Your Bottom CPU

[tp4tissue]

For me 2520m, is the bare minimum,

It's a Dual core, w/ 1498 single-thread performance.



Anything slower than sandybridge gen (2.5ghz), just lagggssss horribly

[Blackehart]

6770k?

Because anything else would be uncivilized?

[tp4tissue]

I tried using a C2D the other day.. 2.0ghz.. 

I just wanted to cry the entire time.. it was so awful..

[emdude]

A Pentium 75

[Leslieann]

Performance since the 2nd gen Core series hasn't significantly increased like it has in the past, which is why second gens are still working well.  So well in fact that some consider the second gen to be the last great processor line for laptops and desktops. After that, more and more systems started getting internal batteries and soldered ram and processors as well as a focus on efficiency and touch screens (which eat batteries and add weight and fragility). Companies still want to sell an I7 ULV powered Ultrabook with an anemic and non-upgradable 4gb of memory and fragile touchscreen. No thanks, I really need more memory than that, they're purposely crippling the systems to protect their higher end systems.

Personally, my minimum processor is a second Gen i5 as well.
I had a 2nd and 3rd gen I3, both had just a hint of lag even with 8gigs of ram, as did the 1st gen i5 (to a lesser extent). The 2nd gen I5 though, it just powers through. Combined with 16gigs of ram, I'll pit it against anything new of similar size (12-13in). It may not always win, but it will give them a run for the money for a fraction of the cost (especially for repairs).

[tp4tissue]

The latest 6th-gen is 15-30% faster than Sandybridge, @ roughly 1/2-1/3 the power draw,  the power draw is where they improved..

Although that's only relevant to mobile..

ULV is just slow.. incredibly slow.. IDK wtf people are thinking when they buy ULV..    They must enjoy waiting for websites to load...

[mike52787]

It depends on what youre asking it to do. I can happily browse the internet and check geekhack on a c2d e8400, but doing anything with more than 1 tab of a browser open I need something better. My thinkpad has an i5 3210m, which is decent enough, but my desktop is running a xeon e5-2660 overclocked to 2.7, cheapest proper 8 core chip you can buy these days. Its only sandy bridge but the multi core scores top the multi core scores of a 6700k. Even though x79 is old theres no reason to upgrade

[Hak Foo]

My work machine is an A6-3650.  It's getting pretty poky.

[Air tree]

The computer that I'm using at the moment is really terrible. Send help tp



Need new pc, oh god

[noisyturtle]

The 2500k is cheap enough nowadays you shouldn't have any reason to go lower, and it's a great processor.

[tp4tissue]

The computer that I'm using at the moment is really terrible. Send help tp
(Attachment Link)


Need new pc, oh god

If that's ur only PC..

I'm almost certain you can phone in to report child-abuse..

nawh.. jk..

[Leslieann]

The latest 6th-gen is 15-30% faster than Sandybridge, @ roughly 1/2-1/3 the power draw,  the power draw is where they improved..

Although that's only relevant to mobile..

ULV is just slow.. incredibly slow.. IDK wtf people are thinking when they buy ULV..    They must enjoy waiting for websites to load...

They are faster, under certain conditions, and more efficient, I would LOVE a 9 hour battery, but in smaller laptops like I tend to work with (13in or less) you are often getting a ULV and/or soldered ram. The smaller you go, the fewer the options you have.

I'm not saying the newer processors are worse than the old ones, it's what they're tied to that screws them up, they are only one part in a computer and often have the least impact on overall performance (ignoring ULV vs non ULV), 30% faster cpu translates to about 3-10% at the keyboard. I learned long ago, ram can starve or unleash a processor, that 30% disappears very fast once you give the slower processor twice the memory, but on many newer systems, what you order is what you're stuck with and many seem to really short change you on memory. It's insane to me to even consider an I5 or I7 with only 4gigs of memory that you can't upgrade.

[tp4tissue]

Yea, ULV is a bit like going back to 2007...

It's only bearable assuming SSD is present.. but still an unpleasant experience overall.

[xtrafrood]

ACK! Dual cores! Burn them all!

[Leslieann]

ACK! Dual cores! Burn them all!

Dual core I5  with HT in a laptop is fine.
Dual core in a desktop, absolutely not.

[tp4tissue]

ACK! Dual cores! Burn them all!

Dual core I5  with HT in a laptop is fine.
Dual core in a desktop, absolutely not.

it's unavoidable in laptop,

ALTHOUGH, I don't see why they can't get a quad core into an ultraportable with a larger battery..

