Hardware Revolution: Questions and Answers #7
Every two weeks or so, Mathieu from Hardware Revolution goes through his email inbox, previous comments and answers five to ten of the best questions left by you, the readers, on Computer Builds, the Best PC Parts and more.
Got a question? Post it in the comments below this post. Also, know that you can subscribe to the comments via email or RSS to read my answer, as well to be informed of other people’s questions and my answers to them.
Q #1: What would you recommend for editing/encoding HD content for the web? I saw your $500 Workstation(didn’t seem enough) and $1000 Workstation (seemed like too much). I would like to be able to upgrade later if possible for under $1000 but more than $500.
A: For Editing/Encoding HD content for the web, the $500 Workstation Build will do the job, offering you plenty of horsepower for the job.
As for upgrading:
You’ll be able to upgrade to a six-core processor from AMD later this year (April 26th according to the latest rumors), which will provide a nice reduction in video encoding time. Thuban (The codename for the six-core processor) will debut in three variants branded Phenom II X6 1035T, Phenom II X6 1055T, and Phenom II X6 1075T. All three processors should be compatible with AM2+ and AM3 sockets, so they should work in existing AMD motherboards, although a BIOS update might be in order first, which can easily done with an USB key.
Otherwise, AMD and Intel will be coming with new platforms in 2011. You could choose to then change the CPU and motherboard, while keeping the rest of the system. That would probably cost you anywhere from $300 to $600+ depending on your pick and prices when these platforms launch.
Overall, you’re best off with upgrading the CPU, that’s where you’ll see the most performance increase in HD edition/recording. Mind you, if you use the CPU/Motherboard/Video from the $1000 build with the rest of the parts from the $500 Build, you end up with a cost of about $770, which offers much more performance then the $500 Build to begin with and is similar in performance to the $1000 Build. Food for thoughts 
Q #2: I’ve recently stumbled across this Nvidia Geforce Barebone kit and it runs for $500 and gives you everything you need to get a pc up and running. My question is: How does it compare to the $500 Gaming PC?
A: In simple terms: There’s no comparison to be made, our $500 Gaming PC is superior in about every way compared to that barebone kit. There’s two reasons that explains this:
- The sellers of barebone kits make a profit, which they you pay. I’m not here to make money off you and the prices that you see on this site are the prices that you’ll pay on NewEgg, Amazon, etc.
- I update my builds every 2-3 months, with the best parts available at the moment considering the budget. I wonder, when was the last time that they updated that barebone kit?
In technical details, let’s compare, part per part:
Barebone vs our build:
- CPU: Intel Dual-Core E5300 2.6GHz vs AMD Triple-Core X3 425 2.7GHz: The extra core on the AMD CPU will give you the edge in games (most games use 2 cores now, so the third core will take care of overhead such as anti-virus and other background programs), video conversion and other CPU intensive programs.
- Motherboard: MSI G31TM-P21 vs ASRock M3A770DE: Where do I start? The MSI is based on the older G31 chipset and socket 775. New Intel CPUs are now on the socket 1156 and 1366, if you want to upgrade your CPU in the future, you’re pretty limited. DDR2 support instead of DDR3 in our build. On the back, the MSI has two PS/2, 4 USBs, LAN and audio. The ASRock featured in our build has an AM3 socket as well as DDR3 support, making it much more future-proof, as well as two PS/2, four USB, two USB/E-SATA combo, LAN and audio.
- RAM: Single-channel 1 stick of DDR2 2GB 667MHz vs Dual-Channel two sticks of DDR3 1600MHz 2 GB, for a total of 4GB. Do I need to explain more here?
- Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 9800GT vs Radeon 5750. Not only the Radeon 5750 is faster than the Geforce 9800GT, it also consumes less power and supports the lastest DirectX 11.
- Hard Drive: Seagate 250GB vs Western Digital 320GB: An extra 70GB in our build, not to mention that Wester Digital drives are considered more reliable.
- DVD Burner: LG 22X vs LITE-ON 24x: Once again, our part is faster.
- Power Supply: Ultra 500W vs Antec NEO 400W 80PLUS Certified: At a quick glance, the barebone power supply may seem better. However, total power output is only one of many factors to consider in a power supply, as I discussed in Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply. The problem with the Ultra power supply is the brand: It’s not known for selling reliable power supplies. I had one in the past and I wouldn’t recommend that brand to anyone. Besides, the Antec is more efficient, meaning that it save you a few bucks on your electricity bill, exhaust less heat and be more silent.
