 89.88
Coolermaster i70 CPU Fan - 18.99
792.72. Shipping is estimated to be 21.85. Total of 812.57. Add in taxes and you're still below 900 total.
G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB (2x8) - 70.99
Intel 660P M.2 1TB NVME Drive - 118.99
MSI PRO Z390-A - 129.99
Fractal Design Focus G Black ATX - 53.99
Intel Core i5-9600k - 199.79
Windows 10 Home OEM - 109.99
EVGA 650 B5 650W - 89.88
Coolermaster i70 CPU Fan - 18.99
792.72. Shipping is estimated to be 21.85. Total of 812.57. Add in taxes and you're still below 900 total.
This post was edited on 5/15/20 at 9:38 pm
Posted on 5/15/20 at 5:11 pm to jdd48
You really would be shocked how much software is only capable of utilizing a single core. Although, more and more are getting into multiple cores. Most however, just do not need the extra processing power though.
Posted on 5/15/20 at 6:11 pm to td1
quote:But at least the other cores are available for other programs and the OS to utilize.
You really would be shocked how much software is only capable of utilizing a single core. Although, more and more are getting into multiple cores. Most however, just do not need the extra processing power though.
Few people have ever heard about it, but I used to be into BeOS back in the 90s. I wish it would have caught on, because it was pretty fricking awesome. It was designed from the ground up to take advantage of multiple cores. Even the simplest of programs were multi-threaded by default, because the OS spawned a UI thread for every window in addition to the program's main thread.
Modern OSes might do something similar these days, I really don't know. But back then, BeOS did miraculous things even on single core machines. BeOS would play 8 videos simultaneously, without a hint of stutter, on the same hardware that MacOS struggled to play 2.
It also had a database-like filesystem that could store files petabytes in size at a time that Windows with FAT couldn't handle over 4GB.
Makes me want to install HaiukOS for a little nostalgia trip.
Side note: Be, Inc. was way ahead of the game in more ways than one. They had stripped the OS down to run on what they called "internet appliances", which is basically what the Nest Hub and Echo Show are. They were about a decade ahead of the game, but they dumped so much money into it that it's the main reason the company went under.
Posted on 5/15/20 at 8:10 pm to Korkstand
This is funny, I was wrong on my MacBook years it’s 2012 but it is an Intel Dual Core i7, 8gb ram, 2.9ghz and 256 SSD (I added SSD later). No wonder it’s not clunking yet, but my wife needs a Windows 10 funny how the specs I was shopping aren’t even this. You could correct me how the newer generations are better? I really don’t know much about this stuff but I’ll go with your recs that a single core is still good enough for what I’m looking for.
Posted on 5/15/20 at 10:08 pm to Ohiosportsfan
I haven't bothered to set up an account to post pictures, so here is a text summary from searching the PassMark database.
Intel I7-3520M from the Apple MacBook Pro(2012)
2.9 GHz
Cores: 2 Threads: 4
Avg CPU Mark: 2875
Single Thread Rating: 1745
Intel I5-9600K (recommended by JDD48)
3.7 GHz (4.6 GHz Turbo)
Cores: 6 Threads: 6
Avg CPU Mark: 10880
Single Thread Rating: 2787
Higher the better for the ratings. Also, note that the MacBook has a mobile processor, those will always under preform when compared to a chip targeting a desktop. They run at lower voltage to control heat, so they have less processing power.
Intel I7-3520M from the Apple MacBook Pro(2012)
2.9 GHz
Cores: 2 Threads: 4
Avg CPU Mark: 2875
Single Thread Rating: 1745
Intel I5-9600K (recommended by JDD48)
3.7 GHz (4.6 GHz Turbo)
Cores: 6 Threads: 6
Avg CPU Mark: 10880
Single Thread Rating: 2787
Higher the better for the ratings. Also, note that the MacBook has a mobile processor, those will always under preform when compared to a chip targeting a desktop. They run at lower voltage to control heat, so they have less processing power.
