Input on low budget CPU

[Puppies04]

I dont want to start a war here but do you honestly believe that Intel G530(dual core 2.5GHz) will feel faster than AMD A4-5300 (Dual core 3.4GHz or 3.6GHz Turbo) ??? Not to mention the chaotic difference in the iGPU and better features in the FM2 platform (against H61/B75).

No need to start a war AtenRa. You recommend AMD at every turn, every thread, every time. You stick to your opinion and the rest of us will stick to ours I am not getting involved in another drawn out thread that turns into AMD vs Intel. I made my comments about where I believe AMDs strengths are above and I stick to them.

 

[AtenRa]

No need to start a war AtenRa. You recommend AMD at every turn, every thread, every time. You stick to your opinion and the rest of us will stick to ours I am not getting involved in another drawn out thread that turns into AMD vs Intel. I made my comments about where I believe AMDs strengths are above and I stick to them.

No need to get personal, I recommend both AMD and Intel depending on the budget and usage.
Since YOU said that AMD excels at Low end builds without discrete GPU and yet you have recommended an Intel build. Thats why I have asked you if you honestly believe that Intel G530 will feel faster than AMD A4-5300.

Any way if you dont want to have a conversation thats fine by me.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I would advise this celeron or a pentium, or a low end Llano/Trinity. I would stay away from the Brazos chips on the desktop. Since they ARE you parents, maybe you could contribute a bit and get them something nice like the i3 or A10. Should last them for many years for a minimal increase in cost now.

...:thumbsup:

Celeron G540+ Radeon 7750 or equivalent(optional)+H61 mobo should suit them comfortably.

7750 is complete and utter overkill for the F and F segment...

Cheaper alternative

ASRock FM2A75M-DGS FM2

Micro ATX with A75 Chipset, USB3, 6x SATA-6 etc at $54,99

AMD A4-5300 Trinity

Dual core with HD 7480D for 1080p playback at $64,99

Agree, though I'd bump the CPU to either A6-5400K or preferably an A8-5500/5600K. Some of my closer family is still running an X3-445 + HD4250, and no complaints so far... ()

 

[VirtualLarry]

Edit. On a side note, OP you don't suggest why you think the mobo+CPU are broken. It would be unlikely that both parts broke at the same time and could be another component. What exactly are the symptoms because if it is just the mobo or PSU or RAM etc that is actually faulty then you may be better off replacing the faulty part and sticking with what you have.

Very good point. cheapest solution would be to replace broken component. This might allow them to get away with not having to re-install Windows too.

 

[Mallibu]

I dont want to start a war here but do you honestly believe that Intel G530(dual core 2.5GHz) will feel faster than AMD A4-5300 (Dual core 3.4GHz or 3.6GHz Turbo) ??? Not to mention the chaotic difference in the iGPU and better features in the FM2 platform (against H61/B75).

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/mid_range_cpus.html

G530 = 2300 score
A5300 = 1900 score

The G530 will also consume less power, and SSDs perform better on Intel chipsets than AMD ones. The G530 iGPU will be more than enough for his parent's basic usage.
So what's the reason to prefer AMD again?

 

[NTMBK]

I'm curious, what makes you think that it is the mobo/CPU which has died? Motherboard I can believe, but CPUs are usually the last things to die. What are the symptoms?

If they really are dead I'd probably say go with something like an A8-5600k. If they want something to last a few years, a quad-core is a good idea. (Not to mention internet videos are only getting higher and higher quality over time, so when almost all of Youtube is in 1080p they'll probably want decent graphics performance.)

 

[Insert_Nickname]

So what's the reason to prefer AMD again?

The A4/A6 has a much better platform, then the low-end Intel H61. It also has a much more competent iGPU for video decoding. Not to mention full support for the complete AVX instruction set. That might not matter now, but a few years down the road it might...

The F and F segment tends to notice something like a missing feature (e.g. missing USB3), they do not mind something a little slower. Thing is you have to remember that most are not enthusiasts, and hence have never used enthusiast-class gear. Some of my friends are completely blown-away when they use my main system, coming from old laptops and worse...

 

[Insomniator]

Guys are funny here..

Do NOT get a video card or SSD. A low end Celeron or Pentium (low end like under 50 bucks) with a board is perfectly fine. Our last batch of Dell 380's came with G850's and they were still probably overkill for office use.

You don't need and won't need a freaking quad core for youtube and freecell in the coming years.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The no video card I can understand, but why no SSD? Sure, it's an added expense, and not strictly needed, but if the failed part is the HDD, then an SSD, under light usage like the OP specified, would probably last much longer than an HDD. Perhaps the entire lifespan of the computer, or the lifespan of the OP's parents, if it's a quality unit (Intel, Non-SandForce, or Samsung).

