Downgrade i7 to i3?

cmadki4 said:
Like I said, too good of a deal to pass up. I'd never overclock that i7 or even make it break a sweat. The i3 2120 fits the bill nicely, and I've got a few extras bills in my wallet ;)
Click to expand...

I guess I don't see the point. The more powerful your CPU, the longer you can go without having to upgrade it. Furthermore, you won't save a lot with regard to power consumption. At stock clocks, all Sandy Bridge CPUs are pretty good in that regard.
 
The point = $$$. I'm happy :)

Edit: And I recognize the power consumption difference in marginal at best.
 
cmadki4 said:
@Jorona - I was able to take moment and turn the top fan around to intake again. Sure enough, my PSU stopped winding up like a jet engine. I'm guessing the top exhaust fan was creating a dead air zone by the PSU intake, starving it of air.

When I turned the top fan around to intake it does like you said; creating positive pressure (at least seemingly so around the PSU intake).

Long story short, the PSU fan is no longer screaming loud while gaming and my CPU/GPU temps have risen only slightly (maybe 5-8*C each). A fair trade off, honestly. I may be able to get those temps back down somehow while still maintain positive pressure.

Positive pressure. I wasn't a believer, now I am. Thank goodness for open mindedness.

Edit: Oh, and I also arranged a deal too good to pass up. My 2600K for an i3 2120 + cash. So far, the smoothest trade transaction in [H] history. Boiler1990 is the man.
Click to expand...

AND SO I SAID THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER BELIEVER! PRAISE THE POSITIVE PRESSURE, PRAISE IT!
 
cmadki4 said:
A new PSU is not an option because the PC63J is the highest wattage PSU available for that system.
Edit: see sig
Click to expand...

Exact same issue I ran into with my Shuttle SX58H7. Great little cases, but they always come up short on the power supply.

I no longer have mine, decided to go back to a regular sized case.
 
cmadki4 said:
Haha :)

But my CPU and GPU temps did get worse. If I can strike a balance, than I'll be good to go.
Click to expand...

I'd totally take acouple degree increase not to have a screaming 40mm fan in my case. Do the temps stay under control under load? I'd have to imagine with the i3 in there now, its probably cool as a cucumber.
 
Yeah, they stay pretty well under control. Running Furmark and 3DMark the CPU and GPU temps are quite a bit warmer, but still well within reason.
 
cmadki4 said:
The point = $$$. I'm happy :)

Edit: And I recognize the power consumption difference in marginal at best.
Click to expand...

If you don't need the power of an i7, the downgrade is a wise move, plus you can bank those $$ for an upgrade down the road (or to pay some bills). Let us know how you like the 2120.
 
also getting a 7850 would provide you more performance with less wattage, or you reduce power drawn drastically with a 7770 but that would cut you with some performance ...
 
@winston9t4 - I'm really liking the 2120 so far. It's a champ. I have seen no performance decrease in my gaming at 1920x1080.

@shuttlemunky - The 7850 has greater performance than the 6870 hawk? That'd be cool. Not a bad idea, I may look into that if that proves to be an increase in performance and decrease in power consumption. Thanks :)
 
winston9t4 said:
If you don't need the power of an i7, the downgrade is a wise move, plus you can bank those $$ for an upgrade down the road (or to pay some bills). Let us know how you like the 2120.
Click to expand...

Unless the upgrade down the road ends up being a new CPU...
 
cmadki4 said:
@shuttlemunky - The 7850 has greater performance than the 6870 hawk? That'd be cool. Not a bad idea, I may look into that if that proves to be an increase in performance and decrease in power consumption. Thanks :)
Click to expand...

This should give you an idea about two cards both stock cooler versions... So you can also get the O.C version of 7850 just like hawk version of 6870. 7850 has a TDP of 130watts versus 151 of 6870.
And 7850 also draws alot less and runs cooler when idle...

edit: 7850 only requires 1x6pin connector versus 2(?) of 6870...
 
RamonGTP said:
Unless the upgrade down the road ends up being a new CPU...
Click to expand...

