The thing is, I have recently moved and I will probably build a new desktop computer in the following months. I do not live in the U.S., I live in Brazil, and, in addition to the impossibly high taxes on electronic devices, the exchange rate is very unfavorable these days, so my budget is definitely not unlimited.
I currently have an HP ProDesk G3 Mini, equipped with a Core i5-7500T (http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/desktops/product-detail.html?oid=15287510#!tab=specs). I added some custom components, and now it has 8 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. It works fine for basic tasks, such as web browsing and office productivity. In addition to it, I have a Dell XPS 9550 and a 13-inch MacBook Pro (with TouchBar), as laptops (both of which have 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD).
However, after I added a 32-inch 3840x2160 monitor, the computer does not seem to respond so well, probably because the integrated video card is not powerful enough for some tasks.
I like the form factor, but perhaps I could use some more power. And, of course, I could benefit from more ports, and the possibility of adding both an SSD and an HDD. And perhaps some casual gaming (which I already do with the integrated video card, and it is not that bad for what I need).
I am looking at my options here and there seems to be plenty. First, whenever I built computers in the past, or bought laptops, I always went with an Intel processor, as I had bad experiences with AMD processors in the past (as they seemed to be much weaker). The desktop-class AMD K6-2 and the laptop-class AMD Athlon 64 X2 were so weak back in the day that AMD really lost me. However, I am not so sure anymore, as I am hearing very good things about Ryzen. I was wondering whether I should wait for Intel to release the 9th gen of Core processors, since it is so near launch. But from what I have heard, there should not be many improvements.
My initial thought was to get a Core i5-8400, since it is six-core and should offer decent performance. But then I looked at the Core i5-8500 and Core i5-8600, and the price difference does not seem that much. The Core i7-8700 is certainly more expensive, but it also has HyperThreading enabled. How much difference does these virtual cores make in performance, anyway?
I also looked at Ryzen and I am intrigued. It has more cores, and HyperThreading for a lower price point. The Ryzen 2600X is selling for the same price as the Core i5-8400. The Ryzen 2700 and 2700X are both 8-core processors, but cheaper than the Core i7-8700, even though a bit more expensive than the Core i5-8600K. I do multi-tasking, but not to an extreme degree. I use mainly Microsoft Office applications, Adobe Reader, and web browsers (sometimes with 30+ tabs opened). And some gaming as well.
I have seen tests with mixed results. Ryzen seems to fare better when there is multi-tasking, but Core processors are better at single-core performance. I have seen some tests in which the Core i5-8400 fared better than the Ryzen 2700X in single core performance. I am wondering whether the single core performance of the Ryzen processor will be weak to the point it reminds me of (yikes!) AMD K6-2 and Athlon 64 X2.
Also, I will buy a desktop with a dedicated video card, and I should choose between NVIDIA and AMD. I aways bought NVIDIA in the past, and I guess it may still be the best choice. But is it really? I also wonder whether I should wait for NVIDIA to release new video cards. As for the video cards, I noticed the GeForce GTX 1050 has a more reasonable price, but it also seems to be much weaker than the GTX 1060. Should it be OK for a 3840x2160 monitor? As for the GTX 1060, does 3GB or 6GB make as much of a difference? The GTX 1070 could also be an option, but I do not think I would go much higher than that.
Finally, I do not want a computer that makes too much noise or is much hot. I already live in a hot country, and a computer that goes hot is a no-go for me. The mini desktop with a weak processor and no video card that I currently have certainly does not make too much noise, and runs cool (or at least not hot enough to make the room uncomfortable), but I am worried about this.
My last built desktop was in 2010, and it had a Core i7-870 2.93 GHz processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470, 8 GB RAM, a 64 GB SSD, and an HDD. It was a real beast back then. However, it also ran hot, really hot (I guess the main culprit should have been the video card). In the summer, it was a pain to use the computer. As time went by, the components were not as good anymore, but they still ran hot. I eventually dropped it for a laptop, and only more recently I bought a mini desktop. I wonder whether a new computer would run as hot, or if I should buy some components not as powerful, or if I should invest in a better cooling system.
