Intel Core i5 or i7 Processor?

I dislike AMD. I'm an Intel guy.
So the choice was pretty simple.
It sounded simple.

i3 = slowest and cheapest - been there done that. i'll pass..

i5 = more expensive and fast. hmm...

i7 = most expensive and fastest..

Simple. haha

To cut to the chase, my eventual conclusion and deciding factors were :-
1. I need my motherboard / mainboard to support the chip I want and vice versa
2. I decided not to get the Intel i7 3770K processor coz it was more expensive and it needs a 'K' range of motherboard
3. I had the extra money to spend so, why settle with i5 (Rm620) when i7 (Rm895) is only Rm275 more? in theory, this PC was gonna last me the next 3 to 5 years. hehe. unrealistic but i'll keep it simple. haha
4. Where to buy? All the Low Yat guys and Facebook IT friends seem to recommend Viewnet, so I decided not to buy my PC at the more convenient Digital Mall, PJ.

Let's go back in time to the start of this adventure.

I went to Digital Mall in PJ and walked all the floors, hoping to find a shop that would recommend a PC system for me. I knew I:-
a. Didn't want a 'branded' PC system coz it's normally more expensive and very inflexible on what components I can get inside my new PC
b. Want to start with a shop that already recommends a suggested PC system, so I can start to begin to understand how all this stuff works

Y'see, when I was a kid, the very first PC I touched and owned was an Apple compatible PC from PineApple. My Dad bought it for me and it was the time monitors were black and green. hehe

The only brand new Windows PC my parents ever bought was when I had finished my degree in 1992. It was the family PC and since my two brothers had left home to further their studies, well.. the I had total an absolute monopoly over that Windows 3.1 family PC. haha

I've only ever bought second hand PCs. That was the time I discovered www.lelong.com.my

About 5 cheap PCs later, I ended up using laptops ALL the time about 8 years ago.

So, this PC purchase in October 2012 is a BIG DEAL for me.

My visit to AOnePlus in Digital Mall in PJ

They suggested:-

Gigabyte Z77-D3H or ASUS P8Z77-VLX mainboard
Kingston HyperX 8GB RAM
500GB SATA HDD
Super Multi DVD Writer
Cooler Master Casing




To complete the package they have these options :-
A = For Rm2,029
Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad Core
Nvdia GT640 2GB GDDR3 or AMD Radeon HD6670 1GB GDDR3
Gigabyte PowerRock 500W

as a layman, i said to myself "WTFish"

B = Rm2,499
Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad Core

Nvdia GTX550Ti 1GB GDDR5 or ATI HD6850 1GB GDDR5

Gigabyte PowerRock 700W

ok, i said to myself. for Rm400 extra it's evident I get 200Watts of more power. haha. duh. (in the end i figured out that both A and B don't even need 500W. it's more than enough, theoretically. BUT, some PSU are sold as 500W but only actually supply 400W. omg! so many things to consider. Cooler Master and Gigayte PowerRock sound like quality and very powerful stuff.. but little did I know.. haha

DANG! BUYING A PC IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS.

the what the heck? a 2GB graphics card is the same price as a 1GB graphics card? yes, they are both GDDR3. but errr... so the Rm400 extra also gives me a GDDR5 graphics card, right? but is a 2GB GDDR3 faster than a 1GB GDDR5? wait. some brands are more compatible with different motherboards. OMG! info overload. all for the need to save Rm400. wtfish. lemme just spend Rm2,499 ok.

wait..


C = Rm2,699
Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad Core

Nvdia GTX560 1GB GDDR5 or AMD Radeon HD6870 Flex 1GB GDDR5
Cooler Master Green Power GX750 750W

GTX550Ti vs GTX560? what happened to the Ti?

shucks. i'm screwed. i give up.

let's not even consider package D = Rm2,699

Intel Core i7-3770 3.5GHz Quad Core

Nvdia GTX550Ti 1GB GDDR5 or AMD Radeon HD6850 Flex 1GB GDDR5

Gigabyte 720W

and one Low Yat forum scoffed at me when i said i need 20 hours walking around to shops and research time on the internet to figure all this stuff out. he said i can do it in 30 mins. 30 mins, my a$$. haha

eventually some very good friends and experts explained to me:-
1. i don't need the motherboard they recommended coz all the processors offered are not in the "K" range
2. the good 500W PSU will be way much more than any of the options offered
3. for my needs, i actually don't even need a graphics card

DUH! i guess they are right. all the shops wanna do is sell. they don't really care what they sell if the buyer doesn't care enough to do any research and figure out what they really need. padan muka buyers who can't be bothered i guess.

i bother. my hard earned money is very valuable to me.

the complete story.. to come soon.. hehe