Advice Request Advice on Computer Purchase

[Dave Russo]

Hi Brethren, I have 2 questions and could use advice about
1. Base processor clock speed or top speed Ghz which is more important?( My computer that just died never reached its supposed rating 4.8- saw 4.6,not often
2. What site sells decent Computers for best price ?
Thanks

 

[Bot]

1. Both base and top speeds are important. Base speed is the guaranteed minimum while top speed (turbo boost) is what it can reach under optimal conditions. Your actual speed can vary based on many factors like cooling, workload, etc.
2. Websites like Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy often have competitive prices. However, it's best to compare prices across multiple sites to get the best deal.

 

[Marko :)]

1. Base processor clock speed or top speed Ghz which is more important?( My computer that just died never reached its supposed rating 4.8- saw 4.6,not often

Try not to pay much attention to clock speed. Sure, the higher the better. Instead take a look at cores. Then find two PCs at the desired price and use CPU UserBenchmarks to compare the CPUs. This is how I did when I was buying a gaming laptop. If you have a game you want to play on a PC, make sure to search on YouTube CPU+game to see the in-game performance.

2. What site sells decent Computers for best price ?

I can't help you with that since you're in the US, and I'm in the EU, sorry. If you're looking for a gaming laptop, Jarrod from Jarrod's Tech has a website with the best deals.

 

[Paul Lee]

I've recently been a huge fan of used Dell Optiplex Micro systems from eBay. Cheap, relatively powerful computers with modern hardware. Same thing goes for Lenovo's "tiny" lineup.

 

[root.]

Hi Brethren, I have 2 questions and could use advice about
1. Base processor clock speed or top speed Ghz which is more important?( My computer that just died never reached its supposed rating 4.8- saw 4.6,not often
2. What site sells decent Computers for best price ?
Thanks

Do you want to buy one or build one?
https://pcpartpicker.com/ for parts and compatibility checking.
If you go with an option like Amazon, get Keepa.com - Amazon Price Tracker to track sales and trends.

 

[zidong]

Is UserBenchmark not reliable?
This site is complete joke. Worst site ever (I'm serious). Ask about them in r/pcmasterace and r/pcbuild. Check hardware unboxed and gamer nexus youtube channels.
Depends of the budget:
Mobo - b650 tomahawk, b650 gaming x, b650 tuf gaming, b650 pro rs
CPU - ryzen 7600, 7700 or 7800x3d, depends of your budget
GPU - rx 7800 xt, rx 7900 gre, rx 7900 xt or 4070 super, 4080 super
MEM - ddr5 2x16 cl 30 6000mhz g.skill flare or any compatible ddr5 memory (check mobo qvl list)
PSU - if you don't plan to buy rtx 4090 or rx 7900 xtx, 850W is enough. For example msi mpg a850g (atx 3.0), corsair rm850e (atx 3.0), deepcool px850g (atx 3.0), seasonic focus gx850 (atx 3.0)
edit : Intel's Biggest Failure in Years: Confirmed Oxidation & Excessive Voltage
Check this too Is it safe to buy a 14700 right now?

 

[Victor M]

Depending on how long you want it to last, spending more money will enable it to still feel fast after 8-9 years.

I prefer Dell machines, they have a support lifetime of 9 years I believe. After that time, they will delete all support desk documents and tech support won't be able to help you.

Look for spill resistance feature on a laptop. Dell Latitudes have a tray under the keyboard to prevent water damage to the circuitry underneath. It worked for me.

Look for BIOS feature that can secure wipe the SSD/Nvme drive. When you get infected, it is best to secure wipe the drive and you just have to tick the box and reboot.

Refurbished machines are cheaper. Refurbished just means it has gone back to the shop. It can be due to a) customer doesn't want it so part of the process is that they have to go back to the shop to get checked before re-sale. b) there was actually a defect, and it has gone back to the shop for repairs. c) it is off-lease; some companies prefer to get new PCs after a 3 year lease; so it goes back to the shop for a checkup. After it has gone back to the shop for any of the 3 reasons, laws require vendors to mark them as 'refurbished'. So you take your chances whether it was reason a) or b) or c).

 

[Shadowra]

It all depends on what you do with it.
If it's basic use, an entry-level processor will suffice.
If you're doing gaming or heavy-duty tasks, then you'll need a good processor (I've been following AMD a lot since 2020, especially the Ryzen 5 and 7, which are cheap and high-performance).

Next, laptop or desktop? You didn't specify
If it's a laptop, you'll have to take a good look at what it offers and make sure the configuration is homogeneous (risk of Botleneck otherwise).
For a fixed PC, I recommend that you choose the parts yourself and have it assembled
Never ready-made!

