Should I get an i5-6500?

[jana519]

I'm building a SFF PC for 1080p gaming with a 960 4GB/1060 3GB. Right now I have a G4600 3.6GHz (2C/4T). I've heard 2 cores are becoming obsolete and I'm beginning to wonder if the G4600 will be adequate. Do I need an i5-6500? Or, put the question this way: what games could I not play with the G4600?

Thanks!

 

[VirtualLarry]

From the video reviews I saw, Crysis 3's "Welcome to the Jungle" level will get bogged down on a Dual w/HT.

 

[philosofool]

If you already own the G4600, I recommend the "wait and see for yourself" approach--which you can do with any LGA 1151 Motherboard. Don't throw down an extra $200 bucks unless you know you won't be able to hit your desired frame rate at your desired settings in a game that you plan to play.

If you are deciding which processor to buy, I would go for a 4/4 unit. It will perform better in some games and have a longer life; the extra $110 now will probably get you one more processor generation before an upgrade.

 

[Absolute0]

pretty strong choice for 1080p gaming. Of course, there's nothing wrong with waiting until 1080P gaming is actually a problem for you. Your question is for you to answer: which games are not running at satisfactory levels such that you should spend $ for higher settings/ more FPS.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I'm building a SFF PC for 1080p gaming with a 960 4GB/1060 3GB. Right now I have a G4600 3.6GHz (2C/4T). I've heard 2 cores are becoming obsolete and I'm beginning to wonder if the G4600 will be adequate. Do I need an i5-6500? Or, put the question this way: what games could I not play with the G4600?

Thanks!

People are always advocating "more cores" and more vram, with some justification, but not everyone has the same gaming demands. I am sure you can play any game with the pentium, but some games may exhibit some stuttering. Seems to me the pentium would be plenty good enough for a 960, and probably for the 1060 3gb as well. Are you using the pentium now, and does it play all the games you are interested in adequately? Just because you "have heard" 2 cores are "obsolete", does not mean it is correct. I would not recommend 2c/2t now but the new hyperthreaded pentium has 4 threads, so is a much more suitable cpu for moderate level gaming. BTW, these forums contain a lot of useful information, but also a lot of information that needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Bouowmx]

Pay attention to the GPU used in online tests: usually it is Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 or TITAN X Pascal. With weaker GPUs like Nvidia GeForce GTX 960, 1060, or the well-discounted AMD Radeon RX 470 and 480, a CPU like Intel Pentium G4560 is a non-factor for 1920x1080 60 Hz.

 

[jana519]

If you already own the G4600, I recommend the "wait and see for yourself" approach--which you can do with any LGA 1151 Motherboard. Don't throw down an extra $200 bucks unless you know you won't be able to hit your desired frame rate at your desired settings in a game that you plan to play.

If you are deciding which processor to buy, I would go for a 4/4 unit. It will perform better in some games and have a longer life; the extra $110 now will probably get you one more processor generation before an upgrade.

This seems to be a very reasonable approach. To be honest, I'm loathe to spend $150 on a CPU if the performance is similar or close in many areas.

Side question: Now that we're on the discussion of value, I'm seeing there are Ivy Bridge i5 quad cores going for $70 to $80 on eBay. Would it be terrible to ditch 1151 and go Ivy i5 with 960/1050 Ti for a solid midrange desktop? The thought of saving nearly $200 for a final build is extremely tempting, but tell me if I'm making a huge mistake.

 

[richierich1212]

This seems to be a very reasonable approach. To be honest, I'm loathe to spend $150 on a CPU if the performance is similar or close in many areas.

Side question: Now that we're on the discussion of value, I'm seeing there are Ivy Bridge i5 quad cores going for $70 to $80 on eBay. Would it be terrible to ditch 1151 and go Ivy i5 with 960/1050 Ti for a solid midrange desktop? The thought of saving nearly $200 for a final build is extremely tempting, but tell me if I'm making a huge mistake.

Good luck trying to find a decent LGA1155 motherboard. Besides, that platform is old now. You may have better luck finding a decent LGA1150 CPU and motherboard bundle, but even then, that's older too.

 

[frozentundra123456]

This seems to be a very reasonable approach. To be honest, I'm loathe to spend $150 on a CPU if the performance is similar or close in many areas.

Side question: Now that we're on the discussion of value, I'm seeing there are Ivy Bridge i5 quad cores going for $70 to $80 on eBay. Would it be terrible to ditch 1151 and go Ivy i5 with 960/1050 Ti for a solid midrange desktop? The thought of saving nearly $200 for a final build is extremely tempting, but tell me if I'm making a huge mistake.

Personally, I am not a fan of buying used unless you know the seller and know the products are in good condition. That said, an ivy i5 would probably trade blows with the hyperthreaded pentium, faster and smoother in games that use lots of cores, and a bit slower in highly single threaded games. If you are buying a gpu, the 4 gb RX470 is the best value for the money, especially if you can find one on a good sale. I think they can be had for 150 bucks or so. The 1050 Ti is a great card for someone who has a psu without a six pin connector, but overpriced otherwise for the performance in gives. Might be nice in a mini system like you are looking at though--very low power and decent 1080 performance, although much lower that the 470.

 

[jana519]

Personally, I am not a fan of buying used unless you know the seller and know the products are in good condition. That said, an ivy i5 would probably trade blows with the hyperthreaded pentium, faster and smoother in games that use lots of cores, and a bit slower in highly single threaded games. If you are buying a gpu, the 4 gb RX470 is the best value for the money, especially if you can find one on a good sale. I think they can be had for 150 bucks or so. The 1050 Ti is a great card for someone who has a psu without a six pin connector, but overpriced otherwise for the performance in gives. Might be nice in a mini system like you are looking at though--very low power and decent 1080 performance, although much lower that the 470.

I'm thinking along similar lines. Perhaps the Ivy i5 will be somewhat slower in games demanding single thread performance, but it will also be smoother in multiple threaded games and better with multi-tasking and alt-tabbing.

I'm debating between a low profile 1050 Ti in a SFF case with 75W power draw vs a full size GPU in a much larger case. So far the pros of the 1050 Ti are outweighing the cons.

 

[escrow4]

I'm thinking along similar lines. Perhaps the Ivy i5 will be somewhat slower in games demanding single thread performance, but it will also be smoother in multiple threaded games and better with multi-tasking and alt-tabbing.

I'm debating between a low profile 1050 Ti in a SFF case with 75W power draw vs a full size GPU in a much larger case. So far the pros of the 1050 Ti are outweighing the cons.

Eurogamer showed that the 2500K is creaking along and IVB is only a little better. Games like Watch Dogs 2 last year murdered CPUs, and hexa cores gave decent minimums, the rest dropped right down. Define what you want in gaming, if you want solid minimums and averages for as long as possible currently, i5. If you happy with odd stutters and drops then a Pentium will be fine.