Is a quad-core overkill for me?

[wings7999]

I'm looking to get a new pre-built system, and am wondering if a quad-core system is overkill for my needs, or a good investment for down the road. I'd hope whatever I get can remain more than sufficient for 4-5 years.

I've zeroed in on two ASUS systems, one with a 3.7 ghz i3-4170 that goes for $354 and one with a 2.7 ghz i5-6400 that goes for $429. The i5-6400 system also has better integrated graphics (530 HD vs 4400 HD). I've seen very few pre-built systems so far with a Skylake i3, and the ones I've seen are not in that price range.

I have largely basic needs: browsing, streaming (Spotify, YouTube, ESPN), and Office work (mostly Word). Those would be my primary, most frequent uses. On occasion, I do some light audio editing (Audacity) and some light video editing (Movie Maker, nothing fancy). I won't be playing any games on the system.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Yuriman]

The i3 would suit your purposes nicely, but the i5 will last longer. There's extra power, but also newer/better connectivity, uses DDR4 instead of 3, runs cooler and quieter. I'd go for the i5, out of the two.

 

[Magic Carpet]

These days at a minimum you would want, a processor capable of processing simultaneously 4 threads and enough of system memory. It's really handy to keep things cached in memory.

-so-

A Skylake i3 CPU (e.g. i3 6100) should be adequate for your usage. I would also recommend to get 16 gigs of DDR4 ( 2 x 8gb), at least 2400Mhz. I like this kit.

Verified Purchase
Just completed 2 Mini ITX HTPC builds/rebuilds with these new Skylake chips. Wow! these units edge out the performance of my nearly 3 year old Ivy Bridge I7-3770S and I5-3570K builds for less than half the cost. Now and 3 years ago I used the best available Asrock ITX boards to enhance what I want in these units: feature rich power HTPC's that can run nearly silently with ultra low profile CPU fans without burning up. With the previous builds I had to use the motherboard's built in controls to slightly underclock the CPU's to get the thermal and quiet noise level patterns I wanted. Now I have used 2 new Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac boards with thirteen buck Rosewill RCX-Z775-LP 80mm Sleeve Low Profile CPU Coolers that without underclocking run the new I3's quietly 10-15 Celsius lower than the old builds. Plus I now have HTPC's that have HDMI 2.0 ports that can run 4K video at 60Hz.
I am not a gamer, so I also used the Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac boards to get the new USB3.1 and C ports and upgraded Audio. I suspect that gamers on a budget could put the cash saved on this Skylake I3 into a good Graphics board and small SSD - and still have a rocking machine. Recommend: Don't skimp on the motherboard though.

 

[Ken g6]

Does getting the i3 leave you with enough money left over to get an SSD? If so, I'd get the i3 and the SSD.

 

[LTC8K6]

I would go with a Skylake CPU today.

 

[Burpo]

Get the newer Skylake quad core.. You'll be glad you did for a LONG time..

 

[AtenRa]

I would go for the Core i5 6400.
Just a side note, the Core i5 6400 system is with DDR-3 but its still better than the Core i3 4170.
Just add an SSD later on and you are set.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Both your links go to the i5 BTW. In any case, it is a toss up. Even with turbo and the IPC gains (??) of skylake you give up some single thread performance with the i5, but for four real cores, I think it is worth it. The price seems good for both systems, actually. I dont think you would go wrong with either.