Power gating is pretty good these days.. it should work fine..

[SBJ]

Worst CPU I've got is a first gen Atom CPU in a compact pc (basically a laptop...)
Thinking about using it for folding@home but it's like what's the point of that?

[tp4tissue]

Worst CPU I've got is a first gen Atom CPU in a compact pc (basically a laptop...)
Thinking about using it for folding@home but it's like what's the point of that?

I didn't get a netbook until  x120e..

It was ok...ish .. but very sluggish after new versions of firefox required significant power to block ads.

[SBJ]

Worst CPU I've got is a first gen Atom CPU in a compact pc (basically a laptop...)
Thinking about using it for folding@home but it's like what's the point of that?

I didn't get a netbook until  x120e..

It was ok...ish .. but very sluggish after new versions of firefox required significant power to block ads.

Atom cpu's did well at time of release but quickly got left behind.
I have yet to find a use for mine though. Maybe a really small web server?

[suicidal_orange]

I have to use an i5 4??? at work and it's not fun (what muppet in IT decided a single 4gb stick of ram was a good idea?!) but I made some heavy duty spreadsheets and went to train people on their i3s (also single 4gb) and couldn't help laughing how bad they are, followed by doing the work for them out of sympathy.

At home I'm running a 2600k with 2x8gb of pretty slow RAM and can't see much point upgrading.  Finally gave up trying to browse on a 1st gen atom early this year

[D4ndie]

The computer that I'm using at the moment is really terrible. Send help tp
(Attachment Link)


Need new pc, oh god

I know the feel, I have the same exact CPU. I used to have an i5 4200u that would turbo up to like 2.4 GHz, but when my computer was in repairs they switched out the motherboard to one that has this CPU. I'm actually surprised I can still play Overwatch on the iGPU. It looks like pixel vomit and runs at like 20-30 FPS, but its nothing I'm not used to and I don't get any major lag spikes.

I really hope I get a new rig soon, it keeps getting pushed back due to things happening. I started gathering the smaller parts tho. 

[tp4tissue]

I have to use an i5 4??? at work and it's not fun (what muppet in IT decided a single 4gb stick of ram was a good idea?!) but I made some heavy duty spreadsheets and went to train people on their i3s (also single 4gb) and couldn't help laughing how bad they are, followed by doing the work for them out of sympathy.

At home I'm running a 2600k with 2x8gb of pretty slow RAM and can't see much point upgrading.  Finally gave up trying to browse on a 1st gen atom early this year

sandy bridge gets a big boost from at least 2133mhz ram..

[suicidal_orange]

I have to use an i5 4??? at work and it's not fun (what muppet in IT decided a single 4gb stick of ram was a good idea?!) but I made some heavy duty spreadsheets and went to train people on their i3s (also single 4gb) and couldn't help laughing how bad they are, followed by doing the work for them out of sympathy.

At home I'm running a 2600k with 2x8gb of pretty slow RAM and can't see much point upgrading.  Finally gave up trying to browse on a 1st gen atom early this year

sandy bridge gets a big boost from at least 2133mhz ram..

Hmm... I don't remember what I bought at the time, just that it wasn't TOTL and has big heatsinks but didn't want to OC at all.  Maybe I can sneak my old 16gb into work

[SBJ]

  Finally gave up trying to browse on a 1st gen atom early this year

I know those feels haha. I honestly don't know what to do with mine now, I think I'm gonna throw it away.

[Leslieann]

  Finally gave up trying to browse on a 1st gen atom early this year

I know those feels haha. I honestly don't know what to do with mine now, I think I'm gonna throw it away.

Throw on a light Linux distro (Lubuntu?) and bring it back to life.

Makes a great system for those times you don't want to put your good laptop at risk.

[SBJ]

  Finally gave up trying to browse on a 1st gen atom early this year

I know those feels haha. I honestly don't know what to do with mine now, I think I'm gonna throw it away.

Throw on a light Linux distro (Lubuntu?) and bring it back to life.

Makes a great system for those times you don't want to put your good laptop at risk.

I tried that(ubuntu mate) and with an ssd too. But it still drove me nuts using it. I think I've been spoiled by my normal rig.

[xtrafrood]

My little 2.4 ghz core 2 duo struggles with multiple twitter page loads but can usually handle 10+ tabs if I have ad block on. Zero HT.. but I use Chrome not Firefox. Firefox is a completely different story regarding CPU usage

[suicidal_orange]

sandy bridge gets a big boost from at least 2133mhz ram..