Thanks.
I currently have an HP ProDesk G3 Mini, equipped with a Core i5-7500T (http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/desktops/product-detail.html?oid=15287510#!tab=specs). I added some custom components, and now it has 8 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. It works fine for basic tasks, such as web browsing and office productivity. In addition to it, I have a Dell XPS 9550 and a 13-inch MacBook Pro (with TouchBar), as laptops (both of which have 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD).
However, after I added a 32-inch 3840x2160 monitor, the computer does not seem to respond so well, probably because the integrated video card is not powerful enough for some tasks.
I like the form factor, but perhaps I could use some more power. And, of course, I could benefit from more ports, and the possibility of adding both an SSD and an HDD. And perhaps some casual gaming (which I already do with the integrated video card, and it is not that bad for what I need).
I am looking at my options here and there seems to be plenty. First, whenever I built computers in the past, or bought laptops, I always went with an Intel processor, as I had bad experiences with AMD processors in the past (as they seemed to be much weaker). The desktop-class AMD K6-2 and the laptop-class AMD Athlon 64 X2 were so weak back in the day that AMD really lost me. However, I am not so sure anymore, as I am hearing very good things about Ryzen. I was wondering whether I should wait for Intel to release the 9th gen of Core processors, since it is so near launch. But from what I have heard, there should not be many improvements.
My initial thought was to get a Core i5-8400, since it is six-core and should offer decent performance. But then I looked at the Core i5-8500 and Core i5-8600, and the price difference does not seem that much. The Core i7-8700 is certainly more expensive, but it also has HyperThreading enabled. How much difference does these virtual cores make in performance, anyway?
I also looked at Ryzen and I am intrigued. It has more cores, and HyperThreading for a lower price point. The Ryzen 2600X is selling for the same price as the Core i5-8400. The Ryzen 2700 and 2700X are both 8-core processors, but cheaper than the Core i7-8700, even though a bit more expensive than the Core i5-8600K. I do multi-tasking, but not to an extreme degree. I use mainly Microsoft Office applications, Adobe Reader, and web browsers (sometimes with 30+ tabs opened). And some gaming as well.
I have seen tests with mixed results. Ryzen seems to fare better when there is multi-tasking, but Core processors are better at single-core performance. I have seen some tests in which the Core i5-8400 fared better than the Ryzen 2700X in single core performance. I am wondering whether the single core performance of the Ryzen processor will be weak to the point it reminds me of (yikes!) AMD K6-2 and Athlon 64 X2.
Also, I will buy a desktop with a dedicated video card, and I should choose between NVIDIA and AMD. I aways bought NVIDIA in the past, and I guess it may still be the best choice. But is it really? I also wonder whether I should wait for NVIDIA to release new video cards. As for the video cards, I noticed the GeForce GTX 1050 has a more reasonable price, but it also seems to be much weaker than the GTX 1060. Should it be OK for a 3840x2160 monitor? As for the GTX 1060, does 3GB or 6GB make as much of a difference? The GTX 1070 could also be an option, but I do not think I would go much higher than that.
Finally, I do not want a computer that makes too much noise or is much hot. I already live in a hot country, and a computer that goes hot is a no-go for me. The mini desktop with a weak processor and no video card that I currently have certainly does not make too much noise, and runs cool (or at least not hot enough to make the room uncomfortable), but I am worried about this.
My last built desktop was in 2010, and it had a Core i7-870 2.93 GHz processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470, 8 GB RAM, a 64 GB SSD, and an HDD. It was a real beast back then. However, it also ran hot, really hot (I guess the main culprit should have been the video card). In the summer, it was a pain to use the computer. As time went by, the components were not as good anymore, but they still ran hot. I eventually dropped it for a laptop, and only more recently I bought a mini desktop. I wonder whether a new computer would run as hot, or if I should buy some components not as powerful, or if I should invest in a better cooling system.
Thanks.