CPU/Mobo what makes a computer fast ?

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sunilyo

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Today the number of computer peripherals/components available in the market is unlimited. add to it the various brands. then comes the various types of speeds + varied prices for different kinds of budget.

For some speed doesnt matter much and for some it is their lifeline.

Computers is everything about speed, the faster the better. Faster the data transfered/retrieved/processed the better.

Now the question, when will a computer in a particular class (here budget) be called as the fastest and still value for money. Is it when all factors like motherboard FSB, memory speed (mhz), processor speed, processor FSB, and all other such factors come to an equal level (which is quite difficult nowdays). for eg - motherboard FSB - 800 mhz, processor FSB - 800mhz, RAM FSB - 800 mhz etc.

otherwise there will be a bottleneck if anyone factor is at a lower speed.

Said that, according to you what will be the ideal config that you would say as the fastest.
 
There's no one size fits all concept with computers

It's all about deciding the best fit between your requirements and budget
 
take a fast proccy, add Tons of fast ram, couple of 10K rpm hard disks , and RAID em babies together.. should have a mean machine:ohyeah:
 
^^ you forgot the gpu man....:P and the Physics Accelerators and the SLI and Sound Cards...:bleh:
 
hehe...SSD's still give low speeds when writing really really small files on to them....so my vote goes for the Raptors...after all he doesn't want to conserve power...he wants to make a computer fast

On a sidenote, would a Grid Setup be fast enough? or maybe a Super Computer? :P
 
greenhorn said:
take a fast proccy, add Tons of fast ram, couple of 10K rpm hard disks , and RAID em babies together.. should have a mean machine:ohyeah:
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hmm, thats some eg.

Just wanted to know - TECHNICALLY - what config will make a computer that is fast.
 
ust wanted to know - TECHNICALLY - what config will make a computer that is fast.

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Er what do u mean by TECHNICALLY ? ... You can have the fastest possible configuration for a given budget, that is possible... if that is what you mean....

Thats what peeps at TE are best at :ohyeah:

Technically a fast computer would be one which can run all current applications with optimal efficiency and which would have the capability of running every application due for release in the near future with optimal efficiency. Of course all fast computers eventually become slow.....so a fast computer is fast for a given timeframe, after that you have to get urself a fastER computer :P :P thats as technical as i can get :bleh:

And seriously what were u smokin when u started this thread :| ?
 
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IMO the approach to building a fast computer would be to speed up the slowest link.

The HDD is the weakest link in computer performance. A RAID solution with a 4K-64K stripe seems to speed up disk access and improve on this bottleneck. I don't have an answer as to what the ideal stripe size should be. Some say 4K is the best as it aligns with the memory page size etc. Some say 32K is good. It depends on your access. You can get good performance + capacity by raiding two 7200 r.p.m. HDDs or just raid two 10K rpm HDDs and get other HDDs for capacity. (SSD is a long way off in terms of performance and capacity but it offers gr8 potential in getting rid of the HDD bottleneck.)

Next comes the memory. Tighter timings mean more faster data transfer. More memory means better overall experience, faster reload times, less use of virtual memory and reduced HDD access which in turn leads to the better experience. Dual channel setup gives a good boost to memory bandwidth too. 2-4GB of memory will make the overall computing experience fast.

Then the processor. Two things are important. 1) The architecture. 2) A higher clock for that given architecture. (of course there are other considerations i.e. more cache is better for Intel processors, Dual core is better in certain applications etc. and is standard fare now. AMDs integrated mem controller offers faster memory access.)

Next, a good gfx card for the gamer as all modern games require gfx acceleration. Greater no.of pixel pipes, shaders means more frames per second and image quality. Some things important here are 1) the core 2)core clock (higher the better) 3) DDR3 memory (better than DDR) 4) memory interface width (256 bit better than 128). SLi would offer 50% more gfx performance.

Finally, if you want to get more performance out of your system, overclocking the processor, memory and gfx card should yield a 10-30% increase overall. But you require a good motherboard, power supply, good active cooling and an expensive, roomy, well designed cabinet.
 
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sunilyo said:
according to you what will be the ideal config that you would say as the fastest.
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Need to fill in the gaps in that open-ended question.

Fast for WHAT exactly ?

You must be aware that computers can do lots of things. If you have a target app then you can optimise it for that app.

Trying to be a jack of all trades here is a waste of money as you wil get fast in one or two but be over paying in others.
 
shrey said:
And seriously what were u smokin when u started this thread :| ?
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I wasnt smoking infact - inhaling (the accurate term) the pollution around. So why smoke...

BTW i am a fan of the statement - "smoking is injurious to health"
 
deepak said:
Very well said shrey and sydras...reps to both of u :P
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i second that. :hap2:

@blr_p: yes you are right. it was an open-ended question. I was talking in general. But yes as you said depending upon the usage the system can be configured with the best available components within a given budget.
I think that i have got the answers to my question. So no need to break heads anymore in this thread.

@ MODS: MAY I REQUEST YOU TO CLOSE THIS THREAD.
 
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