Intel Core i3 2100 Vs AMD Phenom X4 955 for GAMING.

[doron]

You'll be happy with both options. I personally own a phenom x4 at 3.5ghz and am really happy with it, including with titles like starcraft II which are cpu-heavy and only use 2 cores. I also game at 1920x1080.

Personally if I had to choose right now I would go for the i3, though. You'll be satisfied with it. As for multitasking, the cpu supports hyperthreading (each core has 2 threads) which may not come close to 4 actual cores but each sandy bridge core is stronger than phenom so it's still alright. You also have a stronger upgrade path as you can get a very strong 4 core sandy bridge and it's almost certain that ivy bridge will incorporate socket 1155 so you'll be able to upgrade to that - At 1024x760, though, I really doubt it if you'll need to.

But if you can afford to wait a couple of monthes tops, I really think you should. Bulldozer is right around the corner and even if it'll disappoint it's still going to be somewhat competitive and drive prices down.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

You'll be happy with both options. I personally own a phenom x4 at 3.5ghz and am really happy with it, including with titles like starcraft II which are cpu-heavy and only use 2 cores. I also game at 1920x1080.

Personally if I had to choose right now I would go for the i3, though. You'll be satisfied with it. As for multitasking, the cpu supports hyperthreading (each core has 2 threads) which may not come close to 4 actual cores but each sandy bridge core is stronger than phenom so it's still alright. You also have a stronger upgrade path as you can get a very strong 4 core sandy bridge and it's almost certain that ivy bridge will incorporate socket 1155 so you'll be able to upgrade to that - At 1024x760, though, I really doubt it if you'll need to.

But if you can afford to wait a couple of monthes tops, I really think you should. Bulldozer is right around the corner and even if it'll disappoint it's still going to be somewhat competitive and drive prices down.

This explains it all.

 

[rickytrux11]

okay.....thanks.

Can you tell me how to hyperthread the i3 2100??

I want to get the best performance from the cpu for gaming but without doing anything against its warranty.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

okay.....thanks.

Can you tell me how to hyperthread the i3 2100??

I want to get the best performance from the cpu for gaming but without doing anything against its warranty.

Hyperthreading is a inbuilt feature.It is automatically used the first time you use your pc but also you can turn it off in bios.

 

[rickytrux11]

Hyperthreading is a inbuilt feature.It is automatically used the first time you use your pc but also you can turn it off in bios.

So, according to Doron and you the i3 2100 is the ultimate choice for 1024*768 resolution?

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

So, according to Doron and you the i3 2100 is the ultimate choice for 1024*768 resolution?

Of course there are better which is i5 2500k.But yeah if you want a great cpu for games at that price then go for the i3 2100.

 

[enewmen]

I vote for the i3. It's just a newer design and runs cooler.
If you can wait for Bulldozer or Ivy Bridge, that will be even better.

I'm personally waiting for Skymount, that's 4 generations past Ivy Bridge..

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

I vote for the i3. It's just a newer design and runs cooler.
If you can wait for Bulldozer or Ivy Bridge, that will be even better.

I'm personally waiting for Skymount, that's 4 generations past Ivy Bridge..

Skymount is almost 2017 which is 6 years away.

 

[enewmen]

Skymount is almost 2017 which is 6 years away.

Not to get of topic.
IvyBridge 2012, Haswell 2013, Broadwell, 2014, Skylake 2015, Skymount, 2016.
Yup, I guess your right. I should have said waiting for Broadwell.

 

[rickytrux11]

Okay will the i3 2100 be able to handle games which require more than two cores like GTA 4 and BFBC 2 with the radeon 6670 at 1024*768 at highest settings?

 

[jaguarskx]

The Core i3-2100 should be able to handle games that requires a quad core well enough. You can always upgrade to a Core i5 later when you save up money. Also, you buy a P67 or Z68 motherboard chances are good that a BIOS will be released so that you can upgrade to an Ivy Bridge CPU next year.

