Saturday, November 08
It's How F'ing Much?!
So, if I'm going to be building a new PC, I'm going to be looking at the latest bits and pieces, right?
What I was thinking for the CPU was a low-power AMD chip, like the 9350e 2.0 GHz quad-core ($220) or the new model of the 5600+ 2.9GHz dual-core ($150). Both are 65W chips - and 65W for a quad core is pretty nice. The higher-clocked dual-core would be better for desktop stuff; the quad better for server stuff. Shame they don't make a chip that lets you turn off two cores when you don't need them...
For the motherboard, either a Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H ($160), a nice little all-in-one mATX board that's the successor to the successor to my current motherboards, or the GA-MA790GP-DS4H ($200), a full ATX board that has all the same features plus SLI support. Both have built-in video, and include 128MB of dedicated DDR3 video ram. Which is not critical now that I have a working video card, but is nice to have when I come to repurpose them in a year or two.
Throw in 8GB of memory ($160) and either a cheap 750GB drive ($125) or a shiny new 1.5TB drive ($290) and a case (which I have) and a power supply (which I also have, though I might buy a new one), and voila.
But hey, what about Intel's new Core i7? Initial reports are that it's fast fast fast - about twice the speed of that AMD quad-core - and not too expensive, reportedly starting at US$284 in quantity. It's only just been pre-announced, and I doubt anyone has it yet, but maybe they have pricing and an ETA...
Oh look! It's in stock! And it's only... Uh, nearly $700?! For the cheapest model, and $2400 for the high-end version.
Holy channel markup, batman. I thought we'd left crap like that behind.
Motherboard? One model in stock: The Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME, a snip at just $600.
It takes 12GB of DDR3 memory, and to fill it up will cost, let's see, another $700.
So, $2000 for Intel CPU, motherboard and memory, vs. $470 to $580 for the AMD stuff. The Core i7 is a lot faster, but it's not $1500 worth of faster, at least, not in my current financial situation.
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So, if I'm going to be building a new PC, I'm going to be looking at the latest bits and pieces, right?
What I was thinking for the CPU was a low-power AMD chip, like the 9350e 2.0 GHz quad-core ($220) or the new model of the 5600+ 2.9GHz dual-core ($150). Both are 65W chips - and 65W for a quad core is pretty nice. The higher-clocked dual-core would be better for desktop stuff; the quad better for server stuff. Shame they don't make a chip that lets you turn off two cores when you don't need them...
For the motherboard, either a Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H ($160), a nice little all-in-one mATX board that's the successor to the successor to my current motherboards, or the GA-MA790GP-DS4H ($200), a full ATX board that has all the same features plus SLI support. Both have built-in video, and include 128MB of dedicated DDR3 video ram. Which is not critical now that I have a working video card, but is nice to have when I come to repurpose them in a year or two.
Throw in 8GB of memory ($160) and either a cheap 750GB drive ($125) or a shiny new 1.5TB drive ($290) and a case (which I have) and a power supply (which I also have, though I might buy a new one), and voila.
But hey, what about Intel's new Core i7? Initial reports are that it's fast fast fast - about twice the speed of that AMD quad-core - and not too expensive, reportedly starting at US$284 in quantity. It's only just been pre-announced, and I doubt anyone has it yet, but maybe they have pricing and an ETA...
Oh look! It's in stock! And it's only... Uh, nearly $700?! For the cheapest model, and $2400 for the high-end version.
Holy channel markup, batman. I thought we'd left crap like that behind.
Motherboard? One model in stock: The Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME, a snip at just $600.
It takes 12GB of DDR3 memory, and to fill it up will cost, let's see, another $700.
So, $2000 for Intel CPU, motherboard and memory, vs. $470 to $580 for the AMD stuff. The Core i7 is a lot faster, but it's not $1500 worth of faster, at least, not in my current financial situation.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
02:26 AM
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Intel has taken the speed lead again, by a large margin... like it was back in the bad ol' days of Cyrix and AMD and who knows who else. Ergo, Intel can jack the prices sky high.
Back when AMD had the lead, Intel was behind, but not by so much that AMD could relax or pricehike. So it goes.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Saturday, November 08 2008 11:30 AM (xC579)
2
It hasn't shown up on Newegg yet, but if the quoted distributor prices are correct, then Australia is getting hit with a 50% markup on top of the exchange rate and sales tax. US$284 vs. A$690.
By comparison, Newegg have the 9350e for $170; I can get it locally for $220, which is a lot less than the exchange rate difference. Intel's prices have jumped locally to reflect the full 40% swing in exchange rates - and then some - while AMD's prices have only gone up by 10% or so.
I'd love to get the Core i7, but $2000 vs. $500 for the core system? I don't think so!
By comparison, Newegg have the 9350e for $170; I can get it locally for $220, which is a lot less than the exchange rate difference. Intel's prices have jumped locally to reflect the full 40% swing in exchange rates - and then some - while AMD's prices have only gone up by 10% or so.
I'd love to get the Core i7, but $2000 vs. $500 for the core system? I don't think so!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Saturday, November 08 2008 12:36 PM (PiXy!)
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