Celeron G3900 or G3930 with 2GB DDR3L on LGA1151 board....

kwalkingcraze

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So, I'm installing (right now) the world's-first LGA1151 board powered with only a 2GB DDR3L stick I won for only $5 on eBay. Due to rising costs of DDR4 RAMs (4GB for $35, 8GB for $65), and there are no 2GB DDR4s made, I decided to get this open-box Biostar H110MHV3 board for $29. The newer operating system, like Windows 10, has helped 2GB RAM run faster with less demand to memory than previous operating systems before.

So, which Celeron digests better with only 2GB RAM, and operates faster? Celeron G3900 or G3930? Neither one is cheaper here, both sell at the same market price.

Is 2GB better for 32-bit or 64-bit operating system? I'm not sure if G3930 takes 2GB DDR3L or 32-bit OS, due to newer architecture.
 
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VirtualLarry

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Well, whether you can run a 32-bit or 64-bit OS, in your case, is down to the platform firmware. Either CPU is compatible with either.

The G3900, being Skylake, is officially supported in Windows 7 64-bit, and can receive updates. The G3930, being Kaby Lake, may have better video-decoding hardware, but is officially unsupported in Windows 7 64-bit.

Either CPU should run fine with Windows 10.

So, I would say, go with Windows 10, and the G3930. I might still stick 64-bit on there, just because some decent apps are available for 64-bit these days.

But regardless, 2GB of RAM isn't a lot. I would try to pick up an additional 2GB DDR3L stick, for cheap, just to enable dual-channel, and get you up to 4GB of RAM, which is what I would consider the bare minimum for modern computing, if you care about the experience at all. (Really, I try to stick to 8GB and an SSD, if possible. But for ultra-ultra-budget low-low-end rigs, I might do 4GB, and a 60GB SSD.)

Edit: One last thing to consider, is whether the Kaby Lake G3930 will even boot in that board. Does it have a BIOS update to support Kaby Lake? My Biostar B150 Hifi boards did, but I had to boot it first with a Skylake CPU to flash the BIOS. Which may be the case here. So, in that case, if you do not have access to a Skylake CPU to flash the BIOS, then you might just want to go with the Skylake CPU. But you'll give up 4K VP9 decoding on YouTube using the iGPU, with the Skylake CPU. Not that that current works in Firefox anyways, but I've tested it with Edge in Windows 10, and it works decently.
 
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whm1974

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Two 4GB sticks of DDR4 memory doesn't cost that much good grief. About $70 depending on brand and speed. And I wouldn't go below a Pentium G4560 anyway.
 

SPBHM

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Skylake should be fine on win7, you only need to install some stuff like this https://github.com/zeffy/wufuc to unlock updates as far as I know, also maybe mod your windows 7 image to include drivers to make installing easier

for 2GB I would install 32bit windows, you can feel the difference from 32 to 64bit memory usage when limited to just 2gb.
 

kwalkingcraze

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About $70 depending on brand and speed.
That's a lot of money today. Unacceptable... 8GB DDR3 (2 x 4GB sticks) bottomed out at $25 back in mid-2015. Except for 2GB, RAMs are now three times more-expensive than 2 years ago.

Remember, $70 buys you a whole Dell OptiPlex PC. I'm trying to avoid paying the extra $70 and lose my shirt. Auctions prefer to bid only $75 max for a complete LGA1151 PC, regardless of RAM size and processor inside.
 
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whm1974

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That's a lot of money today. Unacceptable... 8GB DDR3 (2 x 4GB sticks) bottomed out at $25 back in mid-2015. Except for 2GB, RAMs are now three times more-expensive than 2 years ago.

Remember, $70 buys you a whole Dell OptiPlex PC. I'm trying to avoid paying the extra $70 and lose my shirt. Auctions prefer to bid only $75 max for a complete LGA1151 PC, regardless of RAM size and processor inside.
If you can get a whole Socket 1151 PC for $75 go for it, however at that price I'll be wondering what is the catch.
 

whm1974

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I find that hard to believe. Maybe a dual-core 1155 system for $75.
I agree, my dad brought a computer for $300ish and it was an old system. He quite got the sticker shock show after told him that he could have gotten a brand new system that would run circles around this. I think it is more likely that most people will overpay for computers sold at auctions.

This why I don't buy stuff at auctions.
 

kwalkingcraze

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I agree, my dad brought a computer for $300ish and it was an old system. He quite got the sticker shock show after told him that he could have gotten a brand new system that would run circles around this. I think it is more likely that most people will overpay for computers sold at auctions.

This why I don't buy stuff at auctions.
But there are many other auctions I've seen where people just forgot to bid or couldn't make it home on time, so some items end up really cheap.
 

