What benchmark to look for a lag free experience?

[slicksilver]

All I do is Music, Excel, Browse and watch 1080p Youtube videos and I want superfast, lag free and responsive computing. What benchmark test do I look for? If you were me what processor and how much memory would you get?

Thanks

 

[Burpo]

The "Lag free" experience you're looking for depends more on your internet provider than what CPU you'll use. Duo Core or higher works great for your needs, as long as your connection has good bandwidth.

 

[slicksilver]

The "Lag free" experience you're looking for depends more on your internet provider than what CPU you'll use. Duo Core or higher works great for your needs, as long as your connection has good bandwidth.

Connection speed is not a problem. I'm on a 50mbps line.

 

[NTMBK]

Do you have an SSD?

 

[Essence_of_War]

Do you have an SSD?

This :thumbsup:

I wouldn't look to any specific benchmark. Any modern CPU w/ integrated graphics can meet all the demands you have. You also need to be sure that you have:
1) Enough RAM (I'd go with 8 GB)
2) An SSD
This combination will make your computing experience feel super responsive.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

We've still got four machines that are Conroe C2D, Wolfdale E8400 or E88600, and Wolfdale E6700. For what the family does, nobody complains about speed, because we have 30 mbps internet, an SSD boot drive or RAID0, and at least 8 GB of RAM in every machine except my server -- which has 4 GB.

Those processors are all five years old.

Even the C2D is fine for getting HD TV broadcasts through a tuner device on our LAN, recording, working with music files.

My SB quad-core runs the AVR and HDTV in my room. most times it's using 4% CPU and 22% of RAM. With TV or DVR playback running, I can play games on another monitor or multi-task business apps and manage media -- even rendering.

I think we're at a crossroads for mainstream computer use. Having 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation quad-core is like having a supercharged Lamborghini to drive in a school-zone -- with a little open road here and there . . . I'd have to follow gaming software to see any challenges posed, but I don't think there are any.

Some people are debating over "K" processors in either IB or Haswell versus IB-E, with people lusting for some possible eight-core Haswell-E chip when you get hex-core with the Ivy-E and hyperthreading for some processors.

 

[felang]

Definitely get an SSD for windows and applications. Use your old hard drive for media storage.

 

[Cerb]

What benchmark test do I look for?

Iometer would be among the best, with drive latency measurements at certain queue depths, but that doesn't quite hit the mark.

It is difficult to measure what you want. A lot of work is going into it, on multiple OSes and applications, but generalized benchmarks for it are hard (DBMSes are about the only class of applications where it's not a fairly new idea). The problem is that you're not looking for how many X you can do each second, but how often some processing of X takes much longer than average, and then when it happens, find what causes it to happen; having started out with the assumption that the average processing time is, "fast enough."

If you were me what processor and how much memory would you get?

Buying new, an Intel Core branded CPU, 4th generation (mostly on account of the IGP compatibility and software support, not processor performance). On a more meager budget, look into an AMD A8 (but the budget differences are getting very slim, as of late, with sales/bundles). Then, get double the RAM you need (since no video card is needed, get it as 2 DIMMs), and an SSD big enough that you won't fill it all the way up.

If buying rather than building, a low-end video card would be fine with an older CPU (Radeon HD x450, or Geforce GT x10 or x20, have been standard for business PCs for some years, now, FI, but aren't generally needed with the 4th-gen CPUs). But, you'll be hard-pressed to find a big OEM box with a nice SSD, that's not otherwise a powerhouse you don't want or need. In that case, expect to replace the drive, at the very least.

In fact, if you can find an off-lease business PC that takes DDR3, and has a Windows 7 license (most have refurb special Win7 Home) for <$200, sprucing it up with a new SSD and light RAM upgrade can be cheaper/better than building. In that case, too, try whatever video it comes with, but if has issues with your programs or displays, a cheap video card might be in order.