i5 2nd gen cpu or i3 3rd gen cpu?

[Exodias3219]

Hello! I'm picking between these two since they have a small difference in price. And also I want to consult which H61 chipset motherboard brand will allow me to easily install a high frequency memory. I'm pairing the cpu and the motherboard to a GTX 560, 450 watts power supply, m-atx case and a 500gb HDD. Please avoid recommending higher gen cpu. Thanks!

 

[dotas1]

Which models exactly?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

what are exact CPU models ?
Generally, i5 is better since it has more real cores.

 

[Exodias3219]

Which models exactly?

I'm picking between these:


Core i3-32xx
Core i5-23xx
Core i5-24xx

or Core i3-21xx

 

[Exodias3219]

what are exact CPU models ?
Generally, i5 is better since it has more real cores.

Which models exactly?

I'm picking between these:


Core i3-32xx
Core i5-23xx
Core i5-24xx

or Core i3-21xx

 

[n0ns3ns3]

if it's almost the same price, the i5-2400 is of course the best option among them.
unless it's going to be some "office productivity" or "internet surfing" rig.

Regarding MB, I'd avoid MSI/Biostar/ASRock.
Both Asus and Gygabyte are decent options though I prefer the former.

 

[Exodias3219]

if it's almost the same price, the i5-2400 is of course the best option among them.
unless it's going to be some "office productivity" or "internet surfing" rig.

Regarding MB, I'd avoid MSI/Biostar/ASRock.
Both Asus and Gygabyte are decent options though I prefer the former.

how about their BIOS? are they already install and run?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

What about their BIOS ?
for 2nd gen you just install the CPU and go. Once you have installed the OS, check for the latest BIOS version and install it.

 

[Exodias3219]

What about their BIOS ?
for 2nd gen you just install the CPU and go. Once you have installed the OS, check for the latest BIOS version and install it.

Will my gpu GTX 560 and 450w psu work fine with the cpu and mobo? Also I'm planning to put an Avexir LED memory for the H61 motherboard, will it work?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

The GPU will work. Have no idea what PSU you have, so no idea if and how it will work. In theory, 450watt is enough for such setup. But it comes down to the quality of PSU as this card is somewhere between 150 and 200watt. So a low quality PSU might (and probably will) fail.

Now about RAM - AFAIR, H61 do not support manual RAM configuration and support only DDR3-1066/1333.

I don't know what your budget and what you can get for it, So here are few points for you to consider:
Instead of flashy RAM, it would be better to invest in a better MB to have support for faster RAM. there is up to 15-20% performance boost in going from DDR3-1066 to DDR3-1866 (which can be easily achievable with overclock on DDR3-1600. basically my DDR3-1866 is happily running at 2800MHz) in quite a few games. So ultimately, you might want to get an overclockable i5 with supporting chipset. Or at least the later. Cant imagine there is a big difference in price between H61 and P67/Z68 based motherboards.
Even better idea would be to get one of the following:
1. B75 Q75 Q77 H77 - to be able to overclock the non K CPU by 5-10% using BCLK
2. Z75 Z77 - to have complete control on overclocking.
those boards also come with higher speed memory support and more important with PCIe 3.0 over P67/Z68. That will have better compatibility with newer cards. For example, a GTX 1050Ti which performs similarly to GTX 680 is leaps and bounds above the GTX 560 will cost well under 100$ in a year.
The above will probably cost a bit more, but will serve you much longer while providing better performance and upgrade path.