Haswell i3-4340 review

[AtenRa]

I would even say OC VS OC the HD4600 has a slight advantage, in gaming and in typical OpenCL programs.

Not a chance.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

EDIT: At $169 MC price, the i3 bundle is less money while totally outclassing the A10 in single thread, which means it will be snappier during light/medium tasks.

Please don't go there. As a part time 6800K user, I'm very hard pressed to notice any appreciable difference in "snappiness" compared to my 3770@4.3GHz under normal usage. Both systems are running identical SSD (Samsung 830) BTW, and those have far more effect on "snappiness" then any CPU.

 

[USER8000]

Please don't go there. As a part time 6800K user, I'm very hard pressed to notice any appreciable difference in "snappiness" compared to my 3770@4.3GHz under normal usage. Both systems are running identical SSD (Samsung 830) BTW, and those have far more effect on "snappiness" then any CPU.

Agreed. Tried a friends old Llano A8 based system with an SSD,against my Core i5 2500 system with an SSD too,and for day to day stuff I could not tell them apart. In fact I think that an SSD has been one of the biggest computer upgrades I have ever noticed,and the same goes with my friends.

If I were the poster in post 85,getting an A8 6600K would just about free up enough budget to get a small SSD,and a refurbished Crucial M4 128GB is only $74.99 too:

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?N=4294945779&NTX=&NTT=&NTK=all&sortby=pricelow

 

[crashtech]

Please don't go there. As a part time 6800K user, I'm very hard pressed to notice any appreciable difference in "snappiness" compared to my 3770@4.3GHz under normal usage. Both systems are running identical SSD (Samsung 830) BTW, and those have far more effect on "snappiness" then any CPU.

You are right. Please replace "snappier" with "measurably faster." My apologies.

 

[Radeon962]

If I were the poster in post 85,getting an A8 6600K would just about free up enough budget to get a small SSD,and a refurbished Crucial M4 128GB is only $74.99 too:[/URL]

The build already includes a Samsung 840 Evo 120 gb.

Price is not really the main consideration between the two CPU's as in the end it's only $60. But I have not over clocked a processor in years as the stock speed on most any of the new chips is more than fast enough for the secondary system. I look more at stability and overall "quick feel". Running Intel X25-M 80GB DVD's in my current systems and they were the one upgrade that was really noticeable by anyone that uses it. I don't build systems without them anymore.

Yes, the K is a better, faster chip but in day to day use I just don't see the benefit for your average use system.

I'm just trying to convince myself that I don't need the K.

 

[USER8000]

The build already includes a Samsung 840 Evo 120 gb.

Price is not really the main consideration between the two CPU's as in the end it's only $60. But I have not over clocked a processor in years as the stock speed on most any of the new chips is more than fast enough for the secondary system. I look more at stability and overall "quick feel". Running Intel X25-M 80GB DVD's in my current systems and they were the one upgrade that was really noticeable by anyone that uses it. I don't build systems without them anymore.

Yes, the K is a better, faster chip but in day to day use I just don't see the benefit for your average use system.

I'm just trying to convince myself that I don't need the K.

I am not sure where you are getting the overclocking bit from,but I am talking about the AMD A8 6600K,not the Core i5 4670K,and it has nothing to do with overclocking.

For the purposes,you mentioned the AMD A8 would be more than enough,plus the IGP is faster with bog standard 1600MHZ DDR3. To reiterate I have a Core i5 2500 with a discrete card,and I could not really tell it apart from an A8 3870K for general purpose tasks,when both had an SSD and I agree with Insert_Nickname.

Even an old Core2 quad would be more than enough TBH. The tasks you talk about are very light indeed and most of the time the CPUs are running at power saving clockspeeds.

Another thing is you need to be careful with reading into some of the benchmarks. For example,iTunes benchmarks are done by first ripping the CD to an SSD or RAM disk,to reduce the realworld bottleneck,which is the optical drive and the system interface. 99% of the population rip a CD using the optical drive on the fly meaning the CPU is not really the bottleneck.

 

[Radeon962]

I am not sure where you are getting the overclocking bit from,but I am talking about the AMD A8 6600K,not the Core i5 4670K,and it has nothing to do with overclocking.

For the purposes,you mentioned the AMD A8 would be more than enough,plus the IGP is faster with bog standard 1600MHZ DDR3. To reiterate I have a Core i5 2500 with a discrete card,and I could not really tell it apart from an A8 3870K for general purpose tasks,when both had an SSD and I agree with Insert_Nickname.

Even an old Core2 quad would be more than enough TBH. The tasks you talk about are very light indeed and most of the time the CPUs are running at power saving clockspeeds.

Another thing is you need to be careful with reading into some of the benchmarks. For example,iTunes benchmarks are done by first ripping the CD to an SSD or RAM disk,to reduce the realworld bottleneck,which is the optical drive and the system interface. 99% of the population rip a CD using the optical drive on the fly meaning the CPU is not really the bottleneck.

