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i3 or i5?

S

squelchy451

Member
Hi

I currently have a cheap Asus 1155 motherboard and GTS 250 512MB
I do some gaming at 1440x900 (TF2, BF3, etc)

Should I get a i3 2120 or shell out $70 more and go for the i5?


Thanks!
 
squelchy451 said:
Hi

I currently have a cheap Asus 1155 motherboard and GTS 250 512MB
I do some gaming at 1440x900 (TF2, BF3, etc)

Should I get a i3 2120 or shell out $70 more and go for the i5?


Thanks!
Click to expand...

Having own both the i3 2100 and the 2500k,i would opt for the i5.

Much better overall then the i3 and worth the premium.
 
Definitely the i5. Newer games will tend to be more multi-threaded and the dual-core i3 will become obsolete. It's a great processor for today's games, but not very future-proof (not that there is such a thing).

🙂
 
I guess I'll offer a contrary opinion here. 😛

Other than Battlefield 3, I don't know of many games which really take use of four cores. In fact, Skyrim is only optimized for 2 cores.

Most games will play quite well on 2 cores/4 threads. And if you do go with the i3, you can get an H67 motherboard.

Unless you really want to play the newest releases on the highest settings, I would actually point you to the i3. But, that's just my opinion. 😀
 
skipsneeky2 said:
Having own both the i3 2100 and the 2500k,i would opt for the i5.

Much better overall then the i3 and worth the premium.
Click to expand...

what this guy said i just got my i5 2500k today that i traded my 2120 for and i love it so much smoother and over clocked to 4.4 at almost stock volts
 
squelchy451 said:
Hi

I currently have a cheap Asus 1155 motherboard and GTS 250 512MB
I do some gaming at 1440x900 (TF2, BF3, etc)

Should I get a i3 2120 or shell out $70 more and go for the i5?


Thanks!
Click to expand...

For 1440x900 and a GTS 250 there is really no point to anything more than an i3. I think everyone saying i5 is forgetting about the relatively low resolution you are talking about. so if you are sticking with that monitor and video card I would say go with the i3. If you might want to get a monitor with a resolution above 1680x1050 and upgrade the video card, then get the i5.
 
Ratman6161 said:
For 1440x900 and a GTS 250 there is really no point to anything more than an i3. I think everyone saying i5 is forgetting about the relatively low resolution you are talking about. so if you are sticking with that monitor and video card I would say go with the i3. If you might want to get a monitor with a resolution above 1680x1050 and upgrade the video card, then get the i5.
Click to expand...

bump
 
Ratman6161 said:
For 1440x900 and a GTS 250 there is really no point to anything more than an i3. I think everyone saying i5 is forgetting about the relatively low resolution you are talking about. so if you are sticking with that monitor and video card I would say go with the i3. If you might want to get a monitor with a resolution above 1680x1050 and upgrade the video card, then get the i5.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the lower the resolution you're playing games at the more dependent on the CPU the game will be. Also, since console ports have all but taken over the market, CPU dependency is two-fold.

Upgrading the CPU later on typically won't be as easy, or cheap, as upgrading a monitor for higher resolution.

Go with the i5 unless you're just building an HTPC.
 
I would recommend the i5 as well. Which ever i5 you find at the most resonable price too. (not sure what chipset you have)
 
I think i3 is just what one would get for laptops (because of it's lower power consumption). Is a low end i5 really that much more?
 
squelchy451 said:
Hi

I currently have a cheap Asus 1155 motherboard and GTS 250 512MB
I do some gaming at 1440x900 (TF2, BF3, etc)

Should I get a i3 2120 or shell out $70 more and go for the i5?


Thanks!
Click to expand...

Buy an I3 and when you post on this forum in 12 months people are going to tell you to upgrade your CPU and GPU (and probably monitor 1440X900 is low res now). Buy an I5 and when you post on this forum in 12 months people are going to tell you to upgrage your GPU (and probably monitor1440x900 will be considered an even lower "gaming" resolution by then)

My advice buy an I5 now and upgrade your GPU in 12 months, your CPU will still be more than capable.
 
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