Best CPU for around £100

[Howski]

I have a Core i3 2100 myself. It lacks full hardware virtualisation - however most people here are considering gaming benchmarks only and probably don't realise this. The Core i5 2500K also has partial hardware virtualisation(lacks I/O MMU virtualisation) unlike the standard Core i5 CPUs.

Yea then thats no good. Without that the VM OS just go around in a loop. I'll look in to the AMD, as its something I need I'll have to find a way.

Why does your work force you to get lots of ram, What is the computer used for? It sounds to me like you would be better off with a Phenom II setup.[\quote]

What sort of work do you do? May be better to go AMD as they seem to have more virtualization support on their lower end CPUs if you need it?[\quote]

I develop on a Microsoft ERP so its designed to be run on meaty servers. Microsoft kindly release fully configured Hyper-V virtual machines, which I used to play. However the latest and newest version need a lot of beef to run. I can run these on 64bit Windows 7 machines with a little work. At the offcial training they used 12GB assigned to the Hyper-V and it struggled.

While I could do things in work there are projects I'd like to try outside of the work servers (playing with security etc.) so I want my home PC to be able to run it.

Thanks again for your suggestions!

 

[Jayster]

Yea then thats no good. Without that the VM OS just go around in a loop. I'll look in to the AMD, as its something I need I'll have to find a way.

Why does your work force you to get lots of ram, What is the computer used for? It sounds to me like you would be better off with a Phenom II setup.[\quote]

What sort of work do you do? May be better to go AMD as they seem to have more virtualization support on their lower end CPUs if you need it?[\quote]

I develop on a Microsoft ERP so its designed to be run on meaty servers. Microsoft kindly release fully configured Hyper-V virtual machines, which I used to play. However the latest and newest version need a lot of beef to run. I can run these on 64bit Windows 7 machines with a little work. At the offcial training they used 12GB assigned to the Hyper-V and it struggled.

While I could do things in work there are projects I'd like to try outside of the work servers (playing with security etc.) so I want my home PC to be able to run it.

Thanks again for your suggestions!

Amd is most definitely your best bet then, I would probably go for a 960t and attempt to unlock the 2 extra cores in the bios or a 1055t. Bulldozer cpus might be worth a mention but as I don't do that kind of work I don't know they run. Amd are currently doing a cash back promotion with them.

 

[Howski]

Just seen that, is the OC price including or excluding the cash back? If its not including then it will only be £5 over my budget

 

[Sandcastle]

What kind of PSU are we talking about for an i3 with a GTX550 Ti?

 

[jennidc]

I can highly recommend the 1055T x6 I managed to pick one up with a 990FX Sabretooth ASUS board for £175 from the mm. I OC mine to 3.95ghz with 1.45 Volts. It will do more but I don't want to go any higher on the voltage. I have added 16gb of DDR3 1600 RAM and a 5850. Its a great gaming rig but also a great all-rounder

 

[Howski]

from the mm

Sorry where?

 

[prattlesnake42]

Maybe a 965 BE?

 

[Hyburnate]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-316-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=2060