Unfortunately, I cannot find any benchmarks test for GTA 4, but below is a Mafia II benchmark. The games does seem to use up to 4 cores.

The Core i3 only losses by 0.9 frame, or 1%. No bad.


Below are benchmarks for games that uses at least 2 cores.

Core i3 beats the Phenom II x4 955, by 11%.

Core i3 beats the Phenom II x4 955, by almost 31%.

Core i3 beats the Phenom II x4 955, by 9%.

Core i3 beats the Phenom II x4 955, by 22%. I believe Metro 2033 uses 3 cores, but I am not exactly sure.

Core i3 beats the Phenom II x4 955, by almost 13%.


On average, the Core i3 beats the Phenom II x4 955 by 17% for games that do not absolutely use 4 cores. These represents the majority of games produced. GTA 4 needs a quad core CPU to perform will because it is a crap port of a console game. Will BF3 perform like Mafia II on a Core i3 loosing by only 1% to a Phenom II x4 955? I don't know. The game is still being developed/polished.

 

[jaguarskx]

Oh, the video card used to benchmark those games with the various CPU is a Radeon HD 6970.

Here is a link to the [strike]Anantech[/strike] Xbitlabs review:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2120-2100_2.html#sect0



Edit:

Ummmm.... <cough> typo <cough>

 

[ionut19]

And yet it says xbitlabs :d .

 

[rickytrux11]

People also say that all those benchmarks was taken without use of background apps like antivirus. So the i3 wins. But in the real world when the antivirus and other little apps will run along with the game the four cores of the Phenom x4 955 will be used. Then the i3 will be beaten.

What do you guys say?

 

[iam2thecrowe]

^ i say antivirus doesnt use the cpu all the time, only when running a scan, so the i3 still wins. Unless your encoding some video in the background while running your game, which would be pretty silly, then the phenom x4 will win.

 

[jaguarskx]

And yet it says xbitlabs :d .

Ooops. I meant to type Xbitlabs. I had both sites opened in separate tabs.

 

[jaguarskx]

People also say that all those benchmarks was taken without use of background apps like antivirus.

I don't know anyone who performs a system scan while playing a game.

 

[rickytrux11]

BTW how much the phenom 955 be easily overclocked?

 

[rickytrux11]

Thanks for all your help and replies.

 

[Raidur]

IMO (for gaming), I'd rather have the available upgrade path of the i5-2500k, unless AMD can pull a serious IPC increase.

 

[pckitty4427]

The i3 is dual core and the X4 is quad core so I'd assume the X4 would be faster.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

I don't know anyone who performs a system scan while playing a game.

Me too.

 

[Raidur]

The i3 is dual core and the X4 is quad core so I'd assume the X4 would be faster.

Most games use 1 or 2 cores. Most of the games that use more, use 3 cores. Core scaling (performance gained by adding more cores) is very poor in most games that support it as it is.

The speed difference per clock is just too intense between Phenom II and Sandy Bridge, not to mention the power difference between the Phenom II X4 and the i3 is another huge perk.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

I know, it's frightening that AMD's fastest CPUs cannot keep up with Intel's low end dual core in gaming.

We can only pray BD will bring some huge IPC increase to keep Intel's finest CPU's prices at bay, however doubtful. Not to mention Ivy will come out then and bring another 10-15% OC headroom.

And all these Intel CPUs are the Mainstream! Just wait til they release the good (enthusiast) stuff on the good chipset. *shutter

 

[jaguarskx]

The i3 is dual core and the X4 is quad core so I'd assume the X4 would be faster.

You should look at the game benchmark charts I posted above rather than just assume.

 

[rickytrux11]

Me too.

lol....i did say about performing a antivirus scan at the time of gaming....i just said that the antivirus sofware will be running in the background while gaming....cuz antivirus starts running as soon we start up our systems....