Question

Refurbished Processors for AutoCAD computer

Asked by: avtel

I need to make 40 desktops really cheap, and the system requirements are 3.00GHz and Pentium dual-core according to AutoCAD website.
So, this means that Pentium D 830 processors would work. Since they're no longer being produced, the only one's available are refurbished. These computers need to last 2 years in an engineering consulting company.  
What do you guys think?
Far too risky in terms of reliability?  There's the possibility of buying extras to keep around to replace failed ones...

Even if I don't go as low as Pentium D 830s, I'm still thinking about buying a higher-end refurbished processor - some 3.0GHz+ Core 2 Duo.  
Any opinions on this?

Thanks all

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Asked On
2009-10-30 at 03:20:20ID24857540
Tags

Processors

,

Refurbished

,

CPUs

,

Inexpensive

,

Cheap

,

AutoCAD

Topics

Computer CPU Processors

,

Miscellaneous Hardware

,

Computer Motherboards

Participating Experts
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Points
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Comments
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Answers

 

by: garycasePosted on 2009-10-30 at 09:20:39ID: 25704463

They'll work just fine -- HOWEVER,  building at the minimum system requirements level is likely to result in very frustrating systems from a performance perspective.    Using Core 2 Duo's would result in far better systems.

 

by: souseranPosted on 2009-10-30 at 09:29:12ID: 25704567

While I do understand budget constraints, I wouldn't go with refurbs in that scenario. If they have to last two years, you're almost certain to have at least one upgrade, and if you know AutoCAD, you also know that their system requirements have become more, not less, demanding. My suggestion is to look at the *whole* spec, and if you have to shave off a few bucks somewhere, do it on a part that would be cheaper to upgrade, say a hard drive, and do the best you can with the CPU, RAM, *and* video.

 

by: cuziyqPosted on 2009-11-04 at 00:55:40ID: 25737485

First off . . . Intel's naming conventions for processors SUCKS.

A Pentium Dual Core and a Pentium D are two totally different processors.  The Pentium D is a dual core Pentium 4 processor.  The Pentium Dual Core is a scaled-down Core2 processor.  They're not even in the same class, and the sockets and mobos for each are incompatible with each other.

I know I'm probably going to start a flame war over this, but have you considered an AMD processor?  Intel's i7 is king of the performance hill, but when it comes to price/performance ratio, AMD cannot be beat.   I just checked NewEgg, and a 3GHz dual core Athlon II can be had for $76.  A mobo can be had for $55.  That's about what you'd expect to pay for refurb parts.  Plus, they're faster and have warranties.

 

by: avtelPosted on 2009-11-04 at 01:27:19ID: 31649886

While this solution did provide an opinion on whether to go with refurbished processors in this instance, I was hoping for something more than just one person's opinion. I was looking for some way to determine a more general consensus on the value/risk of refurb processors.  Maybe some link to a review of refurb processors, or some forum thread discussing it.

Either way, still pretty much got what I asked for.
Cheers!

 

by: garycasePosted on 2009-11-04 at 07:43:35ID: 25740437

No flames -- I agree you can built lower cost AMD systems than Intel systems ... in fact, since the introduction of the Core architecture CPU's, the low cost end of the spectrum is really the only place AMD is competitive ... if performance is the goal, Intel's far and away the system of choice.

However, with Intel's extension of the Core architecture to lower cost CPU's (i.e. the Pentium Dual Core series), the price:performance advantage of AMD at the low end of the spectrum is no longer evident.     For example, the Athlon X2 250 (which I presume is what you're referring to , since it's a 3.0GHz CPU and is $76 at Newegg) has a PassMark score of 1658 -- indeed a very respectable score ... double the 795 of a Pentium-D 830.

But a lower cost Intel E300 ($69.99 at Newegg -- or 8% less) has a PassMark score of 1689 (2% higher)  ==>  so the cost/PassMark is lower for the Intel.    And there are plenty of low cost ($50-60) motherboards that would work for those as well (although I'm not a fan of the lowest cost boards).

And for higher performance CPU's the results are similar.    A Core 2 Quad Q8200 for $149.99 has a score of 3207;  and the least expensive Core i7 (the i7-920 for $288.99) scores 5461 -- a score that no AMD CPU can come close to.      The i7 series is, of course, more expensive to build, since both the motherboards and the DDR3 memory are more expensive;  but a Core 2 Duo or Quad system can be built very inexpensively.

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