Which CPU - Budget Gaming

[UaVaj]

CPU: Deciding
RAM: 4GB 1600
GPU: 560Ti 1gb
MB: Z77 for socket 1155 or P55 for socket 1156
HD 128gb SSD
PSU: 600w seasonic
Display: 1440x900 5ms
Game: WoW, SC2, BF3, etc.

have everything left over from prior build except CPU.

which CPU?
Ivy Bridge Celeron G1610 2.6GHz 2c 2t 2MB - $50 (new)
or
Ivy Bridge Pentium G2120 3.1GHz 2c 2t 3MB - $80 (new)
or
Clarkdale i3 560 3.3GHz 2c 4t 4MB - ~$55 (used)
or
Clarkdale i5 680 3.6GHz 2c 4t 4MB - ~$75 (used)
or
something else socket 1156/1155 in this budget range new or used.

 

[Yuriman]

Any Intel quad core within your budget. i5 680 will be superior to all other listed options.

 

[UaVaj]

the goal here is: high setting with 40fps minimum and ~60fps average in most games.

given the gpu is a 560ti. the resolution will never go beyond 1600x900. 1920x1080 is simply too much for a 560ti to handle without having to turn down settings.

just need a balanced cpu to compliment the 560ti at 1440x900 to play some games at "high" setting.

 

[adnank77]

Why don't you consider AMD Processors ? They are quite competitve when it comes to price ..

I would vote for highest number of cores that budget can allow .. also if you could squeeze little more $ to make the RAM 8GB instead of 4GB it'll be worth it ..

 

[DominionSeraph]

G2020 is $62.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4G70RU/?tag=pcpapi-20

But I'd go with the i5 680. Hyperthreading, 20% faster clocks, and turbo should put it over the top in everything.

Although a quick look on fleabay shows i5 750s going for $100. That'd be much better.

 

[SPBHM]

from the listed options the i3 is by far the best if you overclock...

i5 680 is the same CPU, only with a higher clock and turbo (irrelevant when OCed)

 

[Geforce man]

just curious, are you finding a decent p55 mobo for a reasonable price? they havn't been in production for awhile as far as i'm aware...

 

[Concillian]

Any Intel quad core within your budget. i5 680 will be superior to all other listed options.

Your statement is contradictory... that i5 isn't a quad.

OP if overclocking, the i3 + overclock is fine for most gaming. I am still using my i3-530 overclocked to 4.0 GHz. It handles the majority of games well enough that I don't notice frame drops. The i5-680 provides near to that level of performance without overclocking, so should be your choice if you're not overclocking.

Those are both better choices than the stripped down pentium / celeron processors, but a modern i3 is about the same speed as an overclocked Clarkdale.

 

[Concillian]

just curious, are you finding a decent p55 mobo for a reasonable price? they havn't been in production for awhile as far as i'm aware...

Don't need a p55. This was before Intel was bending over the OCers by forcing them into the top tiers. I used H55 to OC my i3... No problems after several years at 4 GHz.

 

[Yuriman]

Your statement is contradictory... that i5 isn't a quad.

OP if overclocking, the i3 + overclock is fine for most gaming. I am still using my i3-530 overclocked to 4.0 GHz. It handles the majority of games well enough that I don't notice frame drops. The i5-680 provides near to that level of performance without overclocking, so should be your choice if you're not overclocking.

Those are both better choices than the stripped down pentium / celeron processors, but a modern i3 is about the same speed as an overclocked Clarkdale.

My apologies, I didn't check. I believed that all desktop i5's were quads.

 

[jacktesterson]

FX-4300 - I got mine used for $90

mine hits 5.0Ghz without much effort

 

[jacktesterson]

If these are your only options, go with the Ivy Bridge Pentium G2120

It will allow better upgrades down the road.

This with with a Sandy Pentium - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/404?vs=144

 

[Gikaseixas]

i5 680 out of these
Phenom II 965 if you wanna go AMD

 

[SPBHM]

If these are your only options, go with the Ivy Bridge Pentium G2120

It will allow better upgrades down the road.

This with with a Sandy Pentium - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/404?vs=144

yes but...
you can't do this with the G2120

if you can find one of the old i3s (and the motherboard) for a low enough price, it can be a nice option, probably faster than a new i3 if you can overclock.

 

[UaVaj]

the main task is for my 8 y/o girl to play WoW and SC2 and Flash. and once in a blue moon play BF3, FC3, Crysis. and to surf the internet. and to watch youtube.

hyperthreading is moot. most game will not make good use of it.

clock speed difference is moot too. faster clock clarkdale IPC is near equalivent to slower clock ivy bridge IPC.

p55 mb is moot too. have a nice p55 mb collecting dust.

overclocking. would rather not. i3-560 oc is temping.

-----

for now leaning toward a used G2120 for ~$60. opening an upgrade path to a i5 3rd gen quad core in the future when games finally catch up to "fully" utilziing 4 core.

