Sorry to ask but I’m hoping that some of you fine STW computerists can hopefully steer an IT numpty in the right direction regarding choosing a new PC. I’ve searched the web but am just getting more and more confused. 😕

I’m trying to work out which is better out of the 2 specs listed below. I think they are similar but is one better than the other and if so why or is it simply a question of preferring AMD or Intel as your processor ?

It is to be used for general inter web surfing, photo editing and playing a few games.

Thank you

System A…

Processor
• Intel Pentium G4560 “Kaby Lake” CPU, 2 Cores, 4 Threads, 3.5GHz
• 3MB L3 Cache

CPU Cooler
• Intel Stock Cooler

Motherboard
• ASUS H110M-A/M.2 Motherboard

Memory
• 8GB DDR4 2133MHz
• Configuration 1 x 8GB
• 2 x DIMM Slot

Hard Drive
• Seagate 1TB SSHD

Software
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64bit

Graphics
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Graphics Card

Audio
• Onboard High Definition Audio

Networking
• LAN: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet

Power Supply
• Aerocool 80 PLUS 500W PSU

Interfaces
• 3 x USB 3.0
• 5 x USB 2.0
• 1 x RJ45 LAN Port
• 1 x DVI Port
• 1 x HDMI Port
• 1 x DisplayPort
• 2 x PS/2
• 3 x Audio Jack

Expansion
• 1 x PCIe x1 Slot
• 3 x SATA ports

or

System, B

Processor
• AMD Athlon X4-860K Processor

CPU Cooler
• AMD Quiet 95W Stock CPU Cooler

Motherboard
• Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-HD2 Motherboard

Memory
• 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
• Configuration 1 x 8GB
• Dual Channel Support on 2 DIMMs
• 2 x DIMM Slot

Hard Drive
• Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SSHD Hybrid Drive

Software
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64bit

Graphics
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Graphics Card

Audio
• Onboard High Definition Audio

Networking
• LAN: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet

Power Supply
• Aerocool 500W 80 PLUS PSU

Interfaces
• 3 x USB 3.0
• 6 x USB 2.0
• 1 x RJ45 LAN Port
• 1 x DVI Port
• 1 x HDMI Port
• 1 x PS/2
• 3 x Audio Jack

Expansion
• 1 x PCI Slot
• 3 x SATA ports

I’m not very up to speed on AMD stuff, but option 2 is Quad Core and option 1 only dual core. Based on that alone (that’s the only difference isn’t it?) I’d go for the AMD. You can benchmark them to be sure.

Got a budget?

Option C – iMac.

Budget? Neither is great, the dual vs quad isn’ the only difference, Intel made better chips but would be looking for an i3 chip as a minimum really unless budget doesnt go that far

Thanks peeps

I’m aware that they may not be the best but was sort of thinking along the lines of I have more fun on my SS bike than I ever did on my fully bouncy one so it doesn’t have to have all the bells and whistles. After all anything modern will outperform my dying Dell Dimension E521 that I use at the moment.

I’m guessing DDR4 memory is better than DDR3 ?

Budget is a probably a bit of an issue @ £500 ish

Don’t want a iMac

Go with the Intel, the motherboard, CPU and RAM are much more recent designs and will out perform the AMD for most tasks.

Both are good enough specs for general office/web tasks and casual gaming.

If budget is tight consider ditching Windows 10 for Ubuntu MATE or similar, it should save £50 or so.

That Intel build is better than the AMD, this AMD build is better than both
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/xzqfjc
(All the rest is the same, just AMD’s new mid-range CPU rather than a low-end as per either of your builds above) ~£512 without Windows

agree on the ryzen in post directly above – you’d be a fool not to

Look it up. It’s brand new news.

The Ryzen one first choice if not the Kaby lake pentium is a good little processor for 1080p medium to high settings, with potential to put in a I5/I7 at a later date.

Out of those two systems, the first one is superior, it uses a current platform, it has a faster and more efficient CPU and uses DDR4 memory. You can switch out the CPU down the line if you want for a current i5 or i7 model.

Just to hammer the message home, do not buy a non Ryzen AMD CPU now, they are hugely better than the old chips.

Broadly speaking, right now you should be looking to Ryzen in almost all cases, bar some high end gaming rigs.

Also, You don’t need a 500W psu for those configs. You need less, maybe 400w max with a high efficiency rating and high quality components.

What are the exact specs of the hybrid hard drive’s ? How much ssd ?

Thanks, even more to think about now 😕

So with pcpartpicker I order the bits and build it myself ? Probably prefer an off the shelf option tbh but I can see it would be cheaper to diy.

Please don’t take this the wrong way, I really do appreciate your help, the problem for me is that I just need a basic pc that does what I described in the op and whilst it’s maybe a no-brainer to embrace the latest tech how long before that is superseded with something even better, it’s like the “well if you spend just a little bit more you will get so much more for your money” situation.

I can see it’s better but do I really need the Ryzen when an Intel would do ? Do I need the latest or am I happy with just ok ? Maybe this is the difference between winners and losers in life (bit heavy for a which pc thread though )

I thought I was indecisive but now I’m not sure 😀 so i’m going to go for a bike ride/procrastinate whilst the suns out 8)

Edit: @ jambalaya sorry I have not got a clue I am a computer numpty 😳

It m.in the same position just now. I haven’t built a pc for years, want one in a budget that will play the Lego games and possibly some games from the last few years.

That Ryzen CPU like the business but i don’t know if it over kill when an i3 would do.

TL;DR:

If you need the very cheapest build, Pentium with Hyperthreading

If you want balanced performance Ryzen, (though I’d avoid the Quadcore version). Additional cores are becoming more important and the overall cost is very reasonable.

Maximum frame rate for gaming: K-series Intel and closed-loop water cooling.

Prebuilt systems are not more expensive if you look in the right place.

I asked for advice on here recently about a gaming rig for ~£500 and that bought me a decent spec machine as recommended by some very helpful folks – ASUS motherboard, 16Gb DDR4 RAM, AMD RX-480 graphics, small SSD, huge HDD, Intel i5-7500 CPU.

Great for games plus everything else – very happy.