Will a Q8300 last two more years?

[dac7nco]

In 2010 I gave my Mom my retired office machine, with a Q8300, 8GB DDR2, GT240 and a 300GB WD Raptor. I've added a few things over the past few years (2x2TB storage, new fans and a bluray drive).

What she does is basic photo editing, cutting recorded audio using audacity, general internet use and Netflix. I'm going to install my Intel 80GB G2 SSD tomorrow (she uses Windows 7), and I figure it'll last a good long while... am I wrong? It was my final machine with a FSB. The motherboard is one of the ASUS corporate stable models; I'm wondering about performance over time, not things breaking.

Daimon

 

[ElFenix]

In 2010 I gave my Mom my retired office machine, with a Q8300, 8GB DDR2, GT240 and a 300GB WD Raptor. I've added a few things over the past few years (2x2TB storage, new fans and a bluray drive).

What she does is basic photo editing, cutting recorded audio using audacity, general internet use and Netflix. I'm going to install my Intel 80GB G2 SSD tomorrow (she uses Windows 7), and I figure it'll last a good long while... am I wrong? It was my final machine with a FSB. The motherboard is one of the ASUS corporate stable models; I'm wondering about performance over time, not things breaking.

Daimon

Probably. Software does tend to bloat over time but with a quad core and an ssd she should be good.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Probably. Software does tend to bloat over time but with a quad core and an ssd she should be good.

Agreed with some reservations. It'll depend on if she gets newer versions of her software (as new versions tend to have more bloat, as said) and what speeds your mother believes to be "adequate."

 

[biostud]

If she's not going to use it for something she isn't already using it for, she will be fine.

 

[mnewsham]

I'm fine on a quad core + SSD 😀

 

[dac7nco]

Cool. When I gave it to her she was on a 2.6GHz Northwood and a Geforce MX440; the difference was pretty stunning. Just browsing with a bunch of tabs open I can't tell much difference between her C2Q and my 3930K, but who knows what 2015 will bring.

Thanks All,
Daimon

 

[OBLAMA2009]

the real question is, if ivy bridge/haswell i5 quad core is only 150-170 at microcenter, why would you want to use q8300 for the next 2 years

 

[dave_the_nerd]

the real question is, if ivy bridge/haswell i5 quad core is only 150-170 at microcenter, why would you want to use q8300 for the next 2 years

$150 + cost of motherboard, + cost of new RAM, + cost of other unsupported hardware replacement, if any.

$300 for a substantial upgrade is still a good deal. But $300 for an upgrade you won't actually notice? Less of a good deal.

 

[pauldun170]

In 2010 I gave my Mom my retired office machine, with a Q8300, 8GB DDR2, GT240 and a 300GB WD Raptor. I've added a few things over the past few years (2x2TB storage, new fans and a bluray drive).

What she does is basic photo editing, cutting recorded audio using audacity, general internet use and Netflix. I'm going to install my Intel 80GB G2 SSD tomorrow (she uses Windows 7), and I figure it'll last a good long while... am I wrong? It was my final machine with a FSB. The motherboard is one of the ASUS corporate stable models; I'm wondering about performance over time, not things breaking.

Daimon

Yes..it will be good for the next two years...unless you have a specific need that requires more oomph (gaming...transcoding etc etc ect)

 

[dac7nco]

the real question is, if ivy bridge/haswell i5 quad core is only 150-170 at microcenter, why would you want to use q8300 for the next 2 years

It's not for me... It's for a moderate user. Also, the closest Microcenter to me was in San Jose, and it isn't there anymore. I still never drove 90 miles to save a hundred bucks on a CPU.

Daimon

 

[jaqie]

Misleading title.

As for that being fast enough? if it is maintained and kept clean, it will be more than fast enough for a non heavygamer non poweruser for two more years, probably more like four to six.

 

[denis280]

If she's not going to use it for something she isn't already using it for, she will be fine.

I agree

 

[VirtualLarry]

Lol at the idea that QUAD-CORE might not be "good enough" for general software in the next two years. Of course it will, don't worry about that.

The only "next big thing" coming up in the PC world (besides Thunderbolt), is 4K video and also H265. Both of which would likely be covered by a GPU upgrade, assuming future GPUs are PCI-E and they stay backwards-compatible.

If you do decide to upgrade, get her an i3 NUC, not a SB/IB quad-core.

Edit: There was some discussion about PC longevity and possible performance issues in my threads in the CPU and Overclocking sub-forum. Go there, and search for "10 year rig"

 

[mindless1]

In 2015 it'll still be twice the machine she needs, unless she starts getting into 3D gaming at which point a video card upgrade might be warranted.

 

[Torn Mind]

CPUs do not "slow down", although software can become more resource-hungry. The real question is whether the cost of upgrading is worth the benefits, which is primarily getting tasks done more quickly. Other factors to consider includes relatively minor things such as lower power consumption, mobo features, etc.

 

[mfenn]

Lol at the idea that QUAD-CORE might not be "good enough" for general software in the next two years. Of course it will, don't worry about that.

I think that the quad-core aspect doesn't matter nearly as much as the (fairly low) single-threaded performance. For example javascript is not very well multithreaded and the web is packed with increasingly more and more complex javascript.