Haha, just checked and I'm only running 1333mhz

[tp4tissue]

sandy bridge gets a big boost from at least 2133mhz ram..

Haha, just checked and I'm only running 1333mhz

[suicidal_orange]

sandy bridge gets a big boost from at least 2133mhz ram..

Haha, just checked and I'm only running 1333mhz

Show Image

So it looks to be $100+ for 2x8gb 2133mhz CL9, that seems a lot to spend on an obsolete platform which I didn't even know was severely crippled.  Is this a good buy or should I just pretend I never read this thread?

[tp4tissue]

sandy bridge gets a big boost from at least 2133mhz ram..

Haha, just checked and I'm only running 1333mhz

Show Image

So it looks to be $100+ for 2x8gb 2133mhz CL9, that seems a lot to spend on an obsolete platform which I didn't even know was severely crippled.  Is this a good buy or should I just pretend I never read this thread?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007611%20601190327%20600006072%20600551113

[suicidal_orange]

sandy bridge gets a big boost from at least 2133mhz ram..

Haha, just checked and I'm only running 1333mhz

Show Image

So it looks to be $100+ for 2x8gb 2133mhz CL9, that seems a lot to spend on an obsolete platform which I didn't even know was severely crippled.  Is this a good buy or should I just pretend I never read this thread?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007611%20601190327%20600006072%20600551113

None of them are CL9 - when did latency become unimportant?  I'm in the UK but maybe I just need to look harder...

Edit: I'm being dumb, 2400 CL10 will do 2133CL9!

[tp4tissue]

None of them are CL9 - when did latency become unimportant?  I'm in the UK but maybe I just need to look harder...

Um... since 2007.. hahaha

but most of those will do cl 9 at 2133,

if the ram does 2400 at cl 11 @ 1.65v, it should do cl 9 at 2133, assuming you put it to 1.55v to 1.6v

But I assure you, the timings really doesn't matter much..

just running the default xmp profile is fine..


You may have to update your bios for XMP compatibility, this will be dependent on your motherboard..

[suicidal_orange]

I see, this was the first build where I had more money than time and it was ages ago so the little research I did do is long forgotten - can't even remember if I didn't delid because of warranty or glue...

No friends needing help after uni lead to not bothering keeping up with things

[tp4tissue]

I see, this was the first build where I had more money than time and it was ages ago so the little research I did do is long forgotten - can't even remember if I didn't delid because of warranty or glue...

No friends needing help after uni lead to not bothering keeping up with things

can't delid sandy bridge..  only ivy bridge and above can be delidded..

Sandy bridge came PERFECT,  it was soldered at the factory .. best cooling..

[Wingpad]

I'm using a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo in my Mid 2009 MBP. I've been staving off buying a new Macbook for years because all of the new releases have been missing something I consider to be a "necessary" feature so I have a MBP that's old enough to go to Kindergarten instead. I put an SSD in her though so she's plenty quick for web-browsing and light development work, which is all I really use her for anyway.

EDIT: I usually have like 20 tabs open at any given point in Chrome and it can keep up still, woohoo

[chyros]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

[suicidal_orange]

I see, this was the first build where I had more money than time and it was ages ago so the little research I did do is long forgotten - can't even remember if I didn't delid because of warranty or glue...

No friends needing help after uni lead to not bothering keeping up with things

can't delid sandy bridge..  only ivy bridge and above can be delidded..

Sandy bridge came PERFECT,  it was soldered at the factory .. best cooling..

I delided long before ivy bridge pretty sure I did a P4 with HT back when they still had pins, and a friend's 1st gen AMD64 )

My RAM is now stable at 1650 10-10-10-27 but it didn't like 1833 11-11-11-30 - can't complain at a free boost!  Am I right in assuming that higher clock is still better or should I try it at 1775 on slower clock with higher ratio?  CPU might go up another multi if I did...

[tp4tissue]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

But why....

When YOU wait for the Computer, you're fundamentally throwing away your Lifespan..

Because you can buy a new computer and make more money..

You can't effectively buy back LIFE...

[chyros]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

But why....

When YOU wait for the Computer, you're fundamentally throwing away your Lifespan..

Because you can buy a new computer and make more money..

You can't effectively buy back LIFE...

I can't really BUY anything right now .

[Leslieann]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

I wouldn't count on that.

