Which i5 is better?

[matrix86]

Solved!

*EDIT* SOLVED! I am going for the 750. Thanks everyone!

I am building a computer for my wife (I can build a top of the line computer for the price she would pay for a mid-line one). However, I'm stuck on choosing which i5 processor to get.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340343%201050749234&StoreType=-1&CompareItemList=N82E16819115215%2cN82E16819115220%2cN82E16819115217%2cN82E16819115219&bop=And

She'll be using her computer for internet, photoshop, illustrator, and corel paint, as well as burning dvd/cd. And she generally does a lot of multitasking. I would prefer getting her an i7, but it's out of our price range. Though I think i5 will be just fine. The problem is figuring out which of the i5's are better. The dual cores with high operating frequency, or that one quad core with a high L3 cache.

As of right now, i'm pushing for either the 750 (the second one in the list) or the 661 (the fourth and last one in the list). I'm sure I can just throw out the first and second ones since their specs are both the same and the fourth one is better choice out of the dual cores.

Anywho, any help will be much appreciated. Thanks, guys!

 

[dustin_ds3000]

the i5-650 and i5-750 are great CPU's but the i5-750 will meet your wife needs much longer

 

[Ritwik7]

I would also go for the i5 750 because of it's price / performance ratio. And for multitasking, the 2 extra cores would certainly help.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

i750 is probably a better choice...

 

[mica3speedy]

keep in mind that all of those processors except the 750 have built in graphics.

 

[matrix86]

So what you're saying is that if I get the 661, I won't need to buy a high end graphics card (or maybe just a midline since money is tight)? I can just hook the processor up to the mobo and plug the monitor into the mobo monitor port? (whether it be VGA or DVI i'm not sure...haven't decided on a monitor yet, it all depends on how much money is left over after our car is fixed).

You'll have to excuse me as i'm fairly new to the processor gig, so i'm still learning. She needs great graphics with a fast processor that can handle the multitasking and running those large programs. The i5 is in our price range...i7 is WAY too much. Trying to stick around $200 in the budget for processors. Plus i7 might be a bit much for her anyway.

So if i won't have to go out and buy an expensive graphics card, and if a hyper-threading dual core is good enough, then I guess the 661 would be my best choice (or maybe 660)? I'm guessing that a hyper-threading dual core with high operating frequency and low L3 cache can keep up with just a regular quad core with a lower operating frequency and high L3 cache (if I remember right, the lower the L3 cache the better).

 

[Ritwik7]

The integrated graphics will not play any high end games I'm pretty sure. In any case, even if you get the i5 750, you could buy a motherboard with onboard VGA if you're not looking to play games on the PC.

 

[matrix86]

I won't be using it for games. This is for my wife. She'll be using it for photo editing/creating, internet browsing, and video watching. However, I may end up using it for some video editing

She better love me, lol. I was saving up to build an even faster and better one for myself (I do a lot of audio work and am just getting into video work). But then she came up to me and asked if I would build her one. She wins because she plans to go into either graphic design and/or photography. All the audio and now video work that I do is more for pleasure...so like I said...she wins, lol.

But I think I am pushing for the 750. Integrated video on mobos are getting better nowadays, so might not need that feature in a processor. Plus the 750 is cheaper than the 661 And I was hoping to stay below the $200 mark.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Integrated graphics are of course, pretty crappy, and overall, the 750 is a faster processor.,,thats what I would go with anyway.

 

[matrix86]

I'm making it official: i'm going with the 750.