Desperation choice of CPU

[KeyboardDemon]

KeyboardDemon, you are right in so much of what you say. However, we have the same problems, only from opposite views. From the buyer's (my) point of view, it is almost impossible to say "how much can you [I] afford to spend?" Instead, it comes down to a simple process (but a lot of work :-) of determine what parts are needed, zooming in on some pricewise and performancewise reasonable range of each part (from good to very good), and then look at a few combinations and their prices. After that, you determine a range of how much you are willing and is able to spend. The more you spend, the more other things you have to give up (yes, my budget is limited). As a guideline to myself, I think I have never paid less that about $2300.00 on a computer. Since prices have gone down, it means, of course, that I have gotten a better computer each time. The one I have now is still going rather strong 8 years later, and that is because I got the just released CPU in Dec 2006.

I wanted to respond right away, but I will have to come back to give some more info, because, since a rebuild is a longer-term project, I have to get my puter up and going now. I am almost there, just have to root out a browser hijacker and get my keyboard layout manager to work (KLM2000, a very good app if you want to reprogram your keys; not the usual compromises, but the real thing).

So, thanks for today; I will be back in a few days. Sorry for the delay.

Hans L

It sounds like you want us to give you a few options so you can pick the one that suits you most.

[EndlessWaves]

I have not followed what is happening in CPU's, so I don't know what is on the horizon.

Right now the focus has shifted away from CPU performance and is on power consumption (Intel are pushing into the tablet and smartphone market) as well as integrating more components into the chip and improving those components (integrated graphics is improving by leaps and bounds).

From a perspective of eight years ago the most exciting chip would be the i7-5820k, a chip where Intel have knocked 30% off the cost of their previous cheapest hexacore and the first to support DDR4. The general tech community isn't terribly interested though, gamers are jaded from the slow pace of dual and quad-core adoption and most of the rest have moved onto more mobile devices.

These days the previews for the Intel's next codename are more likely to talk about the reduction is machine thickness and battery life than performance. Those are the important things for most of the market at the moment and the ones at the cutting edge:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8355/i...ecture-preview

Desktop-wise the main new area of interest is mini PCs, especially in the corner of the market with money to spend but without specialist computing requirements. Why go for a big machine when you can get everything you want in under 2L (~4 pints) or under half that if you opt for a laptop-style external power supply.