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Which setup would you choose?

taisingera

taisingera

Golden Member
I am trying to upgrade to Ivy Bridge for cheap. Currently have i3 530 with 4 GB RAM, using HDD and iGPU. I am trying to decide between these two configs. I do web surfing, watching 1080P local media, stream 1080P on Youtube, some light Office, and the very occasional audio/ video encoding and no gaming at all.

Core i3-3225, 4GB, H77 mobo, going to use a spare 2.5" HDD for either Linux or Win7, depending on if I sell off my Win7 Family Pack.

or

Pentium G2120, 8GB, H77 mobo, maybe an SSD at some point later in time.

I have shut off HT on the i3 530 to see if going to non HT Pentium would suffice. I can barely notice a difference, maybe in a bit of smoothness.
 
The G2120 is fine for all those things. The 3225 will be distinctly faster in encoding, but since it's "very occasional" shouldn't be an issue. You'll appreciate the 8GB of RAM if you like to leave applications open for days at a time like I do, dozens of tabs in a browser for example.
 
taisingera said:
Pentium G2120, 8GB, H77 mobo, maybe an SSD at some point later in time..
Click to expand...

If you plan to use the savings towards a SSD purchase, then definately go this route. As someone who uses office a lot and does a lot of websurfing, the difference between a machine with a slower processor and SSD vs a faster processor and mechanical HD is noticeable even in light uses.
 
Do you not overclock your i3-530?

Overclocked to 4.0Ghz a i3-530 should be about as fast as a i3-3225@ 3.3Ghz.

The i3-3225 will basically not be overclockable. I would wait for Haswell and consider an i5 with 4 cores/threads if you really want this upgrade to be an upgrade.

Unless perhaps you're just retiring your i3-530 and passing it on to someone else and buying something new to replace it … ???
 
I would prefer whichever rig will get you an SSD the fastest.

I tend to use more ram than others, so if take the pentium with 8gb ram and an SSD.
 
Oced clarkdale > locked 2 core SB. 4.4GHz should be easy with clarkdale.

I would OC the CPU, buy an SSD and another 4GB or RAM.
 
I guarantee you will get a better overall experience simply by installing a low end video card like a GT630 or a HD7750 and keeping your i3 (overclock it if possible). You do not want to use the iGPU, even if you do not play games. Even just streaming youtube while multitasking presents problems for both intel ivy bridge and AMD llano APUs. (I havent tested AMD trinity....) I've commented in the past how tech review sites have seriously dropped the ball with regard to iGPUs and multitasking and overall user real world experience. Get a discrete card!
 
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One question- is your 4GB of RAM in one stick, or two? If one, I'd recommend getting a second stick of RAM. Having only one means your CPU only gets half the memory bandwidth that it theoretically could, and that would make things pretty bad (especially when the iGPU is using up the same bandwidth).
 
fffblackmage said:
I'd skip the upgrade, do some overclocking, and buy an SSD now. A bit more ram might be nice too.
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Bingo what you have is not so old, unless you HAVE to switch. I'd over clock the snot out of it and buy a couple SSD'S with the savings. SSD'S will last you so there a solid investment for years to come, plat forms get old fast.
 
Maybe I will just keep the i3 I have, and get an SSD. BTW, I have 2 sticks of RAM totaling 4GB, so I might just sell that off and get an 8GB kit. I am satisfied with the integrated graphics on the chip. Based on the case I have, OCing this chip is probably not likely.
 
keep your processor, get a cheap fanless videocard that supports dx 11.1 (ati 5550 or similar) and add another 4gb ram. And an SSD upgrade. It will be way cheaper than the H77 upgrade, and give you WAY better performance. For what you do, it will easily be more than you need 🙂
 
taisingera said:
Based on the case I have, OCing this chip is probably not likely.
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The stock HSF is good to about 4.0Ghz as long as you keep your vcore in check <= about 1.24v.

By bumping the BLCK to 166 (x 22) you get 3.65Ghz and with a 8x memory divider your 1333 memory will be at stock 1333. i3 Clarkdales will run mid 3.0Ghz levels easily at stock vcore settings. So even with a minor overclock you can bump performance 25%.
 
Did anyone ask where the OP feels the current setup is falling short? I don't really see any deficiency for the stated use.
 
I think I will go with an SSD for windows, get 8GB of RAM and maybe another small HDD or SSD to run externally to put Linux on. All should be under $200.
 
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