 

[wpcoe]

Along with the sane inquiries asking which components died, I might also add: WHY did it/they die? A malfunctioning power supply can easily fry a mobo, CPU and/or RAM. Putting a new combo back in that situation can also fry just as nicely.

Determine the failure -- and find the reason -- THEN work on a solution, IMHO.

 

[Mallibu]

The A4/A6 has a much better platform, then the low-end Intel H61. It also has a much more competent iGPU for video decoding. Not to mention full support for the complete AVX instruction set. That might not matter now, but a few years down the road it might...

1) What does "much better platform" means? What are the gains of the AMD platform that makes sense to have higher power consumpion and lower performance?
2) Casual user doesn't encode that much, and when he does he certainly doesn't mind it beeing from CPU/GPU or anything.
3) I don't think they care about complete AVX insctruction set.
Sorry but I just see 0 meaningful reasons to buy AMD

 

[pauldun170]

$45 1155 board (Holiday sales)
$50 G530
Reuse everything else

 

[Puppies04]

No need to get personal, I recommend both AMD and Intel depending on the budget and usage.
Since YOU said that AMD excels at Low end builds without discrete GPU and yet you have recommended an Intel build. Thats why I have asked you if you honestly believe that Intel G530 will feel faster than AMD A4-5300.

Any way if you dont want to have a conversation thats fine by me.

He doesn't need a discrete card hence the fact I am recommending an intel build. Why you think he would require one with his blatantly light usage described in post #1 is beyond me.

 

[imported_PowerHouse]

I built my parents a Mini-ITX box for just this kind of work. It was a dual-core Intel Atom HT 330 and an NVIDIA ION. It does its job quietly and perfectly all day long while sipping power. Yes, it will play HD YT vids because of the ION chip. They love it and think it is plenty fast enough for what they do.

Basically any reasonably recent CPU will handle the tasks you mentioned with ease.

 

[tweakboy]

Grab a i7 3570k dirt cheap...

 

[Insert_Nickname]

1) What does "much better platform" means? What are the gains of the AMD platform that makes sense to have higher power consumpion and lower performance?
2) Casual user doesn't encode that much, and when he does he certainly doesn't mind it beeing from CPU/GPU or anything.
3) I don't think they care about complete AVX insctruction set.
Sorry but I just see 0 meaningful reasons to buy AMD

1) The A55 has built-in SATA3, the A75 has both SATA3 and USB3 built-in. The H61 has neither. There is the B75, but it tends to be as expensive as a comparable AMD board.

2) Correct, but there is a tendency for software to be use more and more GPU-accelleration. Also the Radeon iGPU is HUGELY superior to the HD2000. Believe me I have used both... (and every single Intel iGPU ever made I think...)

3) Well as I wrote, it might not matter right now. But 3-4-5 years down the line it just might. Have you seen the performance improvement over SSE code, that's possible?. This kind of system tends to have a very long service life...

And can we please get over that AMD uses more power...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6347/amd-a10-5800k-a8-5600k-review-trinity-on-the-desktop-part-2/8

Note two things, Anand uses a fullsize ATX board, and the 5600K/5800K both has a 100W TDP. The 5300/5400K/5500/5700 are guaranteed not to pull more then 65W...

I'm not trying to troll here, you're perfectly entitled to your opinion, I just disagree with you and have tried to point out why...

 

[blastingcap]

USB 3.0 is a valid point. If you do zero in on the problem and it's the mobo, try to get a mobo with USB 3.0 as a replacement. Yeah you can add a USB 3.0 adapter card to a mobo with out, but that's extra cost and might not work as well/be as compatible.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

USB 3.0 is a valid point. If you do zero in on the problem and it's the mobo, try to get a mobo with USB 3.0 as a replacement. Yeah you can add a USB 3.0 adapter card to a mobo with out, but that's extra cost and might not work as well/be as compatible.

I have had good luck with NEC/Renesas-based cards in various guises. Just make sure they are running both the latest firmware and drivers...

 

[Puppies04]

Grab a i7 3570k dirt cheap...

I don't know where to start with this post but here goes....

Tweak not only does a I7 3570K not exist (i5 3570k or i7 3770k) neither of them are anything like budget chips. Please if you aren't really sure what you are putting then it would probably be best if you don't offer advice in this sort of circumstance because you will end up confusing people.

