cant decide i3 2100 or i5 2300

[onelivinlarge]

so ive been doing alot of research of my first build and i decided to do it right and go with a sb set up that should last me for mild gaming while im in college with minor upgrades (like new gpu and better mobo, ram, ssd) over the time at college(3 more years.) but here is the question is it worth waiting another month to get a 2300 i5 over a 2100 i3

games i play
need for speed: ug2, uc, mw, run, world.
sniper ghost warrior
civ 3-5
older scrolls: skyrim, oblivion, morrowin

and im an intel fanboy and sticking with intel as i already have a i5 laptop so please dont suggest amd processor to me

 

[Arachnotronic]

i5 2300 has twice as many cores, so for longevity's sake go with the 2300. Building a new dual core gaming rig in this day and age is silly unless you can't afford a quaddie.

 

[onelivinlarge]

i5 2300 has twice as many cores, so for longevity's sake go with the 2300. Building a new dual core gaming rig in this day and age is silly unless you can't afford a quaddie.

ok thanks because seriously the only difference is waiting a month to get payed again to get the i5 (i wanted a 2500k but im a poor college student). ill be able to order that over thanksgiving break and have it waiting for me to install when i get back to college with my monitor

 

[sm625]

What does an i5 laptop have anything to do with a desktop purchasing decision? Shrug. Nothing you listed actually needs more than an i3. Nor does it need anything more than a mildly overclocked $70 athlon quad or phenom tricore. The best thing to do would be trade the i5 notebook for a pentium B940 or similar $300 notebook + an i5-2500k.

 

[nyker96]

i3 2100 will handle the games you mentioned perfectly fine, if you mostly game on the new rig I'd just save the rest for a video card upgrade, vid card upgrade will make more difference for games than a stronger cpu would do for you. of course if u got money i would skip low end i5s just get 2500k.

 

[Puppies04]

A dual core will get pummeled by skyrim or any other "new" games the OP wants to play. No reason whatsoever not to save up a little more and buy a quad that will last him a lot longer and give him better fps

 

[lehtv]

i3-2100 is a pretty strong dual core and it's hyperthreaded... It doesn't get any more 'pummeled' than an AMD X4 965, in fact it's a bit stronger in games. But the i5 does sweep the floor with it though.

 

[Puppies04]

i3-2100 is a pretty strong dual core and it's hyperthreaded... It doesn't get any more 'pummeled' than an AMD X4 965, in fact it's a bit stronger in games.

Not once you OC your 965 it isn't

 

[MustangSVT]

your laptop can't handle all those games?

 

[Throckmorton]

People need to stop trying to convince the OP to get a dual core. The quad core is only $180 and will last a lot longer. Dual isn't even enough for many current games.

 

[tweakboy]

No brainer go with i5 . But I mean if your going to get a i5 and want a SSD then might as well spend 100 bucks more buy a 2600k and 128GB 6gbps SSD for about $350 to $400 . Go with Intel with SSD. What is your price budget. We can help you better if we know exactly how much you want to spend. If you want to spend 500 dollars then your not going to get a SSD with that money,

For 1k you can build a 2600k ASUS P7 board for low price all at www.newegg.com

You said you don't game, in that case, I think the 460 1GB is enough for you. It will dish you 60+ frames at all times in your games. More then enough for civilizations.

If your going to do it, do things right. Why go budget with a i5 and 9800GT when you can pay little more and have the worlds fastest desktop CPU and a powerful video card , a 550w quality power supply like Corshair 8GB ram

All this well sort out for you, but what is your budget.... gl

so ive been doing alot of research of my first build and i decided to do it right and go with a sb set up that should last me for mild gaming while im in college with minor upgrades (like new gpu and better mobo, ram, ssd) over the time at college(3 more years.) but here is the question is it worth waiting another month to get a 2300 i5 over a 2100 i3

games i play
need for speed: ug2, uc, mw, run, world.
sniper ghost warrior
civ 3-5
older scrolls: skyrim, oblivion, morrowin

and im an intel fanboy and sticking with intel as i already have a i5 laptop so please dont suggest amd processor to me

 

[onelivinlarge]

your laptop can't handle all those games?