My philosophy with something that changes as quickly as PC technology, is to get it when you need it, as the newer/cheaper/better/faster part is always around the corner.
 
winston9t4 said:
My philosophy with something that changes as quickly as PC technology, is to get it when you need it, as the newer/cheaper/better/faster part is always around the corner.
Click to expand...

My philosophy is to buy the best you can afford. I've done both and end up spending more money and wasting more time doing incremental upgrades the other way.
 
RamonGTP said:
My philosophy is to buy the best you can afford. I've done both and end up spending more money and wasting more time doing incremental upgrades the other way.
Click to expand...

This is the way to do it from my experience as well. Especially if you happen to live near a Microcenter to take advantage of the in-store deals they frequently have. If not you can still find awesome deals. The [H] FS/FT forum is flooded with deals on all kinds of hardware and other goodies.
 
So I should have bought my mom an i7 with 64gb of ram and a 690?

Get outtta here. You buy what you'll use. No point in overspending on something you'll never fully utilize.
 
Jorona said:
So I should have bought my mom an i7 with 64gb of ram and a 690?

Get outtta here. You buy what you'll use. No point in overspending on something you'll never fully utilize.
Click to expand...

If you're going to be silly enough to find the most extreme example that's totally unrelated to folks like us (enthusiasts) I'm going to be just as silly and say if you loved your mom you would have got her something better. But feel free to re join the discussion when you feel like providing more rational arguments.
 
Everyone has their own personal utility curve for their expenditures - I tend to be more on the "value" side. I'm not a power gamer, I don't need to play the latest games, and those I do play are low requirement ones like SC2 & Diablo3. If you are a power gamer, your requirements would be very different.
 
RamonGTP said:
If you're going to be silly enough to find the most extreme example that's totally unrelated to folks like us (enthusiasts) I'm going to be just as silly and say if you loved your mom you would have got her something better. But feel free to re join the discussion when you feel like providing more rational arguments.
Click to expand...

To me it's not a matter of how large your budget is, it's about how you use your budget, and what the purpose of the build is.

For most people a small form factor AMD-E350 is really all the CPU and GPU they need.

In this case it would be better for the user to save the GPU and CPU money, and instead put it towards an SSD.
 
Zarathustra[H];1038749935 said:
To me it's not a matter of how large your budget is, it's about how you use your budget, and what the purpose of the build is.

For most people a small form factor AMD-E350 is really all the CPU and GPU they need.

In this case it would be better for the user to save the GPU and CPU money, and instead put it towards an SSD.
Click to expand...
This (even though I already have SSDs).

I've never bought the best I could afford, only what I need. And I've never been left wanting for more power.

Plus, this recent downgrade from my i7 to my now current i3 is a unique circumstance. Along with actually making for a more balanced rig I actually managed to profit from it, not just recoup some cost. I realize downgrading just isn't very [H] at all, but it just made sense in this case.
 
Zarathustra[H];1038749935 said:
To me it's not a matter of how large your budget is, it's about how you use your budget, and what the purpose of the build is.

For most people a small form factor AMD-E350 is really all the CPU and GPU they need.

In this case it would be better for the user to save the GPU and CPU money, and instead put it towards an SSD.
Click to expand...

Like winston said, it depends. If you're "never" or at least not for years to come going to make use of something higher end like perhaps your mothers computer, then I agree. But if your demands are a little higher and you buy something that's just good enough for today only to upgrade every 6-12 months then it's not the best idea.

Reminds me of the e8400 vs q6600 days. Many that went with the e found themselves upgrading FAR earlier than those with the q. That situation was actually worse considering the two CPUs were the same price.
 
RamonGTP said:
Like winston said, it depends. If you're "never" or at least not for years to come going to make use of something higher end like perhaps your mothers computer, then I agree. But if your demands are a little higher and you buy something that's just good enough for today only to upgrade every 6-12 months then it's not the best idea.

Reminds me of the e8400 vs q6600 days. Many that went with the e found themselves upgrading FAR earlier than those with the q. That situation was actually worse considering the two CPUs were the same price.
Click to expand...

Hey man, I'm typing on my E8500 right now! ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top