Which Computer?

[Miguel Petersen]

Hi,

I'm soon going to buy a new computer, so i checked 3 computers:

Computer 1:
Intel I7 -740QM 1.73 - 2.93Ghz
500GB Harddisk (7200rpm)
6GB DDR3 Ram(1333mhz)
NVIDIA GEFORCE GT425M
And some few other things...

Computer 2:
Intel I7 -26300QM 2.0 - 2.90 GHz
640GB Harddisk (7200rpm)
6 GB DDR3 Ram(1333mhz)
NVIDIA GEFORCE GT540M 1 GB
And some few other things...

Computer 3:
Intel I7 - 740QM 1.73 - 2.93Ghz
640GB Harddisk (7200rpm)
8 GB DDR3 Ram(1333mhz)
NVIDIA GEFORCE GT425M 1 GB

Please tell me which one is best for UDK.

Thank you.

[saymoo]

Looking at the cpu's your looking at laptops.

As for base architecture:
I would go for the second configuration (i7 - 26xxQM CPU), which is based on the latest socket tech (sandy bridge) instead of the older Clarksfield tech.

6 to 8 Gig is very royal.

As for a HD, try to get one as large as possible, as fast as possible (and huge buffer mem).

As for Videocard, if you have a choice (e.g. there are three equal models, cpu mem wise, but with different GPU chipsets, go with the fastest. However i do not know how well the 540M performs compared to the other listed ones. (not very familiar with Nvidia's current GPU's)


Ps.. My personal view would be, not to go for a laptop when going for 3d related development. A Desktop still outperforms a laptop with ease.

[TheAgent]

I'd say the GT 540m would be good

Although any Mobile series cards are never really as fast as the say GTX 560.

But i would prolly pick the second as well.

[Miguel Petersen]

I will maby post one more computer but do you think that the second can run UDK very well, or is it just Ok... Because i'm really trying to earn money to a new computer.

[Miguel Petersen]

1 Other:
Specifications







Operation System

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic,
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium,




Processor

Intel® Core 2 Quad/Core2 Duo





Chipset

North Bridge:
Intel G43
South Bridge:
Intel ICH7



Memory

4 x DIMM Slots Dual Channel DDR2 800 MHz. Support max 24 GB.



Graphics

Integrated Intel® GMA X4500 / NVIDIA® GeForce GT220 1G




Hard Drive

SATA
3.5" 1TB ~ 3TB




Optical Drive

Blue-ray or DVD Super-multi DVD-RW



Expansion Slots

2 x PCI
1 x PCI-e 16x
1 x PCI-e 1x




Card Reader

CF/Micro Drive/MS/MS Pro/MS Pro Duo/MS-Duo/MMC/MMC 4.0/RS-MMC4.0/SD/SDHC



LAN/WLAN

LAN: 10/100/1000




Audio

Azalia 8 Channel
High Definition Audio 8-channel CODEC




Front Panel

1 x Headphone
1 x Microphone
2 x USB 2.0




Rear Panel

1 x D-sub(VGA)
1 x DVI-D
1 x HDMI
1 x IEEE 1394 (6 PIN)
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x S/PDIF-out (Optical)
8 x USB 2.0
1 x E-SATA




Dimension&Weight

206x461x534 mm (W x H x D)
13 Kg




Power Supply

Peak 400 W



Accessories

1 x Keyboard (USB)
1 x Mouse (USB)
1 x Power Cord




Software

Recovery Solution
AntiVirus Solution




ASUS Utility

ASUS AI Manager
ASUS My Logo3
ASUS EPU

Second:

Operation System

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64 bit,




Processor


AMD AM3 For Phenom™ II/Phenom/Athlon/Athlon™ II Family /Sempron




Chipset

North Bridge: AMD 760G
South Bridge: AMD SB710



Memory

4 x DIMM Slots Dual Channel DDR3 1333 MHz. Support max 16 GB.



