i5 3450 or i5 6500

[Sahaj Pal]

Basically if I buy the i5 6500 I will have to get a new motherboard as well as a new kit of DDR4 RAM.

I'm currently running an i3 2120 and I really want to move to an i5 now. GTA V is pushing this CPU hard.

So my question is - is this old processor still relevant in terms of gaming performance? I feel yes but I could be very wrong. I compared the two cpus' specifications on intel's website and they look pretty much the same except the clock speed. Both have 6MB cache. But I'll admit I'm unable to find a good enough comparison between these two cpus.

Thanks for help.

 

[Ecky]

Each generation Intel improves performance 5-10% per clock, and gives a slight stock clockspeed bump. An i5 6500 will perform 20-30% better than a 3xxx i5 due to improved performance per clock and slightly higher clocks. The older i5 will still be relevant in games, but you might even consider an i7, either 2600 or 3770, because modern games (especially GTA V) are starting to use the extra threads an i7 has. I imagine an older i7 would still cost less than a new i5 + board + RAM, and performance would be pretty similar as i7's generally have a ~30% advantage over same-generation i5's. It will vary from game to game, of course.

 

[secret179]

Get a used i7 3770 , now most games use more and more threads

 

[Sahaj Pal]

Get a used i7 3770 , now most games use more and more threads

Wow actually that's a great idea. Picked as best solution.