My Fujitsu drawing tablet, which has a Wacom screen, is an P3 700.
I guarantee you I can pull something from my basement that makes even that look fast.

[xtrafrood]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

But why....

When YOU wait for the Computer, you're fundamentally throwing away your Lifespan..

Because you can buy a new computer and make more money..

You can't effectively buy back LIFE...

I can't really BUY anything right now .

So you trade your time for patience and gain virtue points

[tp4tissue]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

But why....

When YOU wait for the Computer, you're fundamentally throwing away your Lifespan..

Because you can buy a new computer and make more money..

You can't effectively buy back LIFE...

I can't really BUY anything right now .

So you trade your time for patience and gain virtue points

It's only patience if there is nothing in your power to to influence the rate..


That wouldn't be the case if you could afford a new computer..


A computer upgrade in a our modern digital lifestyle should be considered/prioritized above all other purchases.

[xtrafrood]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

But why....

When YOU wait for the Computer, you're fundamentally throwing away your Lifespan..

Because you can buy a new computer and make more money..

You can't effectively buy back LIFE...

I can't really BUY anything right now .

So you trade your time for patience and gain virtue points

It's only patience if there is nothing in your power to to influence the rate..


That wouldn't be the case if you could afford a new computer..


A computer upgrade in a our modern digital lifestyle should be considered/prioritized above all other purchases.

[SBJ]

Welp I just bought an i3, gonna put it into a new rig and use it as my office pc.
Now if I could just get a bunch of the parts used!

[JaccoW]

Still running an overclocked C2Q Q9550. And except for some real-time rendering and the older Gpu it is doing just fine. It helps that I threw an ssd and 8gb of ram in that pc.

[chyros]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

I wouldn't count on that.

My Fujitsu drawing tablet, which has a Wacom screen, is an P3 700.
I guarantee you I can pull something from my basement that makes even that look fast.

Haha well it's not really fair to compare a tablet to a PC of course . But if you want to I can pull out my uni laptop, that one will be celebrating its 10th birthday next month .

That wouldn't be the case if you could afford a new computer..


A computer upgrade in a our modern digital lifestyle should be considered/prioritized above all other purchases.

That's SUCH a load of bollocks mate .

[tp4tissue]

That wouldn't be the case if you could afford a new computer..


A computer upgrade in a our modern digital lifestyle should be considered/prioritized above all other purchases.

That's SUCH a load of bollocks mate .

Let's say you cut wood for a living..

What's important.. a Good and fast chainsaw..  as a force multiplier, because of how often you use Force, it greatly improves your output more than any amount of say pencils would because you don't write, you cut wood..


In our life today.. For the majority of us here on Geekhack,  there is NOTHING productive outside of the computer realm..

Everything is on the net, and in front of the screen..

Therefore,  similarly a Computer, even if 10-15% faster, because of How Much, we use it.. Will greatly improve the most frequent-aspects of our lives. our times ONLINE..

[chyros]

That wouldn't be the case if you could afford a new computer..


A computer upgrade in a our modern digital lifestyle should be considered/prioritized above all other purchases.

That's SUCH a load of bollocks mate .

Let's say you cut wood for a living..

What's important.. a Good and fast chainsaw..  as a force multiplier, because of how often you use Force, it greatly improves your output more than any amount of say pencils would because you don't write, you cut wood..


In our life today.. For the majority of us here on Geekhack,  there is NOTHING productive outside of the computer realm..

Everything is on the net, and in front of the screen..

Therefore,  similarly a Computer, even if 10-15% faster, because of How Much, we use it.. Will greatly improve the most frequent-aspects of our lives. our times ONLINE..

You need to go outside more and have some good times with your friends, mate .

[Leslieann]

Pretty sure my BEST CPU is worse than all your respective worst ones xD .

I wouldn't count on that.

My Fujitsu drawing tablet, which has a Wacom screen, is an P3 700.
I guarantee you I can pull something from my basement that makes even that look fast.

Haha well it's not really fair to compare a tablet to a PC of course . But if you want to I can pull out my uni laptop, that one will be celebrating its 10th birthday next month .

At the time it was released, it was comparable to any laptop on the market, it's no different than comparing a Surface Pro or Lenovo X series tablet to an X series laptop.

It's 12 years old, running Ubuntu/Wine with Photoshop CS4.
I don't/wouldn't use it daily, but I do use it.


If you start pulling from the scrap pile in the basement (this was about systems we use), someone will eventually drag out a Trash80, which is probably older than you and makes your wireless router look like a super computer.