Considering Crunching Upgrade

[[Ion]]

I now have a job (which is very exciting at almost 16), so I now have more money to spend on computer upgrades. I'll have a total of around $800 by mid-July.
Here's what I'm considering:

• Phenom II X6 1055T ($200)
• Phenom II X6 1090T ($300)
• Phenom II X6 1055T/1090T + 4GB DDR3 + 790/890FX/GX (~$450 or ~$550
• i7 860 + 4GB DDR3 + Gigabyte P55 ($525)

Now, the X6 1055T or 1090T would obviously be the cheapest upgrades because I could re-use existing components, but I doubt that it would be as fast as an i7. In particular, I doubt that I could OC the 1055T much on my cheap 785G motherboard, so I doubt I could get past 3.6ghz (and due to the 4-phase power circuitry, I wouldn't want to go any further). Considering the price/PPD, which do you guys think I should go with?

 

[onepost]

I now have a job (which is very exciting at almost 16), so I now have more money to spend on computer upgrades. I'll have a total of around $800 by mid-July.
Here's what I'm considering:

• Phenom II X6 1055T ($200)
• Phenom II X6 1090T ($300)
• Phenom II X6 1055T/1090T + 4GB DDR3 + 790/890FX/GX (~$450 or ~$550
• i7 860 + 4GB DDR3 + Gigabyte P55 ($525)

Now, the X6 1055T or 1090T would obviously be the cheapest upgrades because I could re-use existing components, but I doubt that it would be as fast as an i7. In particular, I doubt that I could OC the 1055T much on my cheap 785G motherboard, so I doubt I could get past 3.6ghz (and due to the 4-phase power circuitry, I wouldn't want to go any further). Considering the price/PPD, which do you guys think I should go with?

Personally i would recommend investing that money in something other than a depreciating asset but there is a reason both of us are at a site like TPU.

that said, I just upgraded to a i7 930 and it was an expensive upgrade but 8 threads @ 4.1 is if you are upgrading in mid july i'd wait and price things then - a lot can change in 2 months in the tech world.

 

[[Ion]]

Personally i would recommend investing that money in something other than a depreciating asset but there is a reason both of us are at a site like TPU.

that said, I just upgraded to a i7 930 and it was an expensive upgrade but 8 threads @ 4.1 is if you are upgrading in mid july i'd wait and price things then - a lot can change in 2 months in the tech world.

I'm not going to be getting an i7 9x0, given the price of the extra 2GB of memory and the more expensive X58 board, I can't justify it. That being said, I may try to trade my Phenom II X4 955, GA-MA785GM-US2H and my 4GB of DDR2 for an i5 6x0 setup (lower power consumption & not much lower performance). I may not even upgrade at all, I'm just looking to see what would be the best if I did upgrade

 

[Fourstaff]

1055T, because its the most price efficient one. I am curious, you seem to be a bit young to be working at 16, is it a part time job?

 

[[Ion]]

1055T, because its the most price efficient one. I am curious, you seem to be a bit young to be working at 16, is it a part time job?

Yep. In NC, you can actually start working at places like grocery stores bagging groceries at 14.
The 1055T is what I've been leaning towards because it's so much cheaper, and should provide ~50% better PPD than my current X4 955. And hopefully I could get at least $100 for the X4, so it would really be less than $100

 

[vaiopup]

i7 and a cheapish gpu......depends on your projects

 

[[Ion]]

i7 and a cheapish gpu......depends on your projects

I mainly run WCG..this wouldn't be for a second rig, just an upgrade to the rig in my specs (parents won't let me have more than one desktop and one laptop). I don't think I need a new GPU, I just got the GTX260 a bit over a week ago and I love it..so much better than the 8800GTS it replaced. A used i7 is very tempting, I've been offered some DDR3 so I could get an i7 together for probably $300...choices, choices, choices

 

[vaiopup]

Sensible parents

My kids have quads and netbooks and still want more lol.

BTW......There are projects that would appreciate gpu goodness

 

[epicfail]

1055T, because its the most price efficient one. I am curious, you seem to be a bit young to be working at 16, is it a part time job?

Sensible parents

My kids have quads and netbooks and still want more lol.

BTW......There are projects that would appreciate gpu goodness

wow lucky.
ive been working since 15, and buy all my own electronics and my bike.

i get food and cloth . o well it works and makes me not just spend and spend well k not rly but still

1600$ on a mountain bike wasnt really sensible on my part.

 

[[Ion]]

Sensible parents

My kids have quads and netbooks and still want more lol.

BTW......There are projects that would appreciate gpu goodness

Oh, I fold on the GTX260 (and it tops out around 8k PPD), but due to the heat output of GPUs I'd rather not have too many

I have a Thinkpad T400 and the desktop in my sig..the rule is that I can get whatever I want as long as it's one desktop and I pay for it...so the quad is already overkill, but I NEEDZ MORE PPD!!1!11!

 

[vaiopup]

Quads are overkill?

