intel xeon e3 1231