anyone using a haswell i3?

[Bman123]

Was wondering if anyone has one and if so are you gaming with it? I'm looking into building a budget gaming tower soon as in this week and would like user opinions on this.
Would be hooked up to a 60 inch HDTV about 10 feet away with a wireless 360 controller for console ports

 

[Rakehellion]

For gaming, you usually want at least an i5, though in most cases your GPU will be the deciding factor.

I say check the review sites and see which games are CPU limited. Some games like Battlefield require a fast CPU while others are less demanding.

 

[DrDoug]

A couple of weeks ago I built a new gaming HTPC with an i3-4330 and have done some gaming on it (TF2, L4D, Fez, BioShock Infinite, CS:GO, Serious Sam 3, Q3TA and a few others so far). It has handled everything great, no complaints at all. The system has an R9 270X in it connected to a Samsung 39" 1080p LED TV.

It won't replace my main gaming rig but it sure does real well at the job I built it for.

Would build it again. :biggrin:

 

[*NixUser]

Currently using the i3-4330. I had planned to buy the i5-4670 but had to cut the budget. Very happy with this little beast.

I'm going to tell you, on most games the processor do not go up past 30% usage, while my GPU may hit 99% on some titles (v-sync on). I game mostly at 1080p but on specific titles I lower the resolution down to 720p to maintain 60fps - the culprit beign the GPU, not the CPU. Sometimes I hook the computer to the big screen, 42" FHD I have, you wont REALLY notice the difference between 1080p and 720p 10ft away from it.

One of the worst case scenarios CPU-wise i have seen so far is GTA 4 (bad port), which I'm currently playing.

Statistics
Average FPS: 64.71
Duration: 37.14 sec
CPU Usage: 64%
System memory usage: 42%
Video memory usage: 47%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1280 x 720 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Shadow Quality: High
Reflection Resolution: High
Water Quality: High
Texture Filter Quality: Anisotropic x16
Night Shadows: High
View Distance: 100
Detail Distance: 100

Hardware
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Service Pack 1
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST
Video Driver version: 335.23
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4330 CPU @ 3.50GHz

Statistics
Average FPS: 62.54
Duration: 37.14 sec
CPU Usage: 64%
System memory usage: 44%
Video memory usage: 52%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1920 x 1080 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Shadow Quality: High
Reflection Resolution: High
Water Quality: High
Texture Filter Quality: Anisotropic x16
Night Shadows: High
View Distance: 100
Detail Distance: 100

Hardware
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Service Pack 1
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST
Video Driver version: 335.23
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4330 CPU @ 3.50GHz

I'll run a few more benchmarks soon.

 

[Yuriman]

I'm typing up a thread comparing my new Haswell i3 to my Ivy Bridge i5. I don't have a ton of game benchmarks, unfortunately, but it might be helpful.

 

[Bman123]

Right now I have a Xboxone and i play my online games with that but I'm going to sell it and get a ps4 since most of the Xbox games I play also come out on PC and they end up being cheap as dirt on steam in no time. I like my console for sports games and call of duty. The rest of the games I'll play on the PC besides the ps4 exclusives.

I have the money to get a i5, that's not a issue but was wondering about the i3 since the price is fairly cheap, I have a micro center about 30 minutes away and they always have some kind of deal like $40 off a motherboard. I have a mouse and keyboard and a wired 360 controller already and a legit windows 8 license. I literally only need to build a tower.

I really don't have a budget honestly. Obviously the cheaper I keep it the happier the SO will be about it. Do you guys think the i5 is really worth the cost difference?

 

[NTMBK]

What sort of graphics card are you going to pair it with? There's no point buying an i5 and then pairing it with a low end GPU.

 

[Bman123]

I haven't looked at video cards since the HD 6 series so I really don't know honestly. I've got a tower now running windows 7 with 8gb ram, but its running a celeron g530 on a cheap h61 board with a corsair cx430 watt psu. So really I just need a CPU mobo video card psu and a ssd for this.
I don't over clock so I could save some cash and buy a s1155 CPU but is it worth it

 

[NTMBK]

Haswell isn't that big an improvement over Ivy Bridge- instead of buying a new mobo, put the money into a better video card and CPU, to be honest. Even a non-overclocked i5 would be great. Plus keeping the mobo means you can reuse your Windows license.

 

[*NixUser]

OP, if you are really worried about it I would suggest you to buy this processor instead, since they are at the same price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819113327

 

[frozentundra123456]

Right now I have a Xboxone and i play my online games with that but I'm going to sell it and get a ps4 since most of the Xbox games I play also come out on PC and they end up being cheap as dirt on steam in no time. I like my console for sports games and call of duty. The rest of the games I'll play on the PC besides the ps4 exclusives.

I have the money to get a i5, that's not a issue but was wondering about the i3 since the price is fairly cheap, I have a micro center about 30 minutes away and they always have some kind of deal like $40 off a motherboard. I have a mouse and keyboard and a wired 360 controller already and a legit windows 8 license. I literally only need to build a tower.

I really don't have a budget honestly. Obviously the cheaper I keep it the happier the SO will be about it. Do you guys think the i5 is really worth the cost difference?

With a microcenter nearby, I would go with the 4670k, especially since you apparently have the budget for it. Tell your SO you got a great deal (which you did). I havent checked lately, but last I knew, the bundle deals on i3 were limited to higher end models.

