Quote:
Originally Posted by cigga24 /forum/post/21896192
Can you guys help me decide if i need to rebuild?
I have a:
Powercolor ATI 5450
AMD Athlon X2 4850e
4gb DDR2 800
BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M
BD drive
WHS v1
I rip BD to MKV and store on server and bitstream to my receiver via the 5450.
Everything plays fine but my Bluray movies do stall if i pause them for longer than 4 min but i think thats a PDVD 9/11 issue. In any case I would like to do 3D bluray eventually when i upgrade tv and get a hdmi 1.4 receiver.
My initial thoughts was to just swap out the 5450 for a 6850 and call it a day. But then i thought i should swap the cpu/mobo/ram and use those parts and upgrade to a WHS2011 setup from my current Pentium 4 1gb WHS v1 setup. I would get an Ivy Bridge i5 for the htpc.
Am i over thinking this and wasting the cash?
My other option is to keep everything as is and get a 3d bluray player, but it would suck to do that for the 3 or 4 movies i may buy in the next 2 years.
Here is some info:
First- I have learned that "if" you have to rebuild and upgrade is very different than "if you want to" rebuild and upgrade.
If you want to do it- then it does not matter if you have to do it or not.
That said- you don't have to do it. But you might like it if you did, and obviously there will be performance benefits. The decision is yours if you feel you should or do it.
That said, here is some thoughts.
You could take your existing board CPU and DDR2 800mhz and make a storage server or use it for something else. It's still working and capable- you don't have to throw it away.
Also,
I am not sure you need an i5 2500k. That thing is a monster!
I have build 5 PC's in last 90 days. a G620, a G630, an i3 2100, an i5 2500k and an i7 2600k. I am typing this on the i7.
So I feel qualified to give you some opinion on the differences.
The G630 is probably more than you need for normal PC duties and HTPC provided you give it 8GB of good DDR3 and a fast SSD for the OS. It really is quite amazing and I can't see anyone complaining about it, or seeing something it won't handle easy. $61.99 get you this CPU. I like it so much I have a spare sitting in front of me in box waiting for a purpose.
The i3 2100 is a beast. It should provide a nice bump in performance if you think you need it. You can get this for $110. Or get the 2120 or whatever LGA1155 i3 you find a good deal on. I think people really don't understand how much a beast this little CPU is.
The i5 is a total monster. I doubt you need this. Honestly it's too much and more than enough for just about anything I can think of. Seriously- you get tons of performance and bang for the buck. Don't let the i5 moniker fool you- this thing is premium high end overkill all the way- through and thru.
The i7 really is too much. It's clearly too much for anything HTPC related. I might actually say it's overkill even for a hardcore gaming machine. It's more than you need for a high end gaming rig. Yes... so much so that it will provide little to no benefit over the i5 since the CPU is so good it's not the limiting factor anymore. I have dual 6870x2's for video cards. I would need Radeon 7000's or higher to use what my board, ram and CPU can do.
Don't think you need an i5 2500k because all the reviews are so wonderful. You probably would get away easily with a G630 and certainly with an i3. Compared to your PC now- it's not a contest the difference.
Now- I am typing this from an overclocked i7 machine and I have my turbo boost set to run @4.5ghz x all cores. I run 16GB DDR3 @1866mhz, and I have a Vertex3 MAX IOPS as my OS drive.
Take my advice from a performance junkie- these CPU's are way underrated and provide excellent value given the prices.
You should be able to get a nice Z68 board, 8GB DDR3 1600mhz, and an i3 for $225. You can upgrade to an i5 for $310.
The upgrade and performance bump would be very extreme.
My strongest advice would be- don't for a second do anything or spend a dime upgrading unless you plan to get an SSD for your OS. This is required.
Nothing you can do will give you a better experience or faster real world speed than an SSD for your OS.
I would easily take your current PC with a fast SSD for the OS over an i5 based rig on a normal HDD for the OS.
Hope that helps.