X-bit labs Community

[rak]

I need some advices in choosing a new Windows 7 office platform.

I was thinking on something like this (based on some actual workstation
that are running Xp very well under this hardware):

Mainboard ASRock G43Twins-FullHD

Processor: Intel E7500 2.9 GHz (good performance for office needs and
low power 64W)

Memory: 2 GB 1333 MHz

Harddisk: WD Caviar Black 640 GB, 32 MB cache

Power supply: Sirtec 400W

But Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor running on top of this hardware
and Win Xp Sp3 32 bit only concern was that":
"Your current graphics adapter won't support the Windows Aero user interface. If you want to experience the benefits of Windows Aero, contact your PC manufacturer or retailer to see if an upgrade is available.
Go online to learn more about Windows Aero.

This means that it won't run Aero at all or it will run it in a sluggish way ?

Any reccomendations of what to change in the upper configuration
in order to run smoothly Win 7 32 bit Home Premium for office needs ?

[SABERJ2X]

basically aero won't run, probably because of an old igp or something...

IF you really want aero, get a low end nv or Ati MODERN card
_________________
intel C2 Q6600 3.0Ghz 1.13v
4GB DDR2-800
X-Fi Extreme Music
XFX GTX 216 Black Edition
Gigabyte P43-ES3G
Antec NeoHE 550W
Windows7 + Mac 10.5.8

[rak]

[Shades]

You should be fine with G43. If you are worried about it, then you could get a motherboard with nVidia IGP. Really, if you can wait and don't want full-on quad-core, then Clarkdale sounds like the ideal solution for you (Westmere dual-core with hyperthreading and IGP in the processor packaging). 3 or 4GB of RAM wouldn't hurt either.

[rak]

[Stupify]

rak, the better way to go about this would be:

1. What is your budget?
2. What do you plan to do with your system?
3. What do you already have?
4. Where are you from? (This affects the pricing).
5. Any specific items that you must have? For example the low power consumption.

Answer the above and watch you get responses that will get you best of all the worlds.

[Shades]

[rak]

To answer both sets of questions:

It should be a good and reliable platform. It should run well
Windows 7.

1. None set.
2. Office related stuff: email, processing documents, etc
3. Too many to enumerate here for different production purposes.
This one should fit general office usage as described above.
4. East Europe.
5. Reliable, quiet and fast.

I would like i5 but there is no mainboard yet with an integrated video
controller. In the spring Clarkdale will be a very good choice but in
meantime I am two minded of what to choose between E7500
on X4500 (already have few of these and I am satisfied by their
productivity - also quiet, but they are running Xp) vs Ci5 vs AM3 ?

[Stupify]

if there is no budget then I would suggest the following:
US Dollar figures:
Core i5 750 ($200), 4GB DDR3 ram ($80), 1 Intel 80GB SSD ($260), PowerColor 4670 Passive($75), ASUS p7p55 motherboard ($110), PSU 500W ($50), burner ($30), case ($60), ... Total ($800)

I much rather have the i5 750 with 80GB SSD especially for office work than a even faster processor. As this is a work computer 80GB should suffice but if you need more I would suggest you get a separate mechanical drive (WD Green 1TB for $80).

If you need a monitor that would add another $200 so long as it is not high quality or > 22" needed.

[Hammer_Time]

I agree with Stupify's recommendation above. Core i5-750 is sufficiently affordable now, and stellar performance for the price... will be a nice platform for the next few years...

If the Intel X-25M 80 GB SSD flash drive is too expensive for you, then just buy any fast 32MB 7200 rpm Hard disk drive in the 1 TB range ( around $90 to $110 USD on newegg lately ). Seagate, WD, Hitachi, even Samsung, all good these days...fast and cheap... not SSD fast, but lots of capacity and very good value. Of course the SSD would be faster for office productivity ( and all around productivity ) , but just giving a cheaper option here...

Since you are not gaming, just need something to drive the Aero interface properly, then you could save a few bucks and get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121310

[Sauron_Daz]

I'd say go AMD and the money you save compared to the Intel option can be used coming spring.
_________________
We never think of us as being one of Them. We are always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

[Hammer_Time]

Yes, or he could apply the money saved by going AMD towards that expensive SSD flash drive... giving an overall faster system in the end than the Intel route with regular 7200rpm mechanical hard disk drive...
_________________
"All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting." - George Orwell

[Silver]

If going for Win7 personally.. my choises would include 4GB RAM and a QuadCore CPU.

Since Win7 is optimised for making use of more cpu cores..
also 2GB RAM is kind of puny today.. like something you would get for XP.
also an integrated or discrete video card that could run the new interface.


Unless there is any very specific reasons, I would advise against a 32-bit OS today.. just go for the 64-bit version.
_________________
Specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, Corsair 4 Gb
Asus 8800 GTS 640 Mb, Asus Striker II Formula

Aiming for impossible goals forces thinking beyond mere extrapolation of existing achievements.

[Shades]

I'm not sure that the Athlon II Xn processors are particularly good choices for office productivity. For example, Sysmark 2007 Productivity:

[Hammer_Time]

Ah crap, its in gaming where the L3 cache does not matter so much, not in the office apps, I mixed the two up in my head before... thanks for the correction Shades.

I guess he is best off with the E7500 and a cheap video card like the $35 HD 4350 silent that I linked to previously.
_________________
"All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting." - George Orwell

[Shades]

Gaming in general also doesn't seem to be a particular strong-point of Athlon II X4. It's more things like transcoding (for the price). Also, I'll repeat that I think rak'll be just fine with modern integrated graphics (either Intel or nVidia). Of course, if he finds otherwise, he can always add a low-end graphics card. If his current or future needs are greater, then Ci remains an attractive option.

[Hammer_Time]

True. Also , as Silver mentioned, he is better off with 4 GB of ram instead of 2 GB , simply since ram is SO cheap these days compared to cost of other components, you would be almost "crazy" not to buy 4 GB with a new machine!
_________________
"All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting." - George Orwell

[Sauron_Daz]

The Phenom X2 or X3 do pretty well in that productivity graph.
_________________
We never think of us as being one of Them. We are always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

[Shades]

Yeah, but rak also cares about power consumption. He could get something from the (AMD) e-series and put up with lower performance...

Just to cover the options, if rak wants higher performance than E7500 then a higher-end C2D is also an option, but the price becomes closer to Ci5. All in all, it seems kinda sensible to either stick with something like E7500 or make the jump to Ci5 (Ci7 would be even better, naturally). Turbo is a handy thing since one has a quad that also acts like a fast dual.

[Stupify]