I take any benchmarks with a grain of salt, whether Intel or AMD but would agree with your statements. I have not used an AMD processor for years, might have to take a look at them.

What's a good mATX board that's compatible? I can Google it, but you seem to have a good handle on AMD, which I definitely don't.

Thanks, Bill

 

[USER8000]

I take any benchmarks with a grain of salt, whether Intel or AMD but would agree with your statements. I have not used an AMD processor for years, might have to take a look at them.

What's a good mATX board that's compatible? I can Google it, but you seem to have a good handle on AMD, which I definitely don't.

Thanks, Bill

The MSI in the Micro Center bundle deal is actually more or less free,although MSI can be a bit of a mixed bag. I know someone who used a Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-HD2 with an A10-5800K(not an overclocking build of course),and even though it lacks SATA3.0 and USB3.0 seems solid enough for a cheap motherboard. That is quite cheap in the bundle too and is almost free too.

The Asus F2A85-V PRO is probably one of the best FM2 motherboards(especially for overclocking) but of course is relatively expensive considering the cost of the CPU,so I am not sure it is worth it TBH! I probably would not go OTT on a relatively expensive socket FM2 motherboard,unless I was going for a mini-ITX motherboard.

AMD have launched socket FM2+ which will be working with the new Kaveri CPUs being launched this year. Where I live these motherboards are not too highly priced on pre-order:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4727#ov
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4716#ov

However,an exact launch date for the desktop Kaveri is not known yet and I doubt it will be as cheap as the A8 6600K bundle deals on Micro Center.

 

[nextJin]

I'm picking up the i3 4340 bundle from Microcenter in a few hours. It's 60 more dollars than the FX6300 bundle but it looks like across the board it's a better chip in gaming especially in Blizzard games. The Anandtech comparison page between the FX6300 and the older i3s are humiliating for AMD.

It's just slower in gaming, uses tons more energy and comes with a terrible heatsink. I'd have to pay for an after market even at stock from what people have been saying especially in a case like the VSK3000.

I have a single 92mm intake and outtake in the budget build I'm working with.

 

[USER8000]

I'm picking up the i3 4340 bundle from Microcenter in a few hours. It's 60 more dollars than the FX6300 bundle but it looks like across the board it's a better chip in gaming especially in Blizzard games. The Anandtech comparison page between the FX6300 and the older i3s are humiliating for AMD.

It's just slower in gaming, uses tons more energy and comes with a terrible heatsink. I'd have to pay for an after market even at stock from what people have been saying especially in a case like the VSK3000.

I have a single 92mm intake and outtake in the budget build I'm working with.

I had the Core i3 2120(and done a Core i3 3220) and mates with the FX6300 and FX6350.

I also know people who are in WoW clans playing the games(around 12 people at least). The FX6300 and FX6350 are fine.

The Core i3 are overrated for they are,by people who have never used the broad spectrum of chips in that price range.

 

[Brahmzy]

Pretty big diff going from a 3225 to a 4570S for my HTPC. I don't have much use for dual cores anymore (even with HT.) I thought I wouldn't notice a lick of diff - I did.

 

[crashtech]

Pretty big diff going from a 3225 to a 4570S for my HTPC. I don't have much use for dual cores anymore (even with HT.) I thought I wouldn't notice a lick of diff - I did.

The difference couldn't be noticeable during normal HTPC usage. I gather you must game with it as well?

 

[Brahmzy]

I absolutely notice it with normal HTPC usage. I don't game. But I rip stuff, surf, open PDFs etc. Opening up MC, opening MyMovies (SQL), surfing, booting, everything is noticeably faster, all else being equal, other than W8 > W8.1 and P67 > Z87.
Watching ripped BDs / TV/ DVR functions - no diff whatsoever. But general usage is where I noticed it. I'm not talking night and day here, but I do notice a difference. Especially working with my media management stuff. Was the 3225 "slow"? No, it was pretty darn fast, but the quad core is most definitely faster.

 

[crashtech]

Confirmation bias?

 

[TerryMathews]

Confirmation bias?

Why do you think that? He doubled the number of cores and picked up +10% clock speed on turbo, on top of IPC improvements.

 

[Attic]

Yes, that seems to be the reason for the pricing. Of course you could turbo-OC the Ivy Bridge i5s, which tilted price/performance away from the i3s, but that's gone with Haswell.

If you look at the Haswell lineup, the cheapest i5 to reach 3.6 GHz on turbo is the i5-4570 which costs $192, compared to $149 for the 3.6 GHz i3-4340 ($43/29% difference). If you take the next-lower i5, the i5-4440, you get 3.3. GHz max. turbo for $182, while the i3-4130 for $122 runs at 3.4 GHz ($60/49% difference).

So for most normal users the i3s are actually an excellent deal.

