Intel HD graphics 2500 (i5 3450)

[wirowi]

Hello all!
I've been reading parts of the forum for a while but yeah, this is the first time I'm actually posting.
So, I have this dilemma. Soon I will be building a new gaming computer for myself(on a Full HD 23" monitor).
The thing is I'm on a tight budget and I'll probably have 2 possibilities:

1. i3 2120 + gtx 560ti (it has a really good price in my country now; the same as the cheapest 560 nonTIs)
or
2. i5 3450 and no dedicated GPU at the begining; one would be purchased ... lets say 3-4 months later than the rest of the PC

I know I'm talking about integrated graphics with the i5 3450 so I'm not thinking of playing any metro 2033 on it lol but during that 3-4 months period I would like to play 2 mmos: 9Dragons and the soon to be launched Age of Wulin/Age of Wushu. I would like to know if the games would run on i5 3450's integrated gpu. JUST run and by this I mean keeping everything on low and using a lower resolution than 1920 x 1080 (maybe you could recommend an appropriate resolution), but with playable fps. I only need playable, no fancy graphics.

9Dragons minimum requirements:
- CPU: Pentium 3 1GHz
- GPU: 512MB
- RAM: GeForce MX

Age of Wulin minimum requirements:
- CPU: Pentium 4 2.4Ghz
- GPU: GeForce 6600
- RAM: 1GB

I'd like the i5 because I believe it's more future-proof. By buying the i3, I would probably have to change the platform in 2 years but I believe I can keep the i5 for at least 4 years and it would still handle games alright. It just seems easier to add/replace a GPU than the whole CPU+Mobo.

What do you think? Should I go with the i3 2120+gtx 560ti or the i5 3450+ later on a dedicated gpu?
Maybe if I go with the i3 2120, by the time I'll feel the need to change my CPU there will be brand new cpu monsters out there with way better technology and performance than ivy.

Waiting for your advice!

 

[jaguarskx]

You should not have any problems with 9Dragons, but the HD 2500 would be below the minimum specs for Age of Wulin.

The best advice I can give you is to suffer for the next 3-4 months because the i5-3450 should last you much longer than an i3-2120 so it saves you money in the long run.

 

[nacos]

The i3 2120 is very powerful for the price. I wouldn't recommend an i5 over it unless you want to overclock/absolutely need 4 physical cores. The money would be better spent on a gpu upgrade. If you are willing to wait, the i3 3220 should come out quarter 3 this year for $135(correct me if I'm wrong)

 

[anirudh1]

why dont u get a phenom ii 965 ? and a gtx 560ti. it would give u decent frame rates

 

[wirowi]

Thanks for the answers guys!

@jaguarskx
'The long run' is what I was thinking about. An i5 will definitely last longer. As my laptop runs Age of Wulin on low-medium I could wait a bit longer 'til I have more $$ for both i5 3450 and a good gpu. I wanted to give my lappy a break xD
I might just wait as well and see what the rest of the Kepler series brings us performance and price-wise.

@nacos
No, I don't absolutely need 4 physical cores and I really don't overclock so you have a really good point there xD. Even though I've never seen an i3 2120 'in action' everybody says it's really good and I like the reviews and test results.

@anirudh1
I'm not much of an amd fan. I've always had intel cpus and I'm really just used to them. And from what I've read the phenom beats the i3 2120 only in quad core optimized programs/games. I might be wrong though.

 

[anirudh1]

ya.. only in quad core optimized games/programs . . . But if a lot of games start using 4 cores next year then i3 may suffer. the i5-3450 is only $150 in microcenter

 

[wirowi]

Unfortunately I'm not from the US. That's a really, really good price.The cheapest here is $250 🙁
I'll wait some more ... at least until ivy i3 and the rest of the kepler series come out. Maybe by then I'll have a larger budget or gpu prices will be dragged down a bit by the keplers. Even if this doesn't happen I'll stick with the i5 3450 as got some really good info about it yesterday. It'll be enough, graphic-wise, for a while.

 

[anirudh1]

oh. where are u from ? which country?