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| Thread ID: 87075 | 2008-02-06 23:07:00 | Buying 2nd hand and a Quad Core question | Nomad (952) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 638133 | 2008-02-06 23:07:00 | Hi, Having checked on pricespy I see the Quad Core CPU cost from $400 and for Dual Core you can still get some at $600 or such. What are the pros and cons of these? Would the cheaper Quad Core be less speed but when you use big files it would be faster like Photoshop, Database, Video Editing and stuff like that? The other question is about buying used. Not now but maybe a year. Is there any reason of wanting to get stuff used? Any advantage? I don't play games, much of the stuff is MS Office and the odd personal website, email, internet, Photoshop and Lightroom and the v occasional game. Could you at a guess pay like $300 and just upgrade the vid card and more RAM and be better of? |
Nomad (952) | ||
| 638134 | 2008-02-06 23:21:00 | You could spend $300 and be better off when buying new. It just depends how smart you are with your money. RAM is cheap as chips (only slight pun intended) and basic video cards can be bought new for around $150-$200. No need to go second hand. Don't know enough about CPU's to give reliable advice sorry. But I'd tend to go dual core, because most current programs don't use enough of the second core to really justify it. The problem would only be compounded with 4 cores... but someone else will know better than me. |
Thebananamonkey (7741) | ||
| 638135 | 2008-02-07 06:26:00 | My computer geek friend says that buying second hand is OK for everything except hard drives.....you have to be smart and do your research first though. | RusEvo (3572) | ||
| 638136 | 2008-02-07 18:13:00 | If you're using Windows OS you need to remember that only certain applications are smp aware. If you're using Linux, the allocation of cpu resources is done at OS level and the apps dont need to be smp aware. Photoshop and some video apps are, and will take advantage of multiple cores/processors. Some of the dual-core cpu's have higher clock speeds than the quads. It really comes down to what you want to do. If you're in the habit of multitasking with heavy apps ( photoshop / video rendering / playing music and surfing the net at the same time ) go for 4 cores. Also be aware that your mobo needs to be able to support a quadcore ( may need a bios flash to bring it up to date - mine did :) |
racepics (7812) | ||
| 638137 | 2008-02-07 20:36:00 | My computer geek friend says that buying second hand is OK for everything except hard drives. Don't see why HDDs are an exception. Buying 2nd hand regardless of which component it is is fine so long as you can check it out first, otherwise you are relying on the sellers honesty. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 638138 | 2008-02-07 20:55:00 | Don't see why HDDs are an exception. Buying 2nd hand regardless of which component it is is fine so long as you can check it out first, otherwise you are relying on the sellers honesty. Its because hard drives are a mechanical device. You dont know how hard it has been thrashed in its previous life, which means it may die on you immediately. |
utopian201 (6245) | ||
| 638139 | 2008-02-07 22:28:00 | It may die on you immediately anyway. For $300 as he said, I'd go new. If I was on a budget I wouldn't. But for CPU and GFX he should get heaps from that. | Thebananamonkey (7741) | ||
| 638140 | 2008-02-07 22:45:00 | It may die on you immediately anyway. For $300 as he said, I'd go new. If I was on a budget I wouldn't. But for CPU and GFX he should get heaps from that. Rubbish. All things mechanical can 'die on you' whenever they please. I've had a video card, monitor, and RAM sticks die on me. Never a second hand HDD, but that of course doesn't mean they can't. |
qazwsxokmijn (102) | ||
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