This post was edited on 5/16/20 at 9:11 am
Posted on 5/15/20 at 11:30 pm to r3lay3r
(no message)
This post was edited on 5/15/20 at 11:56 pm
Posted on 5/16/20 at 12:54 am to Ohiosportsfan
quote:To be clear, you probably wouldn't be able to find a single core processor if you tried. Minimum these days is probably 4 cores. That's why I said don't worry about how many cores, it just doesn't matter. Just get an SSD, 16+ gigs of memory, and literally any processor on the market will blow through your spreadsheets and zoom meetings while you frick around on youtube.
I’ll go with your recs that a single core is still good enough for what I’m looking for.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 1:35 am to Ohiosportsfan
quote:
I have a microcenter near me so
frick I’m jealous. Closest one to me is a five and a half hour drive (Houston from New Orleans)
It’s definitely something I want to do in the near future.
From what I’ve heard, they’ll help you build it. They have specialist there specifically for that. I’m not sure if you have to pay them or tip them but even if you do it’s worth it because their prices beat any prices you can find online for brand new hardware.
MicroCenter walk around
This post was edited on 5/16/20 at 1:37 am
Posted on 5/16/20 at 10:11 am to Korkstand
quote:
To be clear, you probably wouldn't be able to find a single core processor if you tried. Minimum these days is probably 4 cores. That's why I said don't worry about how many cores, it just doesn't matter. Just get an SSD, 16+ gigs of memory, and literally any processor on the market will blow through your spreadsheets and zoom meetings while you frick around on youtube.
Mostly this. Except I really don't think you need 16GB RAM. It's not that much price-wise in the grand scheme of things, so it really wouldn't hurt, but 8GB is probably more than adequate. Speaking of Excel in particular, unless you're using the 64 bit version it is incapable of utilizing more than 4GB max. Browser tabs, on the other hand...
Anyway, I'd think you might be fine with onboard video depending on the motherboard and processor. I'd personally recommend the AMD Ryzen processors for many reasons. Some of them are better if you're going to use onboard graphics. If you want to go with a dedicated video card, note they can get REALLY pricey at the high end (easily blowing up your budget all on their own), but you don't need anything near that. A $150 card will do 10x what you want. Definitely, DEFINITELY go SSD, at least for your OS. Make it at least be 100GB, but obviously the more the better. You can buy a cheap multi-TB HD for bulk data.
Posted on 5/18/20 at 3:07 pm to Ohiosportsfan
I was looking to get a new desktop too. I recently purchased a refurbished one from Newegg but it had some problems so I sent it back for a refund. That was the first time I got a refurbished computer. Anyone have good experiences with refurbished computers.
I saw this one on Newegg today. I'm sure it has more than I need but that's a pretty good price if refurbished is the way to go.
Dell Optiplex 7040
I saw this one on Newegg today. I'm sure it has more than I need but that's a pretty good price if refurbished is the way to go.
Dell Optiplex 7040
Posted on 5/18/20 at 4:04 pm to marty
What kind of problems did it have?
I love buying refurbished electronics, as long as the return policy and warranty is adequate. Lemons can always sneak through the cracks, but that's just as true with new as it is for refurbished. Actually I think refurbished items have been given an extra look vs. new as far as quality control.
I love buying refurbished electronics, as long as the return policy and warranty is adequate. Lemons can always sneak through the cracks, but that's just as true with new as it is for refurbished. Actually I think refurbished items have been given an extra look vs. new as far as quality control.
Posted on 5/18/20 at 4:29 pm to Korkstand
It kept going to the black screen with the Dell log and saying Preparing Automatic Repair. It would sit like that and never do anything. I googled it to see if I could fix it and found there was a Preparing Automatic Repair loop problem. I tried a few things but couldn't get it to stop. If I turned the computer off and waited a while to turn it on it would work fine. It was a pretty fast computer when it worked. Newegg's return policy is 30 days for return or refund. I had no problem getting the refund. The computer comes with a 1 year limited warranty on parts and labor. Of course they do offer a 1 ($59.99) or 2 ($109.99) year SquareTrade warranty.
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