not in the least its onboard graphics in my laptop

i3 2100 will handle the games you mentioned perfectly fine, if you mostly game on the new rig I'd just save the rest for a video card upgrade, vid card upgrade will make more difference for games than a stronger cpu would do for you. of course if u got money i would skip low end i5s just get 2500k.

i dont own any consoles and have no desire to so all will be on this rig and im thinking about just waiting 2 pays and getting a 2500k
how ever i wont be oc for quite a while

What does an i5 laptop have anything to do with a desktop purchasing decision? Shrug. Nothing you listed actually needs more than an i3. Nor does it need anything more than a mildly overclocked $70 athlon quad or phenom tricore. The best thing to do would be trade the i5 notebook for a pentium B940 or similar $300 notebook + an i5-2500k.

i dont like amd and dont want to have to deal with oc right now and not getting rid of my note book its what i use for school

 

[sm625]

Well I wish you luck with the school thing. Sounds like you definitely could use it. I didnt say get rid of the notebook, but rather to trade it for a lesser one with a B940 so you can have more money for the desktop you want.

 

[onelivinlarge]

No brainer go with i5 . But I mean if your going to get a i5 and want a SSD then might as well spend 100 bucks more buy a 2600k and 128GB 6gbps SSD for about $350 to $400 . Go with Intel with SSD. What is your price budget. We can help you better if we know exactly how much you want to spend. If you want to spend 500 dollars then your not going to get a SSD with that money,

For 1k you can build a 2600k ASUS P7 board for low price all at www.newegg.com

You said you don't game, in that case, I think the 460 1GB is enough for you. It will dish you 60+ frames at all times in your games. More then enough for civilizations.

If your going to do it, do things right. Why go budget with a i5 and 9800GT when you can pay little more and have the worlds fastest desktop CPU and a powerful video card , a 550w quality power supply like Corshair 8GB ram

All this well sort out for you, but what is your budget.... gl

my budget is under 500 that's for sure and somethings i have been given so will use temporally till Christmas when i get more money gpu is one of those. i have no need for a i7 would it be nice sure but i dont plan on oc alot and i would never use it to its full potential if at all till i get more in to pc gaming i actually have a few things already and im down to my cpu and hard drive now and no cant afford a ssd i do plan on getting a ssd for my os at Christmas tho. i have what is listed here
COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

ASRock H61M/U3S3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7S-4GBRL

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7261S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM

i have pretty much decided to go i5 it makes since to longevity sake to go that route. now im decideing which i5 to get 2300, 2400, 2500 or 2500k. as i know if i want to do any oc i have to go with the 2500 or 2500k so it leaves me trying to decide if i plan to oc at all or if by the time i want to oc will it be time to upgrade?

Well I wish you luck with the school thing. Sounds like you definitely could use it. I didnt say get rid of the notebook, but rather to trade it for a lesser one with a B940 so you can have more money for the desktop you want.

i cant my parents got it for me for graduation so im keeping it and it does well for all the programs i need for school. i typically have 4-6 programs running at once and this handles it well

 

[zlejedi]

Not once you OC your 965 it isn't

Once you OC your 965 it barely get's sometimes equal to i3 2100 in games....

@Op - I'm not sure if either of those chips is so good buy at the moment.

i5 2500K isn't that much more expensive than i5 2300 but will give you much more (but you would need P67/Z68)
i5 2400 is just a few bucks than i5 2300 typically but comes with quite nice speed bump to 3,1 Ghz instead of 2,8.
i3 2100 might be not worth price premium over econo SB pentiums.

So imho - overclocking 2500K, no overclocking 2400, econo - one of pentiums.

 

[onelivinlarge]

Once you OC your 965 it barely get's sometimes equal to i3 2100 in games....

@Op - I'm not sure if either of those chips is so good buy at the moment.

i5 2500K isn't that much more expensive than i5 2300 but will give you much more (but you would need P67/Z68)
i5 2400 is just a few bucks than i5 2300 typically but comes with quite nice speed bump to 3,1 Ghz instead of 2,8.
i3 2100 might be not worth price premium over econo SB pentiums.