 

[VirtualLarry]

USB 3.0 is a valid point. If you do zero in on the problem and it's the mobo, try to get a mobo with USB 3.0 as a replacement. Yeah you can add a USB 3.0 adapter card to a mobo with out, but that's extra cost and might not work as well/be as compatible.

That motherboard I suggested at Geeks.com, does have SATA6G and USB3, I think.

 

[wirm]

Along with the sane inquiries asking which components died, I might also add: WHY did it/they die? A malfunctioning power supply can easily fry a mobo, CPU and/or RAM. Putting a new combo back in that situation can also fry just as nicely.

Determine the failure -- and find the reason -- THEN work on a solution, IMHO.

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments. As to the current problems:

Every once in a while, the computer will either lock up, or the screen will turn blue with that Physical Memory Dump screen. I then have to restart it.

For a while, it would do this every 5 minutes. Oddly enough, every time I opened up the case and fiddled with things, the computer would work fine for a few more days.

I thought it was the power supply, so I got a new one, but the same thing happens. The computer is fine most of the time, but about once a day, it crashes.

I have tried reinstalling the operating system (Windows Vista), but that didn't help either.

If it's not the CPU/Motherboard, what could it be? I did a memory test with the RAM, but it didn't find anything.

Personally, I would love to not switch out anything. But I don't know what the problem is. I've already wasted money buying a new power supply, and that didn't do anything.

 

[riva2model64]

@wirm: is the thing overheating? Try running a program like occt, and see what your temps are on load. or speedfan. If they are high, clean that bad boy out with a can of compressed air or check to make sure the cpu is seated right.

When diagnosing the computer, its a good idea to run with only one stick of ram at default speed (probably ddr2 800 1.8v 5-5-5-18 timings). If one stick causes problems, trying running the comp with just the other stick to see if either stick is bad. I've seen memory cause issues, but not show anything in memory tests.

Another option is to dissamble the system, remove battery from mobo and let it sit for an hour, then put the battry back in and run the mobo w/cpu + one stick ram with no hard drive on a bare piece of wood to make sure nothing is shorting out. Try leaving it in bios and seeing how long it lasts. If it lasts indefinitely, your issue maybe related with HDD or sata controller.

GL keep us posted

 

[blastingcap]

HCI Memtest for 1000% coverage, or if you want to slum it, memtest86+ for about 72 hours, ought to determine if the memory is at fault. Could be mobo or CPU, too. Is the CPU overheating? Is the cooler free of dust, and is the fan spinning properly? What kind of temperatures are we talking about here?

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments. As to the current problems:

Every once in a while, the computer will either lock up, or the screen will turn blue with that Physical Memory Dump screen. I then have to restart it.

For a while, it would do this every 5 minutes. Oddly enough, every time I opened up the case and fiddled with things, the computer would work fine for a few more days.

I thought it was the power supply, so I got a new one, but the same thing happens. The computer is fine most of the time, but about once a day, it crashes.

I have tried reinstalling the operating system (Windows Vista), but that didn't help either.

If it's not the CPU/Motherboard, what could it be? I did a memory test with the RAM, but it didn't find anything.

Personally, I would love to not switch out anything. But I don't know what the problem is. I've already wasted money buying a new power supply, and that didn't do anything.

 

[SPBHM]

I dont want to start a war here but do you honestly believe that Intel G530(dual core 2.5GHz) will feel faster than AMD A4-5300 (Dual core 3.4GHz or 3.6GHz Turbo) ??? Not to mention the chaotic difference in the iGPU and better features in the FM2 platform (against H61/B75).

about "feeling faster" I'm not sure, both are proably going to feel the same on the basic tasks, a direct comparison is hard to find, but from AIDA benchmark I found these (don't expect it to be 100% exact comparison, but):

G530 (2.4GHz) / A4 5300 (3.4-3.6GHz)

CPU Queen: 11387 / 9081
CPU Photoworxx: 18376 / 12122

if you are not gaming, I don't expect you to notice the difference from the IGPs, probably for an HTPC it would be better to go with AMD...


Athlon II X2 should be enough, just try and fix the current PC...
windows have a built in memory test I think.

 

[AtenRa]

Well, the thing is that AMD A6-5400K at 3.6GHz has almost the same performance in single threaded apps as Intel Pentium G630 (2.7GHz with 3MB Cache) when Intel Celeron G530 is at 2.4GHz with 2MB cache.

Now add that AMD A75 has more and better features, plus you get a much better iGPU for HTPC, OpenCL etc, i would say that the Trinity A6-5300 + A75 combination is way better at almost the same price point.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a10-5800k-a8-5600k-a6-5400k,3224-13.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-llano-opencl,3284-7.html