[270797lb]

Hi There,

 

Need advice asap! choosing new computers for an office.

 

Option 1: Intel-i3-4160 (3.6GHz) Dual Core Haswell CPU - 3MB Cache with 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM

 

or 

 

Option 2: Intel i5-4460 (3.2GHz) Turbo to 3.4GHz Quad Core Haswell CPU - 3MB Cache with 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM

 

 

 

Reviews about the processor are more or less saying they are too close to call a winner. I'm stuck on what option to get.

 

These will be used in heavy office work with generic Outlook & Office, AutoCAD, Web Browsing and Photoshop editing.

 

 

Your help is very much appreciated.

 

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Hi 270797lb, and welcome to Geeks to Go!

 

Interesting question. The i5 is the more powerful processor, but not by a long shot. It looks like the i3 is running for about $125 on the market right now, with the i5 running at about $190. That's a $65 difference, which is fairly significant. You stand to save $130 if you select the i3. I think there is a lot of room for discussion and different viewpoints here, and I certainly hope we get more input from the community.

 

The i5 is a quad-core processor whereas the i3 is a dual core. The i3 makes up for it with another two logical cores, but it's not the same (to me) as four physical cores. The cache sizes are also larger on the i5. Having said that, I think the i3 is a better value in terms of price. When we start getting into AutoCad and Photoshop, I believe (though I could be mistaken) that the graphics card is more important as it will act as the processor for these applications. The purpose of those applications centers on image manipulation and 3D imagery, which is a task for the GPU. With that in mind, the i3 may work out just fine, even though it is a slightly less powerful chip.

 

If I were in your shoes, I think I would consider the i3 unless I found the i5 at a more reasonable price. I would also recommend investing in a quality graphics card since that seems to be the main purpose for these workstations. RAM will also be an important factor to consider.

 

I would really like to see what input we can gather from the community as well. I see a lot of room for debate and welcome other viewpoints!

 

Best of luck!

[Facedown98]

Hi 270797lb, and welcome to Geeks to Go!

 

Interesting question. The i5 is the more powerful processor, but not by a long shot. It looks like the i3 is running for about $125 on the market right now, with the i5 running at about $190. That's a $65 difference, which is fairly significant. You stand to save $130 if you select the i3. I think there is a lot of room for discussion and different viewpoints here, and I certainly hope we get more input from the community.

 

The i5 is a quad-core processor whereas the i3 is a dual core. The i3 makes up for it with another two logical cores, but it's not the same (to me) as four physical cores. The cache sizes are also larger on the i5. Having said that, I think the i3 is a better value in terms of price. When we start getting into AutoCad and Photoshop, I believe (though I could be mistaken) that the graphics card is more important as it will act as the processor for these applications. The purpose of those applications centers on image manipulation and 3D imagery, which is a task for the GPU. With that in mind, the i3 may work out just fine, even though it is a slightly less powerful chip.

 

If I were in your shoes, I think I would consider the i3 unless I found the i5 at a more reasonable price. I would also recommend investing in a quality graphics card since that seems to be the main purpose for these workstations. RAM will also be an important factor to consider.

 

I would really like to see what input we can gather from the community as well. I see a lot of room for debate and welcome other viewpoints!

 

Best of luck!

[phillpower2]

If I may chime in folks 

 

As already intimated by Facedown98 the graphics solution and Ram also need to be taken into consideration as they compliment the performance of the CPU, also worth mentioning is that 8GB of Ram is the sweet spot for a 64-bit OS such as Windows 7 + it is the recommended amount for AutoCad 2015, see System requirements for AutoCAD 2015 here

 

CPU benchmarks here

 

Of the two I would opt for the i5 and 8GB of Ram as they will most likely be compatible with your software for longer than the i3 and 4GB of Ram will be.

 

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[iammykyl]

Gday.

Please give the versions of AutoCAD and PhotoShop being used.

Is the work level enthusiast or professional?

What monitor/s will be used?   Brand/model please.

What will be your budget?

In which country will you purchase parts?

[270797lb]

Hi All, Thanks for your advice,

 

It is AutoCAD 2011 and 2014, Photoshop CS5, All the monitors vary and we are in the UK.

 

I am thinking the i5 option as it is only another £50 more so its not too bad, its just that clock speed which is making me think twice

Gday.

Please give the versions of AutoCAD and PhotoShop being used.

Is the work level enthusiast or professional?

What monitor/s will be used?   Brand/model please.

What will be your budget?

In which country will you purchase parts?

[Facedown98]

If you're not on a tight budget then I would spring for the i5 also. I'm just more comfortable with physical cores over Hyper-Threading.

[terry1966]

because of the autocad, photoshop usage personally i'd go for a more expensive quad core i7 cpu with hyperthreading,

yes the initial cost is going to be more but the savings in work time over the long term will more than pay for itself.

 

eg. http://www.dabs.com/...ocked-8NG1.html

comparison :- http://www.cpubenchm...2317&cmp[]=1919

 

just to qualify (hope that's the right word.) facedown98's hyperthreading statement, hyperthreading does make a big difference in time taken when the software is multi thread aware regardless of which cpu i7,i5,i3 usually,

it's just that a cpu that has the same amount of real cores, ie. an i3 with 4 cores, 2 real cores and 2 hyperthreaded is not going to complete a job as fast as an i5 with just 4 real cores and no hyperthreading, but 2 similar 4 real core cpu's and 1 has hyperthreading, then it is the one with hyperthreading that is going to complete a job faster by a good %age too.

 

Edited by terry1966, 29 December 2014 - 06:14 PM.

[iammykyl]

because of the autocad, photoshop usage personally i'd go for a more expensive quad core i7 cpu with hyperthreading,

yes the initial cost is going to be more but the savings in work time over the long term will more than pay for itself.

Agree 110%.,  With a weaker CPU, performance will take a significant performance hit if you have background applications running as well.   There a lots of reviews, but I think the Performance tests and application tests are fair and highlight the differences, > http://www.xbitlabs....0k_4.html#sect2

You may have already selected your other parts?? but if possible, consider,

Min of 16GB or RAM.

Min of 4 internal drives, 1 SSD, 3 spinners.

Add later.

PCI/PCI-E Raid controller card.

NAS, with RAID 10 for storage. (5 bay)

[Facedown98]

just to qualify (hope that's the right word.) facedown98's hyperthreading statement, hyperthreading does make a big difference in time taken when the software is multi thread aware regardless of which cpu i7,i5,i3 usually,

it's just that a cpu that has the same amount of real cores, ie. an i3 with 4 cores, 2 real cores and 2 hyperthreaded is not going to complete a job as fast as an i5 with just 4 real cores and no hyperthreading, but 2 similar 4 real core cpu's and 1 has hyperthreading, then it is the one with hyperthreading that is going to complete a job faster by a good %age too.

 

This is true. If you have identical processors but one offers Hyper-Threading (HT) and one does not, then go for the one with HT. Since that's not the case here, I think it's hard to determine. At the end of the day I don't think the difference will be dramatic.

 

I just want to reiterate the importance of a quality graphics card and sufficient RAM. The graphics card will likely take the most heat when it comes down to that type of work. All of the components work together, but some will be called upon to pull some additional weight.

[270797lb]

Thanks guys for your comments, looks like I will go for the i5 option. 

 

These PCs are more or less Active Directory Domain Joined clients, and all storage is located on different file servers so RAID wouldnt be needed in these or a big hard drive as user cannot access them.

 

Thanks Again.

[iammykyl]

Thanks for the information and explanation.

Good luck with the upgrade. 

[phillpower2]

Ditto to the above + any further questions let us know