 

[Marko :)]

Is UserBenchmark not reliable?
This site is complete joke. Worst site ever (I'm serious). Ask about them in r/pcmasterace and r/pcbuild. Check hardware unboxed and gamer nexus youtube channels.
Depends of the budget:
Mobo - b650 tomahawk, b650 gaming x, b650 tuf gaming, b650 pro rs
CPU - ryzen 7600, 7700 or 7800x3d, depends of your budget
GPU - rx 7800 xt, rx 7900 gre, rx 7900 xt or 4070 super, 4080 super
MEM - ddr5 2x16 cl 30 6000mhz g.skill flare or any compatible ddr5 memory (check mobo qvl list)
PSU - if you don't plan to buy rtx 4090 or rx 7900 xtx, 850W is enough. For example msi mpg a850g (atx 3.0), corsair rm850e (atx 3.0), deepcool px850g (atx 3.0), seasonic focus gx850 (atx 3.0)
edit : Intel's Biggest Failure in Years: Confirmed Oxidation & Excessive Voltage
Check this too Is it safe to buy a 14700 right now?

Any specific site you recommend for comparing CPUs & GPUs? UserBenchmark was the only one I found that has details.

 

[root.]

Any specific site you recommend for comparing CPUs & GPUs? UserBenchmark was the only one I found that has details.

PassMark CPU Value Chart - Performance / Price of available CPUs

PassMark Software - CPU Benchmarks - Over 1 million CPUs and 1,000 models benchmarked and compared in graph form, updated daily!

www.cpubenchmark.net

Something like this could give you a sense of price performance, but ultimately benchmarks are an ego metric more than anything else.

The value holds no real purpose in the context of using your device as a daily driver and not just maxing out its stress over several hours.

 

[Dave Russo]

It all depends on what you do with it.
If it's basic use, an entry-level processor will suffice.
If you're doing gaming or heavy-duty tasks, then you'll need a good processor (I've been following AMD a lot since 2020, especially the Ryzen 5 and 7, which are cheap and high-performance).

Next, laptop or desktop? You didn't specify
If it's a laptop, you'll have to take a good look at what it offers and make sure the configuration is homogeneous (risk of Botleneck otherwise).
For a fixed PC, I recommend that you choose the parts yourself and have it assembled
Never ready-made!

I would be getting either desk or laptop, I have a functioning computer, going to save up for, maybe 5 months going to keep eyes open for maybe a sale, thanks

 

[zidong]

Any specific site you recommend for comparing CPUs & GPUs? UserBenchmark was the only one I found that has details.

Techspot, TechPowerUp, Guru3d and youtube channels - Hardware Unboxed and Gamer Nexus.
For example Ryzen 7 7800X3D TechPowerUP Review
I always jump to the game tests page

 

[brambedkar59]

1. Base processor clock speed or top speed Ghz which is more important?( My computer that just died never reached its supposed rating 4.8- saw 4.6,not often

CPU clock speeds can't be compared across brands or even between different generation of CPUs for the same brand. So it's not helpful.
Quick and dirty way of comparing CPU performance would be looking at Cinebench r23 score. It's not foolproof though so take the results with grain of salt.
More accurate way would be looking at bechmarks on YT (LTT, Hardware Unboxed, Gamers Nexus, Level1 tech, Jarod's tech, etc) for specific apps you want to run like games, adobe photoshop, video rendering etc.

 

[Victor M]

From the point of view concerning cost, a desktop is more economical, because you are not paying for the laptop screen and keyboard again and again as when buying a laptop. Also desktops are upgradable - you can upgrade to a newer graphics card when something faster and newer comes out or when a desired GPU has dropped it's price.

That of course is if you don't need the portability and use the machine only at home. People imagine the 'freedom' of sitting on the sofa watching TV and using the internet at the same time. But I find it awkward to type on a laptop sitting on my lap; the positioning of the arms and hands are just not right. And putting the laptop on the low coffee table in front of the sofa is not good positioning either.

 

[Marko :)]

Techspot, TechPowerUp, Guru3d and youtube channels - Hardware Unboxed and Gamer Nexus.
For example Ryzen 7 7800X3D TechPowerUP Review
I always jump to the game tests page

This is just review site. I was thinking more of a site where I choose two different CPUs, and it compares it and ranks it.

CPU UserBenchmarks was the only one I found that does this.

 

[brambedkar59]

This is just review site. I was thinking more of a site where I choose two different CPUs, and it compares it and ranks it.

CPU UserBenchmarks was the only one I found that does this.

It's the only one sure, but it's crap...
It's banned even on r/Intel and it favours Intel heavily. So that tells everything.


Edit: Added link from r/Intel

 

[zidong]

This is just review site. I was thinking more of a site where I choose two different CPUs, and it compares it and ranks it.

CPU UserBenchmarks was the only one I found that does this.

Sorry, I don't know.