Low end new computer > high end old computer ?

[GoodEnough]

If you had to choose, just for office/email/web/multimedia (not gaming)
which would you rather have, and why?

Low end new computer
or
high end old computer from 2010 ?

Ok, here is a concrete hypothetical with laptops.

A) 2010 Lenovo x201 or x220 for about $200-$350
B) 2014 new Dell entry level laptop for $350

Which would you prefer?


Build quality?
Keyboard?
Power requirements?
CPU speed?

What matters to you?

 

[sdifox]

depends on performance of course.

top end ten year old computer is not going to do well against a low end one month old.

 

[skipsneeky2]

If its at least a 2007 based rig,a oced q6700 or better quad core would be much nicer to use then a celeron just for the multitasking.Wouldn't switch out that q6700 or better unless your talking like a i3 4000 series.

 

[BUTCH1]

Meh, I'm running an e8400/4830 rig @3.6, seems to be holding up but I don't game often and when I do it's older titles. As usual the addition of a SSD helped a lot. Kudos to Gigabyte for building a solid MB that has not had cap issues since I bought it in '08..

 

[biostud]

Just give me an i3 8gb memory and a ssd.

 

[dud]

Voted high end old assuming that the system had vastly depreciated in value.

 

[TheELF]

If its at least a 2007 based rig,a oced q6700 or better quad core would be much nicer to use then a celeron just for the multitasking.Wouldn't switch out that q6700 or better unless your talking like a i3 4000 series.

Using a 95w system and clocking it (so <100w easily) for "office/email/web/multimedia" ?
What would't you be multitasking here?Watching a movie while having your e-mail account open?

The cellerons run at 53w tdp with close to double the speed per core and can play even 4k @24fps movies through quicksync/dxva without dropping frames,with their igpu,while the old quad needs a discrete card (mobo vga with even 1080p for 775 do they even exist? ) so even more watts there.

 

[mmntech]

Depends what you consider "old". Ten year old high end computer is not going to cut it, but a five year old one would be just fine. The gear I've got in my system is about five years old and it's still holding up. Even for gaming.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

surface pro 3

 

[JEDI]

If you had to choose, just for office/email/web/multimedia (not gaming)
which would you rather have, and why?

Low end new computer
or
high end old computer ?

Build quality?
Keyboard?
Power requirements?
CPU speed?

What matters to you?

low end new computer.
new computers have better built in video graphics.

ie: the AMD a6-7600k has a built in Radeon R5.

my 4yr old AMD 'X4 Phenom II' beats it in benchmarks but who cares if it's just office/email/web/multimedia.

in fact the R5 graphics would help greatly with the multimedia.

 

[ultimatebob]

The new low end new computer is going to run cooler, use less power, have better battery life (if applicable), and will likely be more reliable in the long run.

 

[Imp]

High end old... Depends on exactly how old.

I would take my low/mid old 2010 versus the piece of shit 2014 low end I had at work -- I threw in an SSD in my low/mid 2013 though. Would love a 750 Ti video for the efficiency and low profile.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

My high end 2010 computer blows all of these low-mid end 2014 computers I have to deal with at work.

 

[lytalbayre]

So I just repaired my older 2008/09 i7 920. Replaced the video card and added a big SSD.

It crapped out a few months ago and I weighed this against a mid range new build.... and I wouldn't have gained enough out of the new build to justify the expense.

I was comparing to new mid range, so I would definitely opt for older high end.

But, it really depends. There are so many variables....

 

[OverVolt]

Low end new for me personally but I realize the appeal of a really fast computer still.

Its a power consumption issue for me. No need to be paying $20-40/mo in electric for regular computer usage. I've been eyeing up Kabini systems.

Its just the way of the future, IMO for sure. You guys are going to be like the motorheads still driving the computer equivalent of V8's

 

[AznAnarchy99]

So I just repaired my older 2008/09 i7 920. Replaced the video card and added a big SSD.

It crapped out a few months ago and I weighed this against a mid range new build.... and I wouldn't have gained enough out of the new build to justify the expense.

I was comparing to new mid range, so I would definitely opt for older high end.

But, it really depends. There are so many variables....

First gen i7 are awesome. I still can't justify upgrading to a 5th gen i7 yet..

 

[Ruptga]

If games are out, the older machine would win every time. A difference in memory or processor won't matter that much compared to the quality of the display, keyboard, or mouse. It's mostly about the display for me, being able to keep several windows visible for reference helps a lot, and you can't do that on a fucking 1366x768 display. I still can't believe new machines are being sold with that resolution in 2014.

 

[eelw]

My Gulftown is fine. No desire to replace anytime soon.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Depends what you consider "old". Ten year old high end computer is not going to cut it, but a five year old one would be just fine. The gear I've got in my system is about five years old and it's still holding up. Even for gaming.

This.

We need moar info. How old exactly is the "old" computer?

My rig is a quad core I7 and it is a few years old but I have a decent graphics card in it and tons of memory and an SSD hard drive for running the operating system. I'd put it up against any current budget off the shelf system.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

For me, its all about a big monitor, even just for browsing, forums etc, so if high end = big monitor, that is the way I would go.

 

[crashtech]

Not enough info. Anything over 5 years old is not going to beat a new low-end "big core" machine. But the new low-end has really stooped to new lows with the placement of tablet CPUs in desktop towers. It's a mess.

 

[artemicion]

Is budget the limiting factor? Probably would get a better answer if you presented a more concrete hypothetical.

Generally, I'd go for a used computer with a 4th gen intel core processor. You get the best of both worlds. The $ value of a used computer + the reliability of newer parts and the power efficiency of newer parts.

 

[tynopik]

i have this 486DX2-66 that was top of the line with ATI Mach32 VLB, 8MB and 340MB HD

still better than an arduino

 

[VirtualLarry]

i have this 486DX2-66 that was top of the line with ATI Mach32 VLB, 8MB and 340MB HD

still better than an arduino

I remember buying a VLB ATI Mach64 2MB card for $200, used, at a computer show, and thinking I got a deal. (I think that the list price was $600 at the time.)

It was also the first video card to support hardware acceleration under Windows 95 for games. ("Games SDK" - aka DirectX 1.0). Fox and Bear demo locked in at 60FPS!

Edit: Oh, more on-topic - I would take the older high-end PC, as long as it was Core2 or newer platform. (Pentium 4 was a dog, but anything newer was OK, and Core2 is STILL faster than entry-level machines sold new today, aka Celeron Atom derivatives.)

 

[cronos]

Core i3 Haswell w/ SSD >> top of the line Core 2 Duo w/ HDD