You could also get an i3 and upgrade later if you fell the need, but that seems like a waste if you have the budget for the i5 now.

 

[Yuriman]

I'll repeat others' sentiments: i3's are fairly capable chips, but if you have the budget for an i5, it's a better chip. I wouldn't pair an i3 with anything faster than an HD7870/270/GTX660.

 

[Bman123]

What do you suggest video card wise? I don't play battlefield at all. More then likely the games I'll play will be stuff released over the last couple years that I can snag for cheap thru steam. That's the reason I brought up getting the i3 instead of a i5

 

[NTMBK]

You need to set a budget for us here man! If you're saying "unlimited budget", then the absolute best you can get would be an i7-4960X with quad channel memory and 3x GTX-780Ti . But that seems a bit extravagant.

 

[adairusmc]

I have an i3 4130 paired with a GTX660 OC in a gaming HTPC and it handles everything pretty good. I do not play battlefield on it (thats where my 4930k and 780Ti SLI rig comes in), but it goes a great job at 1080p with most things.

 

[*NixUser]

You need to set a budget for us here man! If you're saying "unlimited budget", then the absolute best you can get would be an i7-4960X with quad channel memory and 3x GTX-780Ti . But that seems a bit extravagant.

OP wants a budget pc. Let's say $400 max.

 

[NTMBK]

OP wants a budget pc. Let's say $400 max.

Well he needs to fit an SSD and a new PSU into that budget, so I suspect a Haswell i5 and mobo is out. I vote Ivy non-K i5 on the H61 mobo.

 

[Bman123]

I can do $500 for the budget, I don't want to waste money on something that's total overkill tho. Been at work and it's busy today so my posts are every few hours sorry guys.

 

[Yuriman]

My "mid-range system" is a Haswell non-K i5 ($180) on an H81 or B85 ($55-70 depending on if OP is ok with having only 2 RAM slots), a 270x or equivalent ($200), 2x 4GB DDR3 ($80), ~450w good brand power supply (~$40), 1-2TB hard drive ($60-80) OR 240GB SSD ($120), cheap case ~$50, and optional optical drive ($20).

Costs are around $650 to $750, depending on choices. OP can step down to an i3 and shave ~$50 off, but that $50 goes a long way. Downgrading to a 2GB HD7850 at $120 will lose about 20% GPU performance but shave off $80. After either of those, moving down to a single 4GB DIMM is an option to cut out another $40.

The "upper low-end" PC with an i3, 7850 and 4GB of RAM runs just under $500. This is basically the PC I built for my wife. A 7850 is about as fast as the GPU in the PS4, and should give a pretty good gaming experience for a while.

How I'd pair processors to video cards for gaming:

Pentium/Athlon -> HD7750 - 7850
i3 -> HD7790/R260x - HD79xx/R280
i5 non-K -> 7850/R265 - R290
i5 K -> 7870/R270 - 290x
i7 -> 290+ / dual GPU configs

Insert nVidia equivalents.

I tend to prefer spending a little more on a processor than most on this forum, but I do more with my PC than game, and CPUs seem to lose value less quickly than video cards.

 

[Kenmitch]

If your going to shop at microcenter for the bundle savings then you have the choice of the following chips....To qualify for the bundle.

i3-4340
i5-4670k

The diff is only $60 which I doubt would be a budget breaker anyways. I guess in the end it would depend on if the $60 would be better spent on the gpu, memory, larger SSD, etc.

Guess it would depend on the games you want to play. Some favor more cores, some don't. Pretty sure you can find benchmarks comparing the effects of cpus if needed.

On another note I have two rigs with r9 290's. 1st has a i3-4130 and the 2nd has a i5-4570. They were built when I was into mining so that explains the lopsided power balance.

 

[dmoney1980]

OP - I just picked up a $39 FX 4130 chip from Micro Center. I'm using it in a budget gaming pc that I'm building for a friend. For $40 you can't go wrong. I'm pairing it with a Radeon 7850 that's on sale at NE (posted in hot deals). Should be a good match for mid level 1080p gaming.

 

[TreVader]

This thread is hilarious. Guy asks for advice about an i3 and gets recommendations to buy a 4960X.



Seriously dude you need at least a 10 core Xeon and Titan Z to play TitanFall

 

[Arkaign]

OP already has an H61 system with a 430W decent PSU and 8GB ram? Well allrighty then.

i5 3470 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115234

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127789

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130934 (probably a better pick with a 430W PSU, but this will EASILY fit within that power budget).

Boom, done. 1080p like boss, prepared for the next couple of years easily.

Add a 120/128G SSD at some point down the line on a sale, and move the current HDD to storage duties.

 

[AkumaX]

on a sidenote, i also picked up an i3-4330 (cheapest processor that had HD4600 graphics, needed for Hackintosh )

 

[NTMBK]

OP already has an H61 system with a 430W decent PSU and 8GB ram? Well allrighty then.

i5 3470 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115234

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127789

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130934 (probably a better pick with a 430W PSU, but this will EASILY fit within that power budget).

Boom, done. 1080p like boss, prepared for the next couple of years easily.

Add a 120/128G SSD at some point down the line on a sale, and move the current HDD to storage duties.

What this guy said. Forget about Haswell, get this upgrade.