JerYnkFan

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I would keep an eye on eBay or these boards and try to pick up some more RAM. The system is going to run like garbage & you'll probably wind up getting frustrated as hell. I don't run anything now with less than 8GB and even that is insufficient at times with my work PCs


(Spam removed)
 
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PhonakV30

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Can I overclock my G3900 on Asus Prime Z270-p ? i did on my Biostar Z270-GT6.It killed Bios and i had to use another Bios.
 

whm1974

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Well, a computer is a computer. The average Joe wouldn't know what's inside a PC, as long as it starts at $75 price. They only care whether it turns on or not.
Yeah but it is way too easy to overpay for something at auctions.
 

kwalkingcraze

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Testing today... (repost from other thread)

I found putting just one 2GB DDR3 1600 stick valued at $5, overclock and change CAS latency from 11 to 8, along with SSD drive, performs just as well as 4GB with 5400RPM mechanical hard drive. Single-thread faster too. I don't know if the world is ready to go back to 2GB with faster CAS latency and SSD standard, because I sure think there's hope. 16GB DDR4 is a rip-off. Windows 10 barely needs that much, and it consumes LESS RAM than Windows 7 and 8.1 before. Remember to set shared graphics memory no higher than 64MB.

Remember back in 2006 when 2GB was the fastest and greatest, and luxurious? I haven't forgot about that era.
 

kwalkingcraze

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But regardless, 2GB of RAM isn't a lot. I would try to pick up an additional 2GB DDR3L stick, for cheap, just to enable dual-channel, and get you up to 4GB of RAM, which is what I would consider the bare minimum for modern computing, if you care about the experience at all.
You're right. Buying two 2GB sticks are much cheaper than one 4GB stick. I'll look into that... if I can win another 2GB stick for $3, but there's always 1GB stick available to make it 3GB RAM total. Decisions.... This setup puts all the 16GB to shame.
 

VirtualLarry

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Testing today... (repost from other thread)

I found putting just one 2GB DDR3 1600 stick valued at $5, overclock and change CAS latency from 11 to 8, along with SSD drive, performs just as well as 4GB with 5400RPM mechanical hard drive. Single-thread faster too. I don't know if the world is ready to go back to 2GB with faster CAS latency and SSD standard, because I sure think there's hope. 16GB DDR4 is a rip-off. Windows 10 barely needs that much, and it consumes LESS RAM than Windows 7 and 8.1 before. Remember to set shared graphics memory no higher than 64MB.
I just did the opposite. I re-configured a box that has a G3258 in it, and had 2x8GB DDR3-1600, and a 120GB SSD and Windows 10. I pulled out the 16GB of DDR3, and put in a single 8GB DDR3L-1600 DIMM (runs at 1333), and I pulled the SSD, and put in a 160GB WD 7200RPM HDD, and re-formatted.

Other than the updates taking longer, it wasn't hugely slower. It was slower, of course, but it also then cost a lot less. (Got the 160GB HDDs with zero POH for $12 ea. on ebay a while ago.)

The thing is, compared to the G4560 machines I have, the G3258 (@4.2Ghz) seemed slower, and it benchmarks slower in CPU-Z too. (At least, MT is slower, ST might be slightly but un-noticeably slower.)
 

kwalkingcraze

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Other than the updates taking longer, it wasn't hugely slower. It was slower, of course, but it also then cost a lot less. (Got the 160GB HDDs with zero POH for $12 ea. on ebay a while ago.}
Trying running the 8GB with SSD, not mechanical hard drive you just replaced. Not a valid comparison.

I wonder how the G3258 will do at 2GB RAM?
 

escrow4

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Testing today... (repost from other thread)

I found putting just one 2GB DDR3 1600 stick valued at $5, overclock and change CAS latency from 11 to 8, along with SSD drive, performs just as well as 4GB with 5400RPM mechanical hard drive. Single-thread faster too. I don't know if the world is ready to go back to 2GB with faster CAS latency and SSD standard, because I sure think there's hope. 16GB DDR4 is a rip-off. Windows 10 barely needs that much, and it consumes LESS RAM than Windows 7 and 8.1 before. Remember to set shared graphics memory no higher than 64MB.

Remember back in 2006 when 2GB was the fastest and greatest, and luxurious? I haven't forgot about that era.

I've hit 4.2GB usage out of 16GB on this 10 box. 2GB isn't enough for a phone these days.
------------------------------------

And why do you have an alt account waltchan?
 
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whm1974

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I've hit 4.2GB usage out of 16GB on this 10 box. 2GB isn't enough for a phone these days.
------------------------------------

And why do you have an alt account waltchan?
I would say at least 8GB for a basic system at this time.
 

VirtualLarry

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Yeah, 2GB is way too low. Maybe on a cheap-o Chromebook or Cloudbook,running 32-bit Windows. Even then, I prefer 4GB.

8GB is "comfortable", 4GB is "doable, but cramped", and 2GB is "well, that device is cheap, isn't it".
 

kwalkingcraze

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8GB is "comfortable", 4GB is "doable, but cramped", and 2GB is "well, that device is cheap, isn't it".
If the OS is 32-bit, where does 2GB rate? Has it improved to "doable, but cramped."? 11 years ago with Windows XP, 32-bit was our everyday norm, and people were raving how 2GB was fast and big. Does this still apply to Windows 10 32-bit?
 

whm1974

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If the OS is 32-bit, where does 2GB rate? Has it improved to "doable, but cramped."? 11 years ago with Windows XP, 32-bit was our everyday norm, and people were raving how 2GB was fast and big. Does this still apply to Windows 10 32-bit?
The short answer is no. The longer one is that 2GB of RAM with Windows 10 32-bit will feel somewhat cramped, but not as much with 64-bit.