i3 2100 + GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 good enough for moderate gaming?

[Aharami]

posted this in GH but doesnt seem to get many hits on that forum. I want to buy this today, so looking for some input.

I'm building a HTPC for my basement Home Theater and I'm looking at the i3 2100 + GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 m-ATX mobo. Is this combo, paired with a decent gxf card like this 560ti be good enough for gaming on 1920x1080? I'm not looking for high end gaming with all settings set to high and I'm mostly interested in FPS and racing sims.

Is my gfx card overkill for my cpu? Is my motherboard too low end and should I step up to something like GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3?

Initially I was considering a i5 2500k build, but I think that will be overkill for a HTPC. This pc will be mainly a HTPC serving up videos and music but I'd like to game on it every now and then also.

If the 2100 is not good for gaming, then I'll step up to a 2500K

 

[AstroManLuca]

Sounds like a great setup to me. I have a Phenom II X3 and a Radeon 4870, which are both somewhat older parts, and most games don't give me trouble. In general the GPU is more important than the CPU for gaming so I don't think it's overkill or that you need a better CPU than the one you've got.

 

[Skott]

It should be fine for what you have in mind. You can always upgrade the cpu in the future if you feel you need more processor power.

 

[happy medium]

i3 2100= Phenom II x4 @ 3.7 . Its more than enough to play most games on high settings with a gtx560ti.

 

[Aharami]

thanks!

 

[Barfo]

Looks ok, though I'd try and get a quad core as many modern games benefit from them.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

unless there is a specific defect or issue, motherboard performance is damn near identical right across the board for a given chipset. i would go for an i5, however. if i were buying now, i'd be tempted to go for usb 3.

my (only) puter:
i5 750 w/ scythe big shuriken heatsink
gigabyte p55m-ud4
4x 2gb crucial blue ddr3
gigabyte gtx 275 vid card
ceton cable tuner card
auzentech x-meridian sound card
seasonic x650
intel 80gb ssd
2x wd 2tb eads hdd
samsung dvd burner
silverstone gd-04 silver case

 

[bentheman939]

I game with that exact setup, with a 5850 instead of the 570i. It works great! I have never had a performance issue at 1080p, although I often can't max out AA and games with ridiculous AI requirements, like Civ4, sometimes become slow during the late game. My point is that this combo far exceeded my expectations, and with 570 will likely be even better.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Frys had the i3 + h61 mobo for $105 total last week. A killer price for an adequate system.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Frys had the i3 + h61 mobo for $105 total last week. A killer price for an adequate system.

wow, that's outstanding value

 

[DaveSimmons]

Unless there is a specific feature on the Gigabyte MB that you need, there's no reason to pay extra for a Z68 instead of getting a H61 or H67 chipset MB for up to $50 less, as Ken suggested in your GH thread.

i3-2100 + Z68 is about the same price as i5-2400 + H61. With the i5-2400 you get quad core and turbo boost.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=363