On Sun, 02 Aug 2015 22:44:32 +0100, Martin Brown
wrote:

Win7 is still preferable though leave it another year or so and Win 10
may have bedded down. Avoid Win8 unless you like pain.

Win 8.1 can be made somewhat less awful by making it look like Win 7
using Classic Shell:
http://www.classicshell.net
That brings back the real start menu, ease of adding shortcut icons to
the desktop, and explorer usability. I can totally ignore the page of
wiggly icons that MS calls a start page.

If I was buying today price no
object then maybe i7-5930K but realistically i7 4790K. I have an
aversion to AMD due to self immolation but two are better than it.

Agreed. I haven't seen a bad Intel CPU in probably 15 years, while
I've lost count of the dead or erratic AMD CPU's that have I've had to
deal with. I would go with a 4th or 5th generation i7. The i7-4790k
is about $330 and burns about 45 watts, while the i7-5960x is $1,000
and burns 140 watts. That should make the decision easy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors

A fast agile SSD for scratch files and
most frequently used programs is very worthwhile.

In general, an SSD is 3x to 5x faster than rotating memory for
everything. I'm partial to Samsung 850 EVO and Pro.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147372
Most SSD drives have similar read speeds. However, the write speeds
is what makes the difference. There are benchmark tests all over the
internet. Don't overbuy on capacity as the prices of SSD drives are
still dropping and you can probably do better if you wait until you
need the space.

Not convinced by the Intel smart SSD cache of a big disk. Mine died
permanently after about two years flawless operation. I live without it
since major work files live on the Samsung SSD (consider also Crucial).

I had problems with a Crucial MX100 512MB. The drive was fine, but no
matter what I tried, it would not boot in the designated HP i7
something machine, even with a fresh Win 8 install. However, it
worked in another machine (Dell Inspiron 1725) so I kept it. Also,
the write speed is slower than a Samsung 850 SSD.

I must be leading a charmed life. I've installed (cloned) about 25
assorted SSD drives in the last year. Lately, I'm doing 2 pre-emptive
SSD upgrades per week and climbing. Zero failures or irate customers
so far and no indications of impending doom.

However, I did have some problems with Samsung 840 series which was
later fixed with a firmware update.
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/support/downloads.html
I also had some problems with a user that did not properly shut down
his desktop, preferring instead to just switch off the power. He was
scrambling data on the SSD until I discovered the power problem.
Demonstrating how to operate the power button (i.e. push once to shut
down) solved that problem.

I don't have any great advice on what to buy. If you want
reliability, buy two machines. If you want performance, buy the
latest greatest. If you want to save money, buy last years model. If
you want reparability, buy an off the shelf Dell workstation. If you
want it all, give up now while you're still sane and solvent.

Most of my customer initially want the fastest speed and the latest
features. After those fail, they ask for reliability and uptime. Try
not to repeat this pattern and buy something that you know will work,
not that has the latest acronyms and buzzwords attached.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558