In the end, our $500 Gaming PC will offer you much better performance and reliability for the same price.
Q #3: My current system is comprised of a Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H [partly because of the HD3300 on-board GPU, PhenomII 705e 2.5ghz cpu,4gb of OCZ Reaper, 1066mhz ram, WD caviar green 500gb drive,Acer H243H flat panel,and Thermaltake 430watt psu. Not long after putting the system together I got disgusted with the Realtek on-board audio and got a Asus Xonar DX to upgrade.
Then I was looking for better graphics score on the Windows Experience Index,currently 4.6 so i hunted for a low-end video card to use with the on-board GPU, i came up with Gigabyte HD2400XT which has 800mhz clock, so i knew it would at least match the on-board GPU's 700mhz. The Crossfire worked, however the Windows Exp Index remained at 4.6 and 3dMARK wouldnt even run. so i have given up the Hybrid Crossfire idea and are lookin for an ATI card with at least 700mhz clock and 512 or 1gb of [G]ddr3 or better that is going to run with my power supply and also not empty my wallet. Im not a gamer, i basically use the comp for watching movies,streaming video and video conferencing. What would you suggest?
A: I’m curious to know, other than the Windows index score, what is wrong with the onboard Radeon HD 3300?
As far as I know, it should be able to playback movies, stream videos and so on without a problem (Make sure to have updated to the latest drivers though.) and you shouldn’t need a dedicated video card for what you intend to do.
However, if for a particular reason, you really want a dedicated video card with a reasonable price and power consumption, I would suggest taking a look at the Radeon HD 4670.
lt doesn’t require an additional PCI-Express power connector, has 320 Stream Processors (In comparison, the onboard Radeon HD3300 and the Radeon 2400XT have only 40 Stream processors, so the Radeon 4670 has 8 times their the processing power) and a core frequency of 750MHz.
Q #4: I am looking into the Intel i7 860 cpu with the Asus Maximus III Formula. I was wondering if this was the best motherboard in this price range for this chip or is there something else you would recomend?
A: When it comes down to having a lot of ports, features and overclocking headroom, the ASUS Maximus III Formula is considered one of the best motherboard for socket 1156 processors, such as the Intel Core i7 860.
However, at a cost of $250 for the ASUS Maximus III Formula, it’s not exactly cheap. So here are three other, less expensive, options that you should consider:
- The GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3
is $135 ($115 less!) and also offers SATA 6.0Gb/s as well as USB 3.0 support. The downside is that you don’t get Crossfire support though.
- For $170, the ASUS P7P55D PRO
- Finally, for $185, the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P
Q #5: I’m currently looking for a video card with VGA out for my TV. I was looking at a GeForce 9800 GTX for 134.99 dollars or the GeForce GT 220 for 109.99 dollars and was wondering if this was a good buy or if there was something better for around the same price?
A: First of all: Avoid the Geforce GT 220 like the plague. It’s anemic power won’t run many games. The 9800 GTX is a good card, but for $135, it is overpriced compared to other options available.
For $95, the Radeon HD 4850 will offer performance comparable to the Geforce 9800GTX while costing you $40 less. It comes with VGA, DVI and HDMI outputs.
Q #6: I have noticed you quit recommending A-data memory, any reason for that?
A: In the end, it usually come downs to price. For many months, A-data had very competitive prices on memory kits and they are known for making reliable memory, hence why I recommended them. Right now, G.Skill are offering great prices on memory kits, hence why I’m recommending them, nothing against A-Data.
Conclusion
Have any question? Leave it below in the comments and I’ll answer it.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this post and that is was useful to you. I’ll publish more of these Q&A in the incoming weeks, to answer all of your questions.
Upcoming Updates:
In March, you can expect to updates to the lower end Gaming PCs, all of the Workstation Builds, as well as all of the HTPCs Builds. I’m also planning a few updates to our popular Best PC Parts articles, where I point out which parts offers the best performance for a given price or the best value.
For more details on what is coming up in March, read the following article: Recap of February and the Schedule of March 2010.
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In the last few months, My current “workstation” from which I manage Hardware Revolution and write articles on, an HP tx1000 tablet laptop, has been plagued with problems for the last few months and could now fail at any time. Despite various attempts to fix it, the problem remains.
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Category: Questions & Answers
