Do computer parts vary in performance

Dolby

Dolby

Honorary Master
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
39,162
Reaction score
6,146
Do computer parts vary in performance, much like cars do? I know they estimate a +-6% varience in cars performance. So a car may be rated at 100KW, but one can have 94KW while another 106KW.

I ask if this works the same in computers because I know a few people who say they won't swop their xyz because it's so fast compared to others.
 
Please add something meaningful :)
 
Just a general feeling for some parts but nothing point specific when it comes to internal hardware... but definitely with wireless keyboards etc.

I bought a labtec wireless keyboard and used it for gaming. It was TERRIBLE, yet logitech wireless keyboards work fine. No added technology... just the craftmanship of the product.

Re: hard drives, i have a seagate, WD and hitachi drive in my pc ... they've all been running for +- 3-4 years without much trouble (nothing that I wouldnt expect from other drives anyway)
 
timgaul said:
Why is it always about cars?
Click to expand...
The last few NFS titles have all sucked (Prostreet and Carbon) leaving us with no cars to "tune"..naturally as men, we must look towards other mechanincal things to entertain us.

Anyway, to answer your question Dolby, from what I hear there is no difference in graphics cards when it comes to brands, what I'd lilke to know is if theres a noticable difference in performance between my (overpriced) gaming RAM and normal RAM,a nd if theres a difference betwen brands...
 
Of Course. Why can one one optimist squeeze X performance out of a GPU, CPU or Mobo and with the same settings another one can not reach the same speeds by quiet a margin? You are either lucky when it comes to overclocking or you are not! Also CPU's are graded for speed performance after manufacture so that should be a hint of what is possible in variations in the test band. The same happens when some company's but the "rejected" components cheaply, regrade them manually and then rebrand and sell them at a nice profit.
 
QX6700RULZ said:
Not that i have ever noticed
Click to expand...

To answer the Question, I'd say yes - but the difference would be so small that one would not be able to "see" the difference at all in normal day to day use. Also depends what we are talking about here though.

Like with CPU's...One chip can overclock fine a mere 5%, while the same model chip right next to it can do more/less. Not that you can rate the performance of said CPU on it's overclocking capabilities.

My 2c

edit: I see NoADSLyet beat me to it... ;)
 
Last edited:
Ivan... said:
The last few NFS titles have all sucked (Prostreet and Carbon) leaving us with no cars to "tune"..naturally as men, we must look towards other mechanincal things to entertain us.

Anyway, to answer your question Dolby, from what I hear there is no difference in graphics cards when it comes to brands, what I'd lilke to know is if theres a noticable difference in performance between my (overpriced) gaming RAM and normal RAM,a nd if theres a difference betwen brands...
Click to expand...

There may even be performance differences with the same brand and batch of components. Therefore they are rated at a specific speed but when you overclock these components the one component will reach its limit maybe long before another will. At the same rated speed setting there would be little or no difference. When it comes to brands a XFX8800 GPU card as a whole may or may not perform better as a Asus8800 GPU card due to design and/or firmware differences!
 
ld13 said:
To answer the Question, I'd say yes - but the difference would be so small that one would not be able to "see" the difference at all in normal day to day use. Also depends what we are talking about here though.

Like with CPU's...One chip can overclock fine a mere 5%, while the same model chip right next to it can do more/less. Not that you can rate the performance of said CPU on it's overclocking capabilities.

My 2c

edit: I see NoADSLyet beat me to it... ;)
Click to expand...

Good to be confirmed as correct. Thanks. :D
 
I'd say the diff is not a concern, it's so small that it's barely noticeable. Brand wise I'd go for the one that has the longest life span, reliable and a good warranty are more important to me.
 
if you build 100 computers, all with the same motherboard, bios, cpu, ram, hdd, gfx

and them image them all with the exact same image, so they are in effect 100% clones of each other, and then power them all up at the same time.

you will see they get into windows at different times, perhaps a variance of about 3 seconds fromt he slowest one to the quickest one.

all components running at stock, obviously. (think : DELL production line)

this boils down the components being rated for xyz (i'm talking capacitors and resistors and stuff) but there is always a small leeway, and sometimes it adds up.
 
Hi have seen so difference in performance, when it come to PC's but really marginal... This was while cloning PC's for UNISA back in the day, all PC was supplied either by Mustek or Rectron, they where bought in batches...

Some would finish the clone setup minutes before the other ones.. and the the startup times... The clone process is not fool proof, a lot could cause it to run longer..
 
ivan your over priced memory might be slightly faster but you have to ask yourself if the extra money you paid is worth the 5% increase u got
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X