 

[UaVaj]

yes but...
you can't do this with the G2120

if you can find one of the old i3s (and the motherboard) for a low enough price, it can be a nice option, probably faster than a new i3 if you can overclock.

impressive!

 

[Yuriman]

the main task is for my 8 y/o girl to play WoW and SC2 and Flash. and once in a blue moon play BF3, FC3, Crysis. and to surf the internet. and to watch youtube.

hyperthreading is moot. most game will not make good use of it.

clock speed difference is moot too. faster clock clarkdale IPC is near equalivent to slower clock ivy bridge IPC.

p55 mb is moot too. have a nice p55 mb collecting dust.

overclocking. would rather not. i3-560 oc is temping.

-----

for now leaning toward a used G2120 for ~$60. opening an upgrade path to a i5 3rd gen quad core in the future when games finally catch up to "fully" utilziing 4 core.

http://www.techbuyersguru.com/CPUgaming.php

Many games are starting to take advantage of 4 threads, and hyperthreading provides a significant speedup in dual cores.

 

[crashtech]

It seems that moving forward, the only dual cores worth considering must have hyperthreading. Four thread capability is the new standard, is it not?

 

[tweakboy]

Its a personal preference I think.

 

[Concillian]

the main task is for my 8 y/o girl to play WoW and SC2 and Flash. and once in a blue moon play BF3, FC3, Crysis. and to surf the internet. and to watch youtube.

hyperthreading is moot. most game will not make good use of it.

Hyperthreading is moot when talking about 4C / 4T vs 4C / 8T CPUs. It is certainly NOT moot when talking about 2 core CPUs. SC2 and WoW, yes these are primarily 2 core games. The others WILL make use of hyperthreading on 2C / 4T CPUs even if they don't show improvements with 4C / 8T CPUs.

This is from my own experience using a 2C / 4T Clarkdale. Games definitely use the Hyperthreading, and it is definitely a huge difference in some games. No game machine should consider less than a 2C / 4T CPU IMO, even at the expense of lower IPC.

Clarkdale IPC is well below IB IPC, but the IPC of the IB Celerons are below that of the "core ix" CPUs that the reviewers give press to. They are cut down versions of the "press-worthy" CPUs. OCing makes up for any IPC differences. 4GHz is pretty much a given OC. 4.4 requires better cooling and more on the edge. 4GHz makes up for more than 20% IPC, and the HT puts it *well* ahead in any game that can make use of more than 2 cores. Comparing to an IB i3 is a much closer comparison, but comparing to non-HT IBs, no, I like the Clarkdale.

This is the closest "bench" comparison available:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/404?vs=145

Very close single threaded performance, maybe the SB Pentium has a slight advantage over the i5 Clarkdale, but anything that makes use of the hyperthreading pulls ahead. You see this in the gaming benchmarks too. WoW is almost dead even.

I haven't played WoW in over a year, but my i3 @ 4 GHz was fine with WoW. Certainly faster than what most people playing WoW have. In my WoW guild, I was considered some kind of hardware god with an OCed Clarkdale and SSD. You can't even imagine what kind of garbage hardware most people are playing WoW on.

There is certainly some value in using a platform that can be upgraded, The IB Pentiums are definitely going to be better for that aspect. I'd still hesitate to put anything less than 2C / 4T into a gaming machine, anything reasonably new is going to struggle with 2C / 2T. If you can stretch to an IB i3, then there's no question at all. If not overclocking, you can put that into a pretty low budget motherboard.

 

[Madpacket]

Ignore, missed that you have a 560 to use. +1 to hyperthreaded CPU for gaming.

 

[crashtech]

The OP says he has Intel mobos, hence the limitation. Personally I would try to find a deal on a newer i3 like a 3220.

EDIT: Remind me to always quote.

 

[jacktesterson]

yes but...
you can't do this with the G2120

if you can find one of the old i3s (and the motherboard) for a low enough price, it can be a nice option, probably faster than a new i3 if you can overclock.

No - But the G2120 will still be very capable until the OP has time to get a i5 - which is really what is ideal - Even a 2500K is more than enough. Having 4 Real cores is going to be quite important for gaming soon. (More so than HT)

Either option is good.

Personally I think a FX-4300 or FX-6300 would be best for the OP.

 

[SPBHM]

No - But the G2120 will still be very capable until the OP has time to get a i5 - which is really what is ideal - Even a 2500K is more than enough. Having 4 Real cores is going to be quite important for gaming soon. (More so than HT)

Either option is good.

Personally I think a FX-4300 or FX-6300 would be best for the OP.

well, how much would some used 750/760/860 cost? since he already have the p55 board...
and really? FX 4300 is not much different than the overclocked i3... and it would cost 2x+ considering it's only 55 and it would need a motherboard...

 

[AnonymouseUser]

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