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How many cores do I need?

thirdchances

thirdchances

thirdchances

Associate
Joined
2 Jun 2012
Posts
63
I would probably class myself as a light user and I am looking to start a new build. I am not sure what kind of processor I should be looking at.

2 core 4 thread
4 core 4 thread
4 core 8 thread
6 core 12 thread

I only do bit of light gaming and a bit of photo editing but mostly use my computer for work so emails, spreadsheets, remote desktops and skype meetings. I will be using 4 monitors as well if that adds stress.

What level of processor do you think I would need for this type of use? I would be willing to spend more to make sure the computer wasn't struggling but don't want to go too over the top if it really isn't needed. Is RAM more important than processor for this use?

Thanks in advance for your help
 
thirdchances said:
I have anywhere up to around £2,500 for the tower, I already have monitors etc.

Obviously I don't want to over spec and waste money though
Click to expand...

A light user does NOT need to spend anywhere near that for the base unit (excluding monitors)!:eek:

A 4 core i5 setup with 8GB RAM for a light user will be ample. £1K should be easily enough to fund the system.
 
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thirdchances

You are not really a light user.
4 monitors, whats that mission control Houston :)

I suspect you do support and work from home a fair bit.

RD's spreadsheats and skype/lync meetings
Throw in some visio and it's welcome to my world.

Don't skimp on tools you use for work.

A 4core with HT, a minimum of 8GB RAM and quality MB.
 
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I think you're all massively under estimating OPs requirements. He needs a dual socket hexcore Xeon setup, 12c 24t, at 5GHz minimum. Preferably a cluster of specialised nodes for different work loads, with at least one phase change cooled SPARK unit running Unix
 
Yes it will be mainly for work 9-10 hours a day. Photo editing will be just minor colour correction so no heavy effects. Games will just be Minecraft and Sims (for my girlfriend).

I was thinking i7 so 4 core with hyperthreading. Would not be overclocking as the system will be on pretty much 24/7. Maybe 16 GB of RAM to help with multitasking.

Budget was just a ball park as a maximum I can go to so if I can save a bit that is great.
 
I have been planning the move to work from home for a while now and my knowledge of building a computer is very limited. While I have been converting my garage into a home office I have been planning the equipment to put in there for a while but haven't settled on an idea yet. So yes I do have a lot of questions but i appreciate all your advice
 
Personally, I don't think you need an i7, having come from an 8350 to an i5 4670K I find the 4670K to be indifferent at most day-day tasks but better at gaming in nearly every respect, for general work like office products, some image editing, my work dual core E8500 is sufficient never mind a Haswell K series i7.

Seriously, if it were me I would go for an i5 at the very most, maybe not even a K series, although for future proofing you may want to consider this in case you over clock I guess, saving the £80 on for 2MB of L3 cache and 4 virtual cores which many applications don't even use and spend your £80 on a 7790 or in a few weeks grab a 7850 for £100 when the price drops a bit further.

Chris.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £112.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £53.99
1 x Xigmatek Tauro 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £41.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler £26.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £598.91 (includes shipping : FREE).


£600, done, done, done. If you want intel, spend around £50-100 more
 
T345 said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) **FREE SHIPPING** £185.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £112.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £53.99
1 x Xigmatek Tauro 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £41.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler £26.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £598.91 (includes shipping : FREE).


£600, done, done, done. If you want intel, spend around £50-100 more
Click to expand...

 
I can't imagine you need a super powerful processor. Maybe even a i3? More than enough for skype, emails etc. It should even be enough for the basic go on Photoshop.

If it was me I would get a i5 which is more than enough. Could be worth having a quick look at a AMD 6300 or 8320 as a alternative option.
 
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