How much does i3 2120 SMASH my old Phenom X3 720 BE that's very WELL OC'd? Skeptical.

[Zeze]

If you're building budget then i5-750 smashes both. It smashes a 4GHz phenom at 2.8GHz, and clocks to 3.4GHz in a breeze. It wouldnt take too long to find that chip (or even a 760) and a good overclocking H55 mobo for under $170.

For even lower budgets, i3-540 can easily be found for $70. Add a little research and $50 for a motherboard and you have a ~4GHz capable setup for less than the cost of a pentium G630 combo new.

Which one is better

Your i5-750 (this isn't even on newegg)

vs

i5-2500k (only $5 more than 3450 until tomorrow, then $20 more)

vs

i5-3450

So many god damn variants. I assume one of them is older generation but still good. Which is the best?

 

[N4g4rok]

Anyone using Phenoms anymore?

Yessir.

That little chunk of silicon has served me well. might look at an update around Haswell era.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

For gaming always look at GPU upgrades first as CPU upgrades won't make as much difference.

 

[Tsavo]

If you're building budget then i5-750 smashes both. It smashes a 4GHz phenom at 2.8GHz, and clocks to 3.4GHz in a breeze. It wouldnt take too long to find that chip (or even a 760) and a good overclocking H55 mobo for under $170.

For even lower budgets, i3-540 can easily be found for $70. Add a little research and $50 for a motherboard and you have a ~4GHz capable setup for less than the cost of a pentium G630 combo new.

Both of which are dead sockets. Spending money on dead platforms is not a wise course of action.

Core i3 2xxx + mainboard = less than $200 with the option of moving up to a modern SB or IB quad core in the future.

 

[Don Karnage]

If you're building budget then i5-750 smashes both. It smashes a 4GHz phenom at 2.8GHz, and clocks to 3.4GHz in a breeze. It wouldnt take too long to find that chip (or even a 760) and a good overclocking H55 mobo for under $170.

For even lower budgets, i3-540 can easily be found for $70. Add a little research and $50 for a motherboard and you have a ~4GHz capable setup for less than the cost of a pentium G630 combo new.

You really want him to spend money on 1156? Its a dead socket

 

[Ferzerp]

1155 is "dead" too if you want to get right down to it. Mainstream IB is the last proc that will use it. There may be a part with a minor clock bump in the future (think the 2700k), but other than that, the best is already out for that platform.

 

[Termie]

OP - you may find this article interesting, although they didn't test an X3.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-10.html

 

[Don Karnage]

1155 is "dead" too if you want to get right down to it. Mainstream IB is the last proc that will use it. There may be a part with a minor clock bump in the future (think the 2700k), but other than that, the best is already out for that platform.

Problem is the 760 is still 10 dollars less then the 3570K. You really want to spend 10 dollars less for 2 generations less performance?

 

[Ferzerp]

I'm not arguing with you there. Just pointing out that a platform with multiple generations of chips supported really doesn't happen with any Intel purchase.

Some will argue that's greediness (I'd argue not, Intel makes very little on the chipset compared to the proc profit). I'd argue that it's more that they don't want decisions of 5 years ago hobbling their current development.

 

[Leyawiin]

The i3-2120 is better, but its not going to bowl you over compared to your current system. If you truly want an upgrade go at least i5-2500k (and OC it). Question - is your current system causing you issues? Is there any program or game you feel its noticeably holding you back in? Otherwise, don't bother with an upgrade.

 

[Tsavo]

1155 is "dead" too if you want to get right down to it. Mainstream IB is the last proc that will use it. There may be a part with a minor clock bump in the future (think the 2700k), but other than that, the best is already out for that platform.

...riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhht.

 

[Arkaign]

...riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhht.

It's true though, Haswell will require a completely new chipset, and with the utter lack of competition from AMD, we've pretty much seen all 1155 has to offer, unless something incredibly surprising happens.

I mean, it's *possible* that Haswell will keep the 1155 socket, but it's virtually guaranteed that it will be a different chipset.

In all probability, it will be different socket and chipset though. Remember, the next gen of Intel chips is the biggest change slated since they went from C2Q to i7-9xx.

 

[Kristijonas]

I had i3 2120. GTA4 stuttered. But only very little, almost not-noticeable. I had it with gtx560Ti and stuttering didn't depend on graphical settings.