Sh** should have told me sooner

And the bike, if you earned it and you enjoy it, then it's fine.
At least you earn your way, unlike my kids lol.

Slackers

 

[[Ion]]

Well, the games I play don't use more than 2 cores, so really a high-clocked Clarkdale would be better for them, but I like the WCG performance of a real quad (and not a dual-with-HT mess)

 

[vaiopup]

I prefer quad with HT........as for games, I got the world cup for that

 

[[Ion]]

So the consensus is that I should keep my mobo + RAM and pick up a 1055T? An i7 really is tempting though, 8 threads is awesome

 

[ERazer]

gonna be mainly for crunching then gaming? i would go for i7, 8thread = uber ppd

 

[[Ion]]

gonna be mainly for crunching then gaming? i would go for i7, 8thread = uber ppd

yep, mainly crunching, the x4 955 is plenty for games now that I have a modern GPU (8800GTS G80 wasn't cutting it).

an i7 looks nice, I could get an 860 setup for around $400 new or $300 used, so it would either be $100 or $200 more than an x6 1055T (what about bing cashback? then couldn't i get the 1055t for $175?)

 

[Chicken Patty]

I now have a job (which is very exciting at almost 16), so I now have more money to spend on computer upgrades. I'll have a total of around $800 by mid-July.
Here's what I'm considering:

• Phenom II X6 1055T ($200)
• Phenom II X6 1090T ($300)
• Phenom II X6 1055T/1090T + 4GB DDR3 + 790/890FX/GX (~$450 or ~$550
• i7 860 + 4GB DDR3 + Gigabyte P55 ($525)

Now, the X6 1055T or 1090T would obviously be the cheapest upgrades because I could re-use existing components, but I doubt that it would be as fast as an i7. In particular, I doubt that I could OC the 1055T much on my cheap 785G motherboard, so I doubt I could get past 3.6ghz (and due to the 4-phase power circuitry, I wouldn't want to go any further). Considering the price/PPD, which do you guys think I should go with?

this is simple. If it's a crunching upgrade, go i7

 

[[Ion]]

this is simple. If it's a crunching upgrade, go i7

But it would be soooo expensive (at least it would be new, which is how I prefer to go). I could probably get ~200 for my AMD stuff, JR has offered me 3GB of DDR3 for free, with any luck I could get a used i7 860 and a P55 board for a tad over $300, so then I guess it would only be ~125 to upgrade to i7, which isn't bad I guess (although, I much prefer to buy new because of warranty issues). I guess if I sell the AMD stuff and get JR's DDR3, an upgrade to an i7 860 shouldn't be much more than $200

 

[Chicken Patty]

But it would be soooo expensive (at least it would be new, which is how I prefer to go). I could probably get ~200 for my AMD stuff, JR has offered me 3GB of DDR3 for free, with any luck I could get a used i7 860 and a P55 board for a tad over $300, so then I guess it would only be ~125 to upgrade to i7, which isn't bad I guess (although, I much prefer to buy new because of warranty issues). I guess if I sell the AMD stuff and get JR's DDR3, an upgrade to an i7 860 shouldn't be much more than $200

Depending on who you buy from, it is like new, and warranty is not an issue. Just try to buy from someone reputable. At least if it was me per say, you wouldn't have an issue with warranty and product would be like new

 

[[Ion]]

Depending on who you buy from, it is like new, and warranty is not an issue. Just try to buy from someone reputable. At least if it was me per say, you wouldn't have an issue with warranty and product would be like new

I won't be buying until the end of May at the latest (when I get paid), maybe mid-June since we're going out of town for the first 12 days of June, but I'll see what I can find when I get paid.

I have a sore taste from buying stuff used online ever since I bought a $85 mobo off of someone on [H] that came dead, I couldn't RMA it, and he refused to return it. So I will still buy used if I can find a reputable seller (ie bogmali), but I really prefer to buy new, just in case

 

[Chicken Patty]

I won't be buying until the end of May at the latest (when I get paid), maybe mid-June since we're going out of town for the first 12 days of June, but I'll see what I can find when I get paid.

I have a sore taste from buying stuff used online ever since I bought a $85 mobo off of someone on [H] that came dead, I couldn't RMA it, and he refused to return it. So I will still buy used if I can find a reputable seller (ie bogmali), but I really prefer to buy new, just in case

Let me know when you are ready, I'll see if I can get something lined up for you

 

[(FIH) The Don]

i7 no doubt, its worth it

 

[Chicken Patty]

i7 no doubt, its worth it

Although I prefer AMD, i7 is the way to go when it comes to crunching and benching if you ask me

 

[(FIH) The Don]

+1

 

[[Ion]]

Let me know when you are ready, I'll see if I can get something lined up for you

Awesome, thanks!
What sort of clock do you think I would be able to get out of an i7 860 and 3GB of random DDR3, on, say, a P55A-UD3 with my H50? Maybe 3.8ghz?