[Answered] How far would a Quad take me, and, can I (legally) change W7 boot drive?

[CommMatt]

This is the last question I shall ask on this thread! Yay I'll finally be out of everyone's hair! xD

Anywho, final hours within buy-time, and I've come across a small blip.

I can get a Quad-core setup for substantially less than my Hexa-core or my Octa-Core.

The flipside is that the Hexa and Octa have less RAM (4GB) to slightly compensate for the cost of an SSD (for fast boot, which I really don't care about but feel it'd be nice to have) and of course the better CPU.

Really, when it boils down to it, these are my main questions:

How far would a Quad AMD (3.4GHz) take me without needing to upgrade?
And
Is it possible to legally change what drive Windows (Seven) boots to? Assuming the disk is single-install.

Currently I have a Dual (Quad w/ Hyperthreading, which, doesn't do much as I have 4GB RAM) at 2.5GHz, and 4GB RAM (and a 250GB 5200RPM, ~34 second boot time)

Reason I'm making a rather big deal out of a no-brainer, is because I need to know if it'd be worth it to sacrifice stuff (RAM, storage) for a Hexa or Octa CPU, or, if I'd be a-okay to go with a Quad and not have to upgrade for a while (2+ years)

 

[AlexGotBeats]

If you got the windows installation you can install it on whatever drive you want. probably if i were you i'd get hexa or octa CPU and just buy more RAM atleast another 4GB. Its cheaper and easier to get more RAM than upgrading to another CPU later (personally i'm looking to buy i7 4th gen for myself even though they're not cheap but i'm willing to invest).

 

[Tarmack]

This may seem like a circular answer, but if you don't know whether you need to 6-8 cores instead of 4, you don't need 6-8 cores.

 

[CommMatt]

If you got the windows installation you can install it on whatever drive you want. probably if i were you i'd get hexa or octa CPU and just buy more RAM atleast another 4GB. Its cheaper and easier to get more RAM than upgrading to another CPU later (personally i'm looking to buy i7 4th gen for myself even though they're not cheap but i'm willing to invest).

I realize I can install it wherever, but I mean, can I change what drive it boots from, after it's already installed? Like, changing from an HDD to an SSD. [Look to my reply to Tarmack for a reply to CPU over RAM)

This may seem like a circular answer, but if you don't know whether you need to 6-8 cores instead of 4, you don't need 6-8 cores.

The reason I'm asking is because I'm on a budget (A small one) and so I need to know where to cut corners.
If Quads will be out of date in a year, then it'll be worth sacrificing the RAM (and other stuff) for a hexa or octa.

Should've been clearer in my OP, sorry.

 

[AlexGotBeats]

I realize I can install it wherever, but I mean, can I change what drive it boots from, after it's already installed? Like, changing from an HDD to an SSD. [Look to my reply to Tarmack for a reply to CPU over RAM)

The reason I'm asking is because I'm on a budget (A small one) and so I need to know where to cut corners.
If Quads will be out of date in a year, then it'll be worth sacrificing the RAM (and other stuff) for a hexa or octa.

Should've been clearer in my OP, sorry.

Wherever your windows is installed in thats where its gonna boot from

 

[Tarmack]

I realize I can install it wherever, but I mean, can I change what drive it boots from, after it's already installed? Like, changing from an HDD to an SSD. [Look to my reply to Tarmack for a reply to CPU over RAM)

The reason I'm asking is because I'm on a budget (A small one) and so I need to know where to cut corners.
If Quads will be out of date in a year, then it'll be worth sacrificing the RAM (and other stuff) for a hexa or octa.

Should've been clearer in my OP, sorry.

You're applying a monetary concern against a standard technological progression with a flaw. CPU design is not linear. An 8 core CPU is not by default better than a 4 core CPU. In fact there are situations where precisely the reverse is true.

In order to utilize the amount of throughput an 8 core CPU can generate, you need software that can support it. No video games of consequence do. Even Adobe premiere is atrocious at using multi-core rigs efficiently.

Basically what I'm telling you is that you won't notice a difference unless you're getting into very specialized applications where 8 cores are natively supported. It is not an issue where quads are going to be out of date, because that can't physically happen until a majority of software requires more than 4 cores, and frankly right now, they're having a difficult enough time getting most consumer grade software to properly use 4 cores in the first place.

 

[CommMatt]

Wherever your windows is installed in thats where its gonna boot from

Alright, thank you![DOUBLEPOST=1413495810,1413495653][/DOUBLEPOST]

You're applying a monetary concern against a standard technological progression with a flaw. CPU design is not linear. An 8 core CPU is not by default better than a 4 core CPU. In fact there are situations where precisely the reverse is true.

In order to utilize the amount of throughput an 8 core CPU can generate, you need software that can support it. No video games of consequence do. Even Adobe premiere is atrocious at using multi-core rigs efficiently.

Basically what I'm telling you is that you won't notice a difference unless you're getting into very specialized applications where 8 cores are natively supported. It is not an issue where quads are going to be out of date, because that can't physically happen until a majority of software requires more than 4 cores, and frankly right now, they're having a difficult enough time getting most consumer grade software to properly use 4 cores in the first place.

Ahhh, okay, thank you! Can you tell I'm very much new to this? xD
If I'm not mistaken, any cores not being used (E.G., main process [game] is only using 2) would handle background/secondary processes, right?

I appreciate the help!

 

[Tarmack]

Ahhh, okay, thank you! Can you tell I'm very much new to this? xD
If I'm not mistaken, any cores not being used (E.G., main process [game] is only using 2) would handle background/secondary processes, right?

That's the theory. Multiple processes however for most people will run into bottlenecks in GPU or RAM before they break your CPU. That includes YouTubers. Video game + screen capture + Xsplit for streaming + Skype + Chrome + a bunch of other random bits and pieces will be totally fine on a quad. Ideally, you want to look for high clock speed and high L2 Cache. L2 Cache is RAM on the chip, and it's the fasted RAM your computer has because it's on the CPU itself. Basically, these are the major differences across the varied CPUs. I5 CPUs top out around 6MB cache, where as I7s go from 8-10MB depending on the model. Clock speed and Cache will affect your performance as a regular PC user far more than number of cores will.

 

[CommMatt]

That's the theory. Multiple processes however for most people will run into bottlenecks in GPU or RAM before they break your CPU. That includes YouTubers. Video game + screen capture + Xsplit for streaming + Skype + Chrome + a bunch of other random bits and pieces will be totally fine on a quad. Ideally, you want to look for high clock speed and high L2 Cache. L2 Cache is RAM on the chip, and it's the fasted RAM your computer has because it's on the CPU itself. Basically, these are the major differences across the varied CPUs. I5 CPUs top out around 6MB cache, where as I7s go from 8-10MB depending on the model. Clock speed and Cache will affect your performance as a regular PC user far more than number of cores will.

Ahhh.. Okay!
Thanks! Very helpful! Wish I could give more than a like!