I Core therefore i am

So i have decided to refresh my desktop PC for home, in general i like to build my own system, giving me total control over the features and component pricing.

I have looked at HEX core, core i5, i7 and even i3....the processors i normally deal with are server models for high frequency trading financial sector, Xenon Gulftown

The home workstation component market these days is minefield of differing specs chips, boards and suppliers, i only refresh my home PC every 4 or 5 years as i spec well and future proof the system, however this time my choice is bewildering. I ad to resort to buying a magazine to get the best advice and inside story.

Since i don't play games on my home PC (i use a ps3 for that past time) and run Linux, i can build a real screamer of a desktop for a relatively low cost, in fact i amy even throw in a copy of windows 7 and dual boot into Microsoft's latest offering, in fact i may just it within virtualbox.

anyway, the point of this post is the subject of difference in CPU's from Intel, from the specifications the higher spec Core i7 looks a little like a Xenon 5600 series CPU, the high line i7 is hex core with similar frequency ratings.

It only when you see the photorealism in high end games on the PC platform that you realise a gamer now needs as much grunt as a high frequency trading firm these days.

see here

Where next for workstations, servers and gaming rigs....