So imho - overclocking 2500K, no overclocking 2400, econo - one of pentiums.

well the board i have supports the 2500k just not oc it. so your vote is a 2400 or 2500k

 

[Ratman6161]

I'm fortunate enough to live near a Microcenter - but they will ship. Check out:

http://www.microcenter.com/search/se...7;2B4294964566

They have the i5 2500K for $179 and the i3 2100 for $99. Given the differences between the two parts, the 2500K looks like a steal to me. The other thing to consider is to ask yourself: "If I get the i3 now, will I just get upgrade fever again a year from now, or even less than a year?" If the answer is "yes" then the choice is pretty obvious. Not only that, if you get the 2500K, you can run it stock for now and when you start getting "upgrade fever" you can play with overclocking it. On the other hand, that's what I told myself when I got my 2600K and I didn't last two days before I started overclocking it. Its just so easy....

Edit: Sorry. When I when I followed my own link above I realized that the prices listed say "In Store Only" which is great for me since I live near by.

 

[zlejedi]

well the board i have supports the 2500k just not oc it. so your vote is a 2400 or 2500k

At recomended prices 2400.

 

[pauldun170]

Between the i3-2100 and the i5-2300....go with the i3-2100. Stock vs stock the i3-2100 is better for your usage.
For future proofing...save up some bucks and go with a better i5 model than the 2300.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Between the two for gaming I would have to say that the Intel® Core™ i3-2100 make a nice package but if you can get the money to move up to the Intel Core i5-2500K from Microcenter then you will be getting one of the best processors on the market. Just make sure that you get a P67 or a Z68 board to go with it as they are the boards that will allow you to overclock.

Chrisitan Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[onelivinlarge]

Between the i3-2100 and the i5-2300....go with the i3-2100. Stock vs stock the i3-2100 is better for your usage.
For future proofing...save up some bucks and go with a better i5 model than the 2300.

The i3 is out pretty much and now it's down to either the i5 2400 or 2500k

 

[onelivinlarge]

Between the two for gaming I would have to say that the Intel® Core? i3-2100 make a nice package but if you can get the money to move up to the Intel Core i5-2500K from Microcenter then you will be getting one of the best processors on the market. Just make sure that you get a P67 or a Z68 board to go with it as they are the boards that will allow you to overclock.

Chrisitan Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

I am currently leaning towards saving for the 2500k and not getting my rig finished till thanksgiving

 

[exar333]

What does an i5 laptop have anything to do with a desktop purchasing decision? Shrug. Nothing you listed actually needs more than an i3. Nor does it need anything more than a mildly overclocked $70 athlon quad or phenom tricore. The best thing to do would be trade the i5 notebook for a pentium B940 or similar $300 notebook + an i5-2500k.

I might suggest taking your sig to heart...

I am looking for a cheap upgrade to my 3 year old computer.

AT forum member #1: Buy AMD

I am looking for a powerful system
AT forum member #2: Buy AMD

I am looking between CPU 'A' or CPU 'B'
AT forum member #3: Buy AMD CPU 'C'

Dirp

 

[illram]

The i3 is out pretty much and now it's down to either the i5 2400 or 2500k

I was faced with the same dilemma and went with the i5-2400, only because I never overclock and therefore decided to save the money on the cheaper chipset (h61 or h67) and CPU. Looking at Anandtech's benches, you're looking at most at maybe a 9% difference on synthetic benchmarks and an even smaller (i.e., imperceptible) difference in games, with a price difference also hovering around 9%. However you have to factor in the additional cost of a z68 mobo and an aftermarket heatsink if you want to take full advantage of the i5-2500K and OC it.

Alternatively you could split the difference and go with the i5-2500 (non K) and then also take advantage of cheaper mobo options and no need for an aftermarket heatsink, since you won't OC and the stock cooler is adequate for use at stock settings.

Then again if money is truly tight you should be very happy with a i5-2400. I am happy with mine, games like a champ.

In my honest opinion though, for the uses you specified an i3-2100 should be fine. If you're near a Microcenter you can pick on up for $99... which is a steal. A lot of folks buy more processor than they ever end up using. You're a poor college student... you need to save your money for beer, cigarettes, and cheetos.

 

[Arg Clin]

Forget the i3 (dual core). That really only makes sense for high performance HTPC's and such. For gaming 4 cores will last longer.