Is the 4th Gen Intel Core i3 Underrated

[SPBHM]

As best I can tell, they differ from i3's by the size of their caches. I suspect they are failed quad-cores . . .

not really, desktop i3s also have 4MB of l3 apart from the 4130
and I think they also had a native dual core with 4MB used for some mobile models on the previous gens (when all the i3s had 3MB of l3)

 

[skipsneeky2]

The i3 chips are pretty excellent when you pair them with mid range cards like a 7850 or lower. Had a i3 2100 back in 2011 and honestly it was a excellent chip when i paired it with a 6790 in BF3.

A build with something like a i3 and the new 750 ti would make for one hell of a cool running kick ass machine.

 

[_Rick_]

Haswell i3s support both ECC and AES-NI, making them the perfect choice for a mid-end storage server.

Anyway, on a budget gaming machine, I usually spec the CPU last, with what's left after getting a GPU, SSD and mainboard, as those have more actual impact on the overall usage experience. I use the rest to do a budget point-landing. Sometimes that's a fast pentium, sometimes a slow i5, but often it lands right in i3 territory, especially for mid-end gaming builds, where the difference between an i3 and i5 also is the difference between a low-end and mid-end gamer's GPU.

 

[Arkaign]

Really? Each round of Intel stuff I find that the mobo matters less and less. I never see non-solid-state caps on the power delivery section any more, and even the most basic mATX mobo has all the usual things needed for a Celeron/Pentium/i3. I don't think 99% of people could tell much between a $50 H81-based mobo and a $150 Z87-based mobo in actual practice other maybe than extra ports at the back.

Multi-GPU people, DIY'ers, and so on (basically us at AT) definitely can tell though of course Even then the sweet spot usually isn't too far up the pole these days. A $99 Asrock Z87 board can do SLI/CF, has 4 DIMMs, good overclocking support, USB3/Sata6/Gbit Lan/7.1 Audio/HDMI/DVI outputs, yadda yadda.

 

[Arkaign]

I guess I'm just saying that the mobo quality/selection matters a lot less than it did even a few years ago, when low end boards often meant getting something that died early, or truly lacked basic features (who can forget the boards where you'd SEE a PCIe slot traced on the board, but with no slot soldered on!). I joked with a buddy about soldering him a PCI express port on a board he had, I wonder if it would have worked, haha.

Hell, the only real reason I use Z-series boards is for K-series processors. For the non-OC people I always use H and B series boards.

 

[crashtech]

^ Mostly agree, but that doesn't always mean go find the very cheapest example, you still have to use some sense.

 

[sequoia464]

Glad I found this thread - Looking to build a low powered work machine - QuickBooks will be the main use - considering a G3220 or a i3-4130.

I would prefer to run two monitors and be able to use the Haswell graphics - but I do have a low power radeon that I could use if necessary - have I read this thread correctly that the 3220 would be the way to go for my use? Concerned that it might struggle with the two monitors.

Max resolution of the monitors - one @ 2048x1152 - one @ 1680x1050

Looking at a B series mini ITX board if that matters

 

[nwo]

The only situation where the G3220 might struggle is if you do video playback (1080p) on both monitors. If it's not good enough, you already have a GPU that you know is capable, then why spend 2x more on the i3?

 

[crashtech]

The only situation where the G3220 might struggle is if you do video playback (1080p) on both monitors. If it's not good enough, you already have a GPU that you know is capable, then why spend 2x more on the i3?

In the general case, the reason to spend proportionally more for a part than the performance gain is to receive best-in-class performance. At this moment, there is no dual core that can touch the i3-4xxx series, for example, the 4340 has ST performance in excess of the 3770, while possessing MT performance nearly on par with a previous gen i5, which will make most general computing as fast as it can be.

 

[nwo]

I agree, i3 is the best and fastest dual core. However, it's a little overkill for quickbooks. A celeron could easily handle the task just as well as the i3. The only concern is the video capability across dual screens, which shouldn't really be a concern if you already have a suitable graphics card.

 

[Arkaign]

I recommend skipping ITX at this time. It's more money for less features just to have a smaller case, which is pretty silly imho.

A slim mATX build can be tucked away easily, but gives you access to better boards (4 DIMM slots is nice to have for the future) that will be better over time.

I'll give an example :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130740

$80, 2 Dimm Slots for DDR3-1600, 4 Sata Ports, 2 USB 3 Ports. Bah.

 

[Arkaign]

vs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135352

$80. 4 DIMM Slots for DDR3-3000, 6 Sata Ports, 4 USB 3 Ports, Free 32GB MSATA SSD, etc.

SO much more for the $$.

 

[crashtech]

I recommend skipping ITX at this time. It's more money for less features just to have a smaller case, which is pretty silly imho.

I want to somewhat disagree, at least for Thin Mini-ITX, which allows for VESA mountable, passively cooled PCs that are more powerful than any NUC, and all but the highest-end BRIX. My wife loves hers, and it has zero moving parts and never needs cleaning. Decidedly not silly, imho.