Graphics

ATI Radeon 3000
Choices:
ATI® Radeon 5750 1G Support Micorsoft DirectX 11




Hard Drive

SATA
3.5" 500G ~ 4TB




Optical Drive

DVD Super-multi




Expansion Slots

2 x PCI
1 x PCI-e x16
1 x PCI-e x1




Card Reader

CF/Micro Drive/MS/MS Micro-M2/MS Pro/MS Pro Duo/MS-Duo/MMC/MMC 4.0/RS-MMC/RS-MMC4.0/MINI MMC/SD/MINI SD/Micro SD/SDHC



LAN/WLAN

LAN: 10/100/1000




Audio

ALC887 8 Channel
S/PIDF out
High Defination Audio 8-Channel CODEC



Front Panel

1 x 16-in-1 Card Reader
1 x Headphone
1 x Microphone
4 x USB 2.0




Rear Panel

1 x D-sub(VGA)
1 x DVI-D
1 x HDMI
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x S/PDIF-out (Optical)
6 x USB 2.0
1 x 8 Channel Audio
1 x PS/2



Dimension&Weight

206x460x530 mm (W x H x D)
13 Kg




Power Supply

Peak 400W (PFC),



Accessories

1 x Keyboard (USB)
1 x Mouse (USB)
1 x Warranty Card
1 x Power Cord
1 x Manual




Software

PC-Cillin 2010 *trial version
Microsoft Office 2010 Starter




ASUS Utility

ASUS AI Manager
ASUS EPU

[ADF86]

For a laptop, #2 is very nice. That i7 should last you a nice long while, but as TheAgent said, mobile cards are limited in their performance. But if you're set on a laptop, #2 will do just fine; it's got slightly better specs in CPU and GPU.

*EDIT* Your optional pc isn't bad, but you would need that 5750 and probably the C2Q to make it worthwhile. Depending on the price difference, this might not be a bad choice in itself.

*Double edit* Actually, the expansion card is a 220, this isn't really something that you'll want for dev. It's dx10, and generally outclassed by everything. Don't go with option 1 unless you'll be saving half your money.

[Miguel Petersen]

Do you think this is good?
http://www.asus.com/Desktop/Gaming/E...specifications

[saymoo]

i would go for a custom (clone) machine (from a computershop around the corner), not a prebuild one from the big retailers (like HP, Asus, Dell, IBM etc).
Often those machines (prebuild) cost more, and allways lacks something you need, or cannot be changed to what you want.
With clone machines, you can configure the specs exactly to your liking/budget (incl. brand/model choice per item. )

Anyway, i would definitely go for the Sandy Bridge processor series and compatible board (LGA 1155 socket), since that makes it the most current tech available atm.
(and are in most times quicker compared to the former series)

[ADF86]

ASUS makes pretty good desktops; if the price is right it's a good choice, the 5750 is a good card for entry level. As saymoo said, an 1156 would be slightly more ideal (a 1366 would be even more ideal, honestly), but Phenom IIs are good processors and will suffice in most situations. My desktop is a Phenom II x3 and it's wonderful. The only thing is you won't have the ability to put in a second video card due to motherboard limitations; and they've got smaller wattage PSU's than a custom, but if you're not interested in building your own an ASUS is a fine choice.

[saymoo]

not 1156 (is older) but 1155 (newer)

Sandy bridge cpu's (1155 socket) outperforms AMD Phenoms in many cases, according to diverse benchmarks/reviews (even an i3 does better than the equivelant in AMD).

I would advice against, entry level GPU's. A midlevel is minumum if you want to use that card for let's say 2 years without too much problems.

[ADF86]

Well said, I forgot about 1155.

Still though, although an i5 will generally beat an AMD, it's the price/performance that matters a lot to entry level computers. I'll take a quad core Phenom II with 6mb l3 cache over an equally priced i3 dual core with 3mb L3 any day, even if they perform similarly in benchmarking.