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Computer Gurus Wanted
#284786 01/01/10 03:10 PM
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I don't really know much about the inner workings of computers. So, here's my question.

Which would be faster/more powerful?
(things open quickly; can handle multiple windows/programs open/running at the same time; can easily handle online video calling/conferencing via Skype or other similar programs)

Option #1
Core i7-860 m/VT 2.8 GHz, 8MB L3 Cache
Windows7 Home Premium 32 bit
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM (1333MHz - 2 DIMMS)

Option #2
Core i7-920 2.66 GHz, 8MB L3 Cache
Windows7 Home Premiun 64 bit
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM (1066MHz - 4 DIMMS)

I must confess I find the "64 bit" thing a bit daunting due to warnings that drivers can be hard to find and some common software won't run on a 64 bit machine.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be most welcome.


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: Computer Gurus Wanted
Ajax #284788 01/01/10 03:15 PM
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That's kind of a tricky question. Option 2 is poorly configured (it should have a multiple of 3 DIMMs), but for what you're likely to be doing, Option 1 would be faster anyway (and would almost definitely be if you bumped up the RAM to 8 GB. Either one could run Windows 7 64 bit. And 64 bit is the way to go. In this day and age, the 64 bit drivers are very common, and Windows is very good at running 32 bit software on 64 bit OS.

The only way the 920 would be faster than the 860 is if you were doing a very memory intensive thing (and it had the proper number of DIMMS) using all of the cores and hyperthreading on the processor--not likely. Now, of course, ClubNeon does this sort of thing all the time, so maybe he can speak to the difference better than I.


I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
Re: Computer Gurus Wanted
Ken.C #284793 01/01/10 03:23 PM
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 Originally Posted By: kcarlile
That's kind of a tricky question. Option 2 is poorly configured (it should have a multiple of 3 DIMMs)

Ya mean like, 9GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs?


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: Computer Gurus Wanted
Ajax #284795 01/01/10 03:32 PM
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Not really... more like 6 or 12 GB (3 or 6 2GB DIMMs)

The 920 is kind of a lame duck processor--too slow to be premium over the current offerings, too expensive a platform to be priced lower.

I know... I bought one a couple of months before the new series (including the 860) came out. And I haven't really used it...


I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
Re: Computer Gurus Wanted
Ken.C #284796 01/01/10 03:34 PM
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Got ya. Thanks so much, Ken. The best to you, your wife, and all the little Carliles in 2010.


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: Computer Gurus Wanted
Ajax #284817 01/01/10 07:34 PM
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Ken can put me out of a job. I take a day to play video games, and he gives all the right answers. \:\)

And I'll reinforce that the 64-bit version of Windows is the way to go. I've run every version of 64-bit Windows from XP X64, through Vista, to 7 (I actually had Windows NT 3.51 and 4 running on a DEC Alpha 64-bit RISC processor, but that's another story). They've gone from horrible, to passable, to works fine. Now that Windows Server 2008 R2 is available only as a 64-bit version, MS has forced everyone to be compatible with 64-bit.

The only time I'd use the 32-bit version is if you're running it inside a virtualized environment (trust me, you're not), with 64-bit you're not going to be limited in RAM upgrades down the road, and you can run 64-bit versions of programs, which sometimes are faster.


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-Chris
Re: Computer Gurus Wanted
ClubNeon #284830 01/01/10 08:14 PM
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Thanks, Chris. I much appreciate the help. \:\)


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton

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