I'm in the market for a new desktop. I was thinking iMac for a while, to accompany my MBP, but I've decided that I would really like a quad core machine, and to get that out of an iMac I'd be looking at at least $2000, even with my student discount, + taxes and all that.
Right now I'm looking at the Gateway One, specifically
this one. $1299, but they're offering $100 off if I bring in an old computer (got a bunch of old ones in the basement so thats not a problem.) I've been looking online for a review but all the reviews seem to be of older versions, or of an i3 version with 4gb of ram (this one is i5 with 6gb of ram, dedicated graphics, and a bluray drive.) Does anyone have any experience with these?
I wasn't completely set on an All-in-One, but I will be moving next year (either within Canada or abroad) and will probably be in a fairly small apartment. Being able to get away with a smaller desk by having an all-in-one would be nice, as would having something that could play my blurays without having to drag the ps3 and a tv along too. My main need for a desktop is for writing - I find that when writing papers I prefer to have the screen higher than I can get my laptop's screen. In addition to writing I also like to play Minecraft and Starcraft 2, and occasionally pick up a new game - I'm not looking to run Far Cry or anything like that, just something that I can run games on reasonably. I know in terms of specs it is fast enough to do what I want, my main concern is the fact that it is an all-in-one, and that it is a Gateway. I have never owned either an all-in-one or Gateway machine, and do not know what to expect with them.
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Cheaper solution: a stand (like this one) with an awesome keyboard and mouse. Or, buy a monitor (you could even get one with HDMI input and speakers for your PS3) and set that up as high as you want it.
For $1200 you can build a damn nice computer.
You wanted a quad-core? The i5 650 is just a dual-core.
The problem with building a computer is that I'm in Canada and prices here on components + Windows make it waaaay more expensive than just buying a prebuilt. I don't really have all that much confidence in my computer building abilities either, to be honest. I'd much rather walk into a store and pick something up in a box and know it'll work when I get it home.
What is the breakdown of the Intel line now then?
I thought it was i3 - dual core, i5 - quad core, i7- quad core with hyperthreading, i7 extreme - 6core?
All i7's have HT, but they could have 4 or 6 cores.
No i5's quad cores have HT, but all dual-core i5's have it.
I think all i3's are dual core and have HT.
That's desktop, for mobile:
All i3's and i5's are dual-core with HT.
All i7-7xxxM and above are quad-core no HT, i7's with lower-numbered designations are dual-core plus HT.
The other differences have to do with clock speeds, multipliers, VT features and cache size, but fuck if I know which is which. Hope I didn't screw that up too much.
But again, I'd look at the wikipedia or Intel sites to make sure.
Also databases may take advantage of more that 2 or 4 threads, virus scan engines, and IME if you run multiple VMs in the background then dedicating a core to each makes the system snappier.
However, if you're going to have even one other application running in the background while you play, then you'll likely benefit from 4 cores/threads.
I looked before and prices didn't seem to be much cheaper than new, but I see theres apparently a new i7 imac out so the older i7 imac is quite a bit cheaper now.
A bit more than I was planning on spending for a desktop but actually quite a bit cheaper than some of the gaming computers I was pricing out before.
Once I'm not feeling so poor I'll probably upgrade the RAM.
WoW, GTAIV, Sup Com, ARMA2...
They really benefit from 2 more cores.
That's the baddest of the boys
I hope so - now I've just gotta wait for delivery...
Sometime between Monday and Friday...
Its gonna feel like forever
That's what I have. It is indeed a sexy, sexy machine. That screen is just insane...
So I'm justified in compulsively checking my order status every 15 minutes to see if its changed?
Oooh, its prepared for shipment!