The 4330 running at 3.5ghz makes a lot of sense at $120-130. The 4340 for $160 not nearly as much. I'm going from newegg pricing.

I just picked up a 4330 and h81 combo for HTPC/gaming use. Discrete GPU of course. 4330 is solid in gaming and for everything else it's more than fast enough. Really was looking to go with AMD to replace the phenom x3 system I'm upgrading. I was pretty close to going fx 6300. 4330 looks better for gaming, future may change that, but I wanted possibility of upgrading to i5 if I want more serious performance in games.

 

[escrow4]

The 4330 running at 3.5ghz makes a lot of sense at $120-130. The 4340 for $160 not nearly as much. I'm going from newegg pricing.

I just picked up a 4330 and h81 combo for HTPC/gaming use. It's solid in gaming and for everything else it's more than fast enough. Really was looking to go with AMD to replace the phenom x3 system I'm upgrading. I was pretty close to going fx 6300. 4330 looks better for gaming, future may change that, but I wanted possibility of upgrading to i5 if I want more serious performance in games.

How does that make sense? Pay $130 now and $230 in the future, even less if you sell off the i3? You should always get what you really want now, buying a cheapo CPU now and upgrading later makes zero sense. And upgrading CPUs now, seeing as Intel changes chipsets more or less every year, eh.

 

[TerryMathews]

How does that make sense? Pay $130 now and $230 in the future, even less if you sell off the i3? You should always get what you really want now, buying a cheapo CPU now and upgrading later makes zero sense. And upgrading CPUs now, seeing as Intel changes chipsets more or less every year, eh.

Yeah, the way Intel does CPU/chipsets anymore they may as well be BGA soldered to the motherboard.

 

[Attic]

How does that make sense? Pay $130 now and $230 in the future, even less if you sell off the i3? You should always get what you really want now, buying a cheapo CPU now and upgrading later makes zero sense. And upgrading CPUs now, seeing as Intel changes chipsets more or less every year, eh.

It was a budget driven decision more than what I want. Needed mobo and cpu for $160-$180 to my door. The 4330 isn't really a cheapo CPU IMO, it's solid and provides a decent alternative to AMD in that price range. I've always been beholden to AMD CPU's in the Sub $150 area and certainly they usually have the more appealing stuff around $100. For my budget where I was planning on going AMD, I'm just saying I'm glad I saw the 4330 and looked into how it stacks vs AMD's offerings in that area.

Yeah, the way Intel does CPU/chipsets anymore they may as well be BGA soldered to the motherboard.

AMD definitely wins this battle. But at this point I'd much rather be on 1150 than AM3+.

 

[bgt]

some results of my ITX system with a i3-4130(AsrockB85M-ITX):

idle 16W(used in a LC-Power 1360 with 65W adapter)
Prime95 70W
Furmark 48W
P+F 80W and fps halved
Handbrake 114fps 57W

like the 4770K

BTW 4770K's IGP is more then twice as fast as the 4130's IGP.
7fps(460 points) & 3fps(200 points)
running prime causes the furmark to halve the fps on both cpu's.
I don't know if the A10-6800 has the same fps decrease when running prime.
I cannot test mine because I am out of housings.

 

[tweakboy]

The poor mans CPU.

 

[tweakboy]

Talk about a budget CPU.

 

[tweakboy]

I3 is dual core with HT or without. thx gl nice thread. thx for info

 

[Magic Carpet]

some results of my ITX system with a i3-4130(AsrockB85M-ITX):

idle 16W(used in a LC-Power 1360 with 65W adapter)
Prime95 70W
Furmark 48W
P+F 80W and fps halved
Handbrake 114fps 57W

Can you list your total system specs minus monitor?

16w idle is very nice.

 

[Fox5]

I just picked up a Core i3 4340 bundle from Microcenter. ($30 off the cpu, and a decent deal on an h87 motherboard)

This is actually an upgrade for an HTPC, which is kind of funny since the A10-7850k would be a perfect fit for this use case. However, I wanna run gaming emulators. Everything up to Dreamcast will run fine on just about any hardware you can throw at it, but Gamecube and (to a lesser extent) PS2 really love Haswell and AVX2, so the core i3 is the lowest priced entry to high single thread performance. If I didn't need that, I'd probably have stayed with my Core 2 based Pentium dual core.

Oh, and Dolphin is a particular case that really does benefit from AVX2, on both AMD and Intel. The A10-7850k puts up pretty good performance numbers, and its gpu is way faster for this purpose than the Intel IGPs (except for maybe Iris Pro). But even with that, Intel has a sizable lead (like 50% for Haswell, although AMD is catching up to Nehalem performance, and Sandy and Ivy aren't much better than that in this case).
Plus, I have an old GTS 250 I was already using in the PC, and if I need something faster/newer (the emulator loves the newest OpenGL extensions), I'll probably upgrade to a 750Ti.