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office i3 vs a10

L

lxgoldsmith

Junior Member
Hi, I'm doing a new build for an office and need a little advice.

I'm 17 and my last build was a perfect success for my dad's work. He runs most files off his server and some programs, so he hasn't used more than 80 gigs on a work PC. I put a 128GB ssd in the first build and he loves it, so he asked me to do another custom build.

I've cut down the options to:
i3 3225 with stock fan and ASRock H77 Pro4-M
vs
A10 5800k with Cooler Master GeminII S524 and ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M

In order to achieve the same single threaded performance as the i3, I'd overclock the A10 a safe amount. I'd probably end up around 4.3-4.5 ghz, but I don't know, it would be my first AMD build.

My dad loved baldur's gate and *might* download the new enhanced edition.

The rest of the components are listed here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XTzN


Which way should I go?
 
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I would go with the A10 build myself

The GPU is considerably better. I have mild O/C's on my A10-5800K and It can run most games quite well at 1366x768 resolution - Medium/High details

Not to mention drivers will be considerably better for the AMD GPU.


I have mine @ 4.2GHz on stock voltage - GPU @ 950 MHz on Stock voltage.


Also - FM2 is going to be around for a few more Generations of CPU's whereas 1155 is dead.


Either way - both will be 100% fine for your use case and most likely wouldn't notice a difference in Office use.
 
If you are going to game on that machine from time to time A10 is blowing that i3 out of the water. Also you can OC A10 and keep power savings when you don't need the speed(CnQ works with OCing). So it's just a matter of what you will be doing on the machine I suppose.
 
Get an Ivy Bridge Celeron or Pentium, there is no point in something faster than that for an office computer. In an office computer reliability is more important than having a higher benchmark score (that means NO OVERCLOCKING!). What's important is that it loads things quickly (SSD) and automatically backs up important files to the cloud.

The requirements for the original Baldur's Gate was something like a 90MHz Pentium and the enhanced edition isn't significantly heavier. They're releasing it for iOS and Android as well. If it runs on ARM then you shouldn't worry about it running on an Ivy Bridge Celeron.
 
lagokc said:
Get an Ivy Bridge Celeron or Pentium, there is no point in something faster than that for an office computer. In an office computer reliability is more important than having a higher benchmark score (that means NO OVERCLOCKING!). What's important is that it loads things quickly (SSD) and automatically backs up important files to the cloud.

The requirements for the original Baldur's Gate was something like a 90MHz Pentium and the enhanced edition isn't significantly heavier. They're releasing it for iOS and Android as well. If it runs on ARM then you shouldn't worry about it running on an Ivy Bridge Celeron.
Click to expand...

Either the i3 or A10 would be perfectly adequate, even more than adequate. I would definitely also agree to not overclock an office machine. I dont think you would need to overclock the A10 to do normal office tasks, but I am also pretty sure the igp of the i3 would handle this one game. I tend to agree that a pentium would also be a good choice. Not sure I would go as low as a celeron though.
 
IMO, get the i3, but with a B75 board, and cheaper SSD. Add a video card later, if he does 3D gaming. Anything new that goes into a socket will be overkill for a game like BG.

Also, if you need dust filters, spend more on the case, and get one with integral filters. I've tried those kind you have listed before, and they restrict airflow too much, while catching too little dust. You are better off making your own, using register filter pads, or pantyhose and superglue, than those in your list. They work, but it can be done better.
 
At newegg you can get an A8-5600K for $89.99 using $20 off promo code EMCXRWS75

Dont bother with a cooler, just use the stock cooler and give it a modest OC like 4.0GHz. It shouldnt have any trouble.

Combine with this board for $60:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130662

and you have a ~not bad combo for $150. Its too bad memory costs $40 or I might be tempted myself....


btw I'm laughing at anyone who would pay $30% more for a cpu/motherboard combo just to get less gaming performance, and barely noticable increases in performance in some scenarios.
 
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I don't see any reason in office use to require high-MT performance.

And I wouldn't really want to OC a computer I am giving to my dad. Baldur's Gate will run fine on i3.

Personally I would go with the i3, or even consider a Celeron or Pentium if your dad wants to save money.
 
Wait for Richland (less than a month away) and get the 65W A10-6700. Youll get better performance than A10-5800K at lower power/price.

Also I would make it a mini-iTX, you can use the ASRock FM2A75M-ITX R2.0 or the ASRock FM2A85X-ITX FM2 with a nice mini-iTX case. 😉
 
jaydee said:
What applications are you worried about the single-threaded performance?
Click to expand...

I'm breaking his 3 year replacement cycle. Programs will get updates to run on newer and faster PCs, and his current PC's are 2.5 years old and were running sub-par processors and low RAM at the time of purchase, so now they're getting hard to use. I'm making this with enough headway to last 4 years minimum.

I'm leaning towards the i3 with a HTPC case.
 
I didn't even notice the Z77 motherboard. There is no point in getting a Z77 board unless you are using a K series CPU. Save $20-30 and get the equivalent H77 board.
 
lagokc said:
I didn't even notice the Z77 motherboard. There is no point in getting a Z77 board unless you are using a K series CPU. Save $20-30 and get the equivalent H77 board.
Click to expand...

What is he doing on an "office machine" that even warrants a H77?

H61/B75 would be fine to be honest

Even SATA3 vs SATA6 is hard to distinguish with SSD's unless your copying files all day long between SSD's.

Anyways - good luck OP in your choice.
 
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Actually on further thought is there reason not just to get an off the shelf laptop for your dad?

It doesn't seem like there is an particular use in mind that would benefit from a desktop and then he could play his Baldur's gate in bed or on the couch.
 
lxgoldsmith said:
I'm making this with enough headway to last 4 years minimum.

I'm leaning towards the i3 with a HTPC case.
Click to expand...

It is hard to say for sure but the AMD should perform better against the i3 (all around) in 4 years than it does now. As more and more apps make use of the gpu the overall user experience should improve more with AMD, especially since they are far more likely to keep updating the gpu drivers.

Note that the A8-5600K for $90 beats the i3-3225 on passmark by about 2%. I'm not sure why anyone would be recommending an i3. I once again have to question the motives of some people on here...
 
lxgoldsmith said:
I'm breaking his 3 year replacement cycle. Programs will get updates to run on newer and faster PCs, and his current PC's are 2.5 years old and were running sub-par processors and low RAM at the time of purchase, so now they're getting hard to use. I'm making this with enough headway to last 4 years minimum.

I'm leaning towards the i3 with a HTPC case.
Click to expand...

That's not really the case anymore, most software ran out of bloat that could be incorporated years ago. As long as you get anything as fast as a Core2Duo Allendale or an Athlon 64x2 with 4GB of memory and an SSD it will make a fine office computer for years to come.
 
nehalem256 said:
Actually on further thought is there reason not just to get an off the shelf laptop for your dad?

It doesn't seem like there is an particular use in mind that would benefit from a desktop and then he could play his Baldur's gate in bed or on the couch.
Click to expand...

Other advantage: laptops effectively have a built in UPS. They don't go down when the power goes out.
 
nehalem256 said:
Actually on further thought is there reason not just to get an off the shelf laptop for your dad?

It doesn't seem like there is an particular use in mind that would benefit from a desktop and then he could play his Baldur's gate in bed or on the couch.
Click to expand...

he already has a laptop, he plays lord of ultima on it ALL THE TIME.

First, desktops are much easier to upgrade and repair, especially homebuilt ones.

Second, custom build

Third, I need this experience for certain job applications, I'm trying to get a summer job in the computer industry.
 
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