1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Hardware The Best Sub-£100 CPU

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by arcticstoat, 31 Oct 2011.

  1. arcticstoat

    arcticstoat Minimodder

    Joined:
    19 May 2004
    Posts:
    917
    Likes Received:
    21
    David likes this.
  2. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    15,401
    Likes Received:
    2,996
    what about for say HTPC work, will the likes of the Pentium cope with playing blurrys and other HD video...
     
  3. Bauul

    Bauul Sir Bongaminge

    Joined:
    7 Apr 2007
    Posts:
    2,173
    Likes Received:
    38
    Lol, I read that as "bluhrees" first time round. Thought I'd missed out on some funky new media technology!
     
  4. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    15,401
    Likes Received:
    2,996
    Force of habit... calling Blu-Rays 'Blurrys'
     
  5. NuTech

    NuTech Minimodder

    Joined:
    18 Mar 2002
    Posts:
    2,222
    Likes Received:
    96
    I really like the way this article was presented, especially the last page.

    Like most I assume, I skipped to the 'What to Buy' and read the 4 handy use-cases. Saw the processor that suits the build I'm planning (2D applications only) and then flipped back to the relevant previous pages.

    I think a lot of sites fear having such a concise 'TL;DR' thinking people then won't read the article, but honestly, it's the opposite. Very few people are going to read every single word from each page anyway, most (myself included) just want to find the information they need with the least confusion possible.

    More like this please. :thumb:
     
  6. V3ctor

    V3ctor Tech addict...

    Joined:
    10 Dec 2008
    Posts:
    584
    Likes Received:
    3
    I missed these reviews... :)
     
  7. steveo_mcg

    steveo_mcg What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    26 May 2005
    Posts:
    5,841
    Likes Received:
    80
    What he said. :thumb:
     
  8. Ross1

    Ross1 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    15 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    194
    Likes Received:
    5
    Still probably between the A8-350 and the i3-2100.

    One thing the sandybridge graphics wont do correctly is 23.976FPS playback, while the AMD graphics will.

    The i3-2100 does tend to have lower power consumption, but the at load figure is slightly misleading for HTPC use, as for HD playback you will find the AMD chip has a lower power draw ( http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/amd-a8-3800_21.html#sect0 )
     
  9. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

    Joined:
    7 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    17,419
    Likes Received:
    5,791
    Nice roundup.

    Can I just make one minor request, in that you stop swapping the Value, Speed & Features score positions around? It's not a big deal, but it is irritating.

    Thanks

    Spreadie
     
  10. Aracos

    Aracos What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    11 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    1,338
    Likes Received:
    47
    Amazing how efficient the Intel CPU's are :O
     
  11. confusis

    confusis Kiwi-modder

    Joined:
    5 Jan 2006
    Posts:
    2,406
    Likes Received:
    63
    I wonder if the Bit-Tech crew panicked when they realised they had to reccomend an AMD cpu.. not on form for this site at all!
     
  12. bulletdodger

    bulletdodger What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    31 Oct 2011
    Posts:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    how come you didnt include the bulldozer fx-4 ? its under a 100 quid.
     
  13. mucgoo

    mucgoo Minimodder

    Joined:
    9 Dec 2010
    Posts:
    1,602
    Likes Received:
    41
    Any reason for the recommendation of the A8 over pheonem 955 for gaming with a discrete GPU?
    The 955 a faster and cheaper processor mainly due to socket F1 boards being pricey for a budget line.

    Also shouldn't motherboard socket price be a factor?

    Doing something for the more normal computing needs is great though.
     
  14. Evildead666

    Evildead666 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    27 May 2004
    Posts:
    340
    Likes Received:
    4
    Great article.
    At least it shows that its not really the CPU holding back in gaming nowadays but mostly the GPU ;)

    Good work !
     
  15. tonyd223

    tonyd223 king of nothing

    Joined:
    12 Nov 2009
    Posts:
    389
    Likes Received:
    2
    Me? The Phenom 955 as there's an upgrade path... and it's over clockable, that's a no brainer isn't it?
     
  16. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

    Joined:
    16 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    2,761
    Likes Received:
    89
    AM3+ boards might be cheaper but we probably wouldn't want to use them for 24/7 overclocking - we'd still prefer a decent 990FX board such as the Sabertooth. The cheaper ones aren't really built for it. Plus the Phenom 955 needed to be heavily overclocked to pip the 3850 to the post. It drew way more power, particularly when idle and needed a far beefier cooler. The MSI Socket FM1 board we used was very substantial and only costs £65 now too.
     
  17. John_T

    John_T Minimodder

    Joined:
    3 Aug 2009
    Posts:
    533
    Likes Received:
    23
    Excellent article, loved it - thanks!

    What I reckon may also be a good idea for an article, if you can stand suggestions, would be something along the lines of a Top Gear style challenge: All you guys have a fixed budget of say £400, (or whatever) and have to get a MoBo, CPU & HSF, GPU & Memory, (with the Case, PSU, HDD etc standard).

    You can all get whatever gear you like within the confines of the budget and see who can build the best rig possible for a set range of challenges.

    I don't know if that'd be possible, but I think it would make a pretty fantastic read - and would offer the chance for serious bragging rights...
     
  18. fluxtatic

    fluxtatic What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    25 Aug 2010
    Posts:
    507
    Likes Received:
    5
    AM3+ boards might be cheaper but we probably wouldn't want to use them for 24/7 overclocking - we'd still prefer a decent 990FX board such as the Sabertooth. The cheaper ones aren't really built for it. [/QUOTE]

    ...wut? The 990FX is an AM3+ board...I get what you meant, but the wording was a little off. That aside, isn't that the case generally, no matter the platform? I'd like to think we all know better than to think we'll get good, lasting results out of OCing a Biostar board, disregarding what socket it's on. I know it happens, but I wouldn't count on it from a cheapie board.

    I have to agree with John_T - total platform cost should definitely weigh in here. Even take it the other way - build (and justify) the best PC for the lowest price on a given platform. If you built an FM1 but used 1600 MHz RAM, give me the numbers that the bump in FPS wasn't worth the higher price. Or that you can squeeze more out of a Phenom II, but you may not want to skyrocket the power consumption. Naturally, it's not perfect - prices fluctuate almost every day, and a particular part won't necessarily overclock the same as another of the same model, but the CPU price alone is one of 3 major components that will make the biggest difference in price. Of course, there are many more mobos than there are processors for a given socket, same with RAM, but give us a range here. Lay out at least an estimate of how much it will cost to build a decent system on a given platform. Processor alone doesn't give a complete-enough picture, imo.
     
  19. Ross1

    Ross1 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    15 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    194
    Likes Received:
    5
    Hopefully it wasnt a different site that tried that, but I seem to recall reading a similar article to that at one point. They all had a budget, 1 guy tried to buy second hand, one guy tried to just buy a prebuilt, another tried to build his own.
     
  20. steveo_mcg

    steveo_mcg What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    26 May 2005
    Posts:
    5,841
    Likes Received:
    80
    Wasn't it custom PC?
     
Tags: Add Tags

Share This Page