i3 vs i5

[TheCheapGamer]

Now before you say "i5 has more cores, performs better in all games, better value" and so on, I need to give you some background.

I currently have a Pentium G2030 with 8GB DDR3 and a GTX 760 micro card.

I game, a lot. But prices here in South Africa are extremely high for PC parts. I play pretty much any game you can list from AOE II all the way to the more demanding Battlefield series (BF1 doesnt run well obviously) and even the CPU intensive Arma 3.

I am looking at upgrading come Christmas time and cash is being used for various things.

Now,

Do I need an i5? My pentium plays most games with a solid 45-60fps on 'good' settings at 1080p. But the problem is the heat as it stays at 100% usage all the time. Will getting an i3 help a great deal? Im not looking at maxing settings or anything, I just want a more enjoyable gaming experience than I currently get.

The price difference here between an i3 6100 and i5 6500 is immense. The difference between the two could easily get me a decent case, an aftermarket cooler and an extra 8GB DDR4 RAM to make it 16GB in total if I add in a small amount.

Is it better to get the i5 and skimp cash on the cooler and case? Or to get a better case with better airflow that looks half decent as well as some extras?

Also if you have other suggestions (AMD) please suggest!

Kind regards.

 

[jaslion]

Now before you say "i5 has more cores, performs better in all games, better value" and so on, I need to give you some background.

I currently have a Pentium G2030 with 8GB DDR3 and a GTX 760 micro card.

I game, a lot. But prices here in South Africa are extremely high for PC parts. I play pretty much any game you can list from AOE II all the way to the more demanding Battlefield series (BF1 doesnt run well obviously) and even the CPU intensive Arma 3.

I am looking at upgrading come Christmas time and cash is being used for various things.

Now,

Do I need an i5? My pentium plays most games with a solid 45-60fps on 'good' settings at 1080p. But the problem is the heat as it stays at 100% usage all the time. Will getting an i3 help a great deal? Im not looking at maxing settings or anything, I just want a more enjoyable gaming experience than I currently get.

The price difference here between an i3 6100 and i5 6500 is immense. The difference between the two could easily get me a decent case, an aftermarket cooler and an extra 8GB DDR4 RAM to make it 16GB in total if I add in a small amount.

Is it better to get the i5 and skimp cash on the cooler and case? Or to get a better case with better airflow that looks half decent as well as some extras?

Also if you have other suggestions (AMD) please suggest!

Kind regards.

Just hold on a little longer. Zen launches in January next year so maybe that will be better value for you. If you want to upgrade this Christmas then you should go with the i3 because that is a big price difference. Don't forget that you'll need a new motherboard and ram if you get the new i3 6100.

 

[Random_G33K]

If I were you, I'd buy an i5 3rd gen if that's possible. With 6th gen, you'll won't be able to use your old DDR3 ram, which will add to your expenses and you'll need a new motherboard. The 3rd generation ones are much cheaper nowadays (used).If you want a new CPU, you can get the 4th generation i5 and a new motherboard, but your ram will be just.

 

[Herc08]

I'm not an AMD guy, but if you are JUST gaming then teh i3-6100 is good for you. Even down the line, if you want to upgrade to antoher Skylake you can. As far as budget goes, getting that 6100 will do you just fine. And allow you to grab other components are well. You honestly don't need a cooler since the 6100 comes with a stock cooler which is designed for the i3. An aftermarket cooler doesn't really help as well.

 

[Guest]

you should first update your motherboard's bios and make it compatible with haswell CPUs and then buy the i5 4590, its similar to the i5 6500 in terms of performance.

 

[bignastyid]

you should first update your motherboard's bios and make it compatible with haswell CPUs and then buy the i5 4590, its similar to the i5 6500 in terms of performance.

A bios update is not going to make his socket 1155 motherboard compatible with a socket 1150 CPU.

 

[bignastyid]

The i3 6100 is not a bad option, is a decent gaming cpu and you will have the option to upgrade later.

 

[spdragoo]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1258?vs=677 (3.0GHz G2030 vs. 3.3GHz i3-3220)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1258?vs=702 (3.0GHz G2030 vs. 3.2GHz i5-3470)

Those comparisons show your Ivy Bridge Pentium against comparable Ivy Bridge i3 & i5 chips. The single-core performance is about what you'd expect from the higher core clocks in the core i3/i5 chips. The multi-core performance, however, is where you see the big difference. For games & applications that can utilize more than 2 cores (or in some cases start to really require them, like BF1), the core i3/i5 chips readily outperform the Pentiums. Which is probably why Tom's Hardware puts that core i3 3 tiers above your Pentium (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html).

As for heat, you'll probably be just. Assuming your board will take it, that core i3 has the same TDP (55W) as your Pentium. The i5 runs a little hotter (77W TDP), but since it probably won't be stressed as much as your Pentium was it will probably be running about the same or cooler... & if you have some temp issues, a nice $20-30USD aftermarket cooler, or some additional $10-20USD case fans, will take care of it for you.