 

[Ben90]

Heh, dead sockets. I remember those threads were all the rage pre-Nehalem. I'm curious how many people on AM2+ systems have dropped in a processor that is faster than what LGA 1366 would have provided right from the get go.

 

[Tsavo]

It's true though, Haswell will require a completely new chipset, and with the utter lack of competition from AMD, we've pretty much seen all 1155 has to offer, unless something incredibly surprising happens.

I mean, it's *possible* that Haswell will keep the 1155 socket, but it's virtually guaranteed that it will be a different chipset.

In all probability, it will be different socket and chipset though. Remember, the next gen of Intel chips is the biggest change slated since they went from C2Q to i7-9xx.

Missed my gist.

1156 was dead from the get-go. Choice of a handful of processors with ZERO upgrades to new stuff.

1155 offers compatibility with a nice range of processors from two generations of CPU tech.

Buying an 1155 board is a vastly better option than buying an 1156 board and CPU.

 

[Arkaign]

Missed my gist.

1156 was dead from the get-go. Choice of a handful of processors with ZERO upgrades to new stuff.

1155 offers compatibility with a nice range of processors from two generations of CPU tech.

Buying an 1155 board is a vastly better option than buying an 1156 board and CPU.

Ah, in that I most definitely agree. Although one might argue that the easier oc'ing of the 1156 stuff helped it remain competitive for enthusiast types for a decent amount of time (a high 3ghz to 4ghz range i5 or i7 pre-SB quad is still pretty solid for almost anything).

The only reason to consider a 1156 setup is if you got a great deal on a used combo. I'd consider an i5-760 + mobo for maybe $120ish as a good option for someone to overclock with, which presumably would take it beyond i3-2100 levels. A 2500k though, that's the good stuff 😉

 

[Magic Carpet]

My current CPU:
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 2.8Ghz

Upgrade CPU:
i3 2120 Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz

The upgrade is for gaming, but productivity apps are important too (photoshop).

2120 would certainly be better than your existing setup. But the question is.. do you need to upgrade?

I moved to a Conroe setup and it's fine for my needs. Plays Solitaire just well 😀

 

[Tsavo]

The only reason to consider a 1156 setup is if you got a great deal on a used combo. I'd consider an i5-760 + mobo for maybe $120ish as a good option for someone to overclock with, which presumably would take it beyond i3-2100 levels. A 2500k though, that's the good stuff 😉

I've got a moderately OC'd 750 (3.4GHz) which makes it decently faster than the Core i3 2xxx boxes I have. Stock clocks on each, and it's a wash though.

I'm trying to hold out till Haswell to replace my main box, though I'm thinking of taking one of my i3-2xxx boxes and putting in a 2500k or 3570k to tide me over.

 

[sm625]

I dont get the dead socket arguments. The 2500k was such a hot item that many people just dumped their 1156 stuff without even really considering the fact that its still almost as fast. So there are and have been some very good deals on 1156 stuff. But to say its a dead socket makes about as much sense as saying you shouldnt buy used furniture.

 

[Ferzerp]

I dont get the dead socket arguments. The 2500k was such a hot item that many people just dumped their 1156 stuff without even really considering the fact that its still almost as fast. So there are and have been some very good deals on 1156 stuff. But to say its a dead socket makes about as much sense as saying you shouldnt buy used furniture.

Exactly, it makes no sense in the Intel world to say "dead socket." They all pretty much are. They support at most a single tock and the following tick.


Buy what makes sense now, when it's time to upgrade. The next proc you buy, is probably going to need another motherboard anyway.

 

[amenx]

Even if it wasnt a dead socket, its sensible to upgrade mobo anyway for a newer CPU. Because they would have newer chipsets optimized for the new CPU, and usually improvements, newer features not found on the older mobo.

 

[Ferzerp]

Even if it wasnt a dead socket, its sensible to upgrade mobo anyway for a newer CPU. Because they would have newer chipsets optimized for the new CPU, and usually improvements, newer features not found on the older mobo.

What I don't like though, is the -E versions on the Intel side trailing behind the mainstream by so much. I went from x58 to z77 and lost dimm slots, pcie lanes (though not throughput, as it was pcie 2.0 -> 3.0), etc because there high end isn't out yet.