rck281 Loc: Overland Park, KS

I realize this is a photography forum and am not wanting to turn this into a computer forum. However, I see people posting that you must have an i7 and not an i5, etc. Not all i7 processors are the same across generations. A generation is signified by the first number in the model number; e.g I7-8700k is an 8th Generation CPU. In the table below is a summary of the cores and threads in the different processor generations for desktop (not mobil) computers

--------------------------Kaby Lake-------------------Coffee Lake---------------------Coffee Lake
------------------------7th Generation--------------8th Generation-----------------9th Generation
-------------------------Core/Threads---------------Cores/Threads------------------Cores/Thread
---------------------------(i?-7???)--------------------(i?-8???)-------------------------(i?-9???)

Core i3-----------------------2/4--------------------------4/4------------------------------4/4
Core i5-----------------------4/4--------------------------6/6------------------------------6/6
Core i7-----------------------4/8--------------------------6/12-----------------------------8/8
Core i9-----------------------none-------------------------none----------------------------8/16

So an i7 has different core count and threads depending on the generation. Within a Core number there can be a number of different models with different speeds, cache, etc
This and much much more information available on Wikipedia

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

The people posting that sort of thing are basing their comments on personal experience, not because they themselves are computing experts.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I just get a stupid computer.
Laptop from 2012 happens to be an I5, don't remember what the desktop is.
I had to go look, my wife's new laptop is an I7.
They're computers.......

Odd for someone who's been working with, programming, and building them for over 45 years, eh?

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

No, not odd at all.

I retired after a career as a software engineer, and I would have to look at the computers in our house to see what each is. Generally I use whatever we have without worrying about the details of ‘what it is’.

rck281 Loc: Overland Park, KS

My point is that their experience with older systems is not necessarily accurate today, but maybe it is. There is now more processing power in an i7 than in older systems BUT today's software requires more processing to maintain equivalent responsiveness.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Do you miss maintenance panels?
I do.
but not bootstrap loaders........

Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA

Right now the best processors are AMD.
The 3900x is right in the middle and has 12 fast cores and 24 threads. It also has next gen motherboard support at a price lower than intel.
Intel was king for a long time but got complacent. They've been struggling for a couple of years.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

To bring your question back to photography for a moment, does your concern relate to the adequacy or the speed of processing (or modifying, or archiving, etc.) what may rarely be more than a 5Mb jpg image file intended for on-line sharing, or a complex, multi-layered xxxxxMb raw image file that'll ultimately be converted to an xxxMb tif or jpg or psd (or name your file format/printer friendly format of choice) image file intended for large scale prints?

I often work with images that --before any downsizing/resampling/conversion might be done-- run in excess of several gigabytes. My primary workstation is based on an 8-core AMD processor. If all I did was make images intended for the web, I'd have wasted a lot of money.

Needless to say, its preferable to use the most up-to-date hardware (and software) systems that we can both afford and have an actual need for, but it doesn't make much sense to research or buy the technology of five or ten years ago if we're going to spec out upgrades for our present machines or want to build completely new ones.

rck281 Loc: Overland Park, KS

I do know one thing - I sure do not know how to format a table.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

and how do we know what level of responsiveness is required? Some people think their own time is very valuable while others are willing to brew a cup of coffee while they wait. I remember a time when the only 386-based computer was on the desk of a secretary, while full professors got by with 286-based computers because the division chairman had such “respect” for his secretary {who didn’t actually use the computer that often}.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Perhaps that’s because BK was spending more time with his mistress than running the company!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Here at the hog, you can't.
Extra spaces are truncated. That's why one needs to use "." or "-" to space column information.

rck281 Loc: Overland Park, KS

I apologize for misleading people. I don't have any concern. I wasn't suggesting anyone buy old parts for a new computer. I was simply illustrating the way Intel processors have changed over generations.
I agree that AMD processors are the way to go today.
Obviously, the necessary processing power depends on type of workload.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I have an AMD Ryzen in my Acer Aspire laptop, and it is pretty quick.
Quicker than the AMD A8 in my Toshiba Satellite laptop.
The Acer has 8 gb of DDR-4 memory, where the Toshiba has 8 gb of DDR-3 memory, which is another reason the Acer is faster.

will