On 30/07/12 05:23, Philip Webb wrote:
Do I need > 4 cores ?
If you do video encoding, run chess analysis or are building software all day long, a 6 core helps. But you don't "need" them. You only need 1 core.
i5-2550K & FX-4100 both use 95 W (some of the more costly AMDs use 125 W ).
Note that power savings are not important if you're not using a laptop. CPU power savings on a desktop don't translate to any relevant amount of money on your electricity bills. This is because neither of those CPUs really use 95W. That's just the thermal upper limit.
Also, some comments implied that Intels have a built-in GPU : if so, would that save the cost of a graphics card ? how would it compare to an Nvidia card ? how reliable are the drivers ?
Yes, Intel CPUs now have graphics integrated into the CPU itself. The Intel drivers are top notch and are integrated into the kernel. Of course this also means that there are no third-party driver packages like for NVidia, so in order to update your graphics driver, you will need to update your kernel and X.Org stack.
Note that of course performance is abysmal if you're interested in running video games. With "video games" I don't mean Tux Racer, I mean stuff like Assassin's Creed, Skyrim, etc. If that's not your thing, then Intel graphics will be enough for you.