 

[Arkaign]

I want to somewhat disagree, at least for Thin Mini-ITX, which allows for VESA mountable, passively cooled PCs that are more powerful than any NUC, and all but the highest-end BRIX. My wife loves hers, and it has zero moving parts and never needs cleaning. Decidedly not silly, imho.

It is up to someone to decide if that's worth the extra investment or not. It costs a premium, and comes with reduced performance and expandability vs. a typical mATX setup.

When you look at the mobo, case, and psu combo, it's a fairly large tradeoff on the low end for the convenience factor. It also sort of rolls over with getting a midrange 13" laptop with an SSD as a package cost perspective and just connecting that via HDMI.

I'd have less trouble with it if they were less expensive rather than substantially more expensive. But if you have a distinct use where you simply must have a PC that can be stuck behind a monitor (store kiosk/register perhaps?), then you have to use what you need obviously.

 

[Arkaign]

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you came to me with $500 and told me to make you the best PC possible on that budget, that ITX would be hard to go with.

 

[crashtech]

It is up to someone to decide if that's worth the extra investment or not. It costs a premium, and comes with reduced performance and expandability vs. a typical mATX setup.

When you look at the mobo, case, and psu combo, it's a fairly large tradeoff on the low end for the convenience factor. It also sort of rolls over with getting a midrange 13" laptop with an SSD as a package cost perspective and just connecting that via HDMI.

I'd have less trouble with it if they were less expensive rather than substantially more expensive. But if you have a distinct use where you simply must have a PC that can be stuck behind a monitor (store kiosk/register perhaps?), then you have to use what you need obviously.

In her case, I have never been called on to upgrade or expand the system due to lack of capability, but have had issues with dirt, dust (endemic to our locale), as well as fan noise. Plus space is at a premium, so to me it made perfect sense, but your points are valid as well. For every rule there is an exception!

System being discussed:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35882697&postcount=30

 

[Arkaign]

Haha not bad. Faster than an i7 with typical HDD (or i7-U Lol).

I do know some folks that are bad about cleaning their PCs as well.

How much do you think the premium was in that case? From what I can see, it looks like the boards are similar to $55ish mATX versions, and the case/PSU combo adds a fair bit as well. Even if the gap is $100, it's not so big to be the end of the world. It's hard for me because I'm so cheap haha. I will say it sounds like you put more thought into it, I've seen people make itx builds for light gaming, and they just have them sitting on the floor with tons of room for a little tower there. Boggles the mind.

 

[crashtech]

Yeah, it's fair to say that the premium was in the neighborhood of $100, plus the 4130T is a tad slower than its full power big brother, but it's a 35W CPU, really the only 35W unit easily obtainable right now. I might look for either a 4570T or 4765T (the other 35W candidates that seem to be OEM only) in another year or so, just for laughs.

The Akasa Euler case was $99, but it's a pretty nice piece. Pretty much a big heavy chunk of aluminum.

BTW, it's my job to clean out her machine, which I hate because of my allergies (need to wear a mask, etc.). The main gripe, though, was that I've had had issues with the CPU fan(s) randomly coming on full blast when waking from sleep on several different boards now, including her old Xeon system. That was actually why I retired it.

P.S. Sorry OP for the somewhat off-topic digression, my only excuse is that the system being discussed is one of those "underrated i3s."

 

[piasabird]

I think the i3 is underrated including the chipsets and newer motherboards. For instance I am using a gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI. It is advertised as being 4K ready with integrated Intel HD Video. Then I chose to try the i3 4330. I decided to give it a try for the following reasons:

It has a 4 Meg Cache
It comes with Intel HD4600 graphics
It is 3.5 Mghz
It has a power rating less than an i5

I think this processor with the motherboard is pretty fast. Since I use it for HTPC nothing I am really running is stressing it out. The Wireless 802.11ac/n/g + Bluetooth on the motherboard is working nice too.

I put it in a computer case like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119286
It is smaller, lighter, and easy to move around.

Now I can put my TV anywhere.

 

[sequoia464]

vs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135352

$80. 4 DIMM Slots for DDR3-3000, 6 Sata Ports, 4 USB 3 Ports, Free 32GB MSATA SSD, etc.

SO much more for the $$.

This is interesting, particularly the MSATA SSD, but unless I return this case ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...11119261&cm_sp= , I'll be going with a mini ITX.

Looking to use this board .. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139049 , and this power supply .. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049 ...sooo, I'm looking at only $120 and the CPU as I have everything else (after the dreaded rebates of course, plus tax and shipping).
I found a g3220 for $60 total delivered, so probably right at $200 total for the parts I need.

I'll be using 8 gigs of ram and a 256 gb Crucial M4

Is the cheap b@6t@rd that I am getting the best of me here? I'm thinking the g3220 should be fine for my light usage?

Apologies if I'm hijacking this thread a bit, but it looked like it was already taking the i3/Pentium discussion detour.

 

[sequoia464]

Just a quick update on what I wound up doing. Went with a g3420 and an AsRock b85 mini ITX - this has worked out great for my use. Looks like I didn't need the I3, just as some here advised.

Makes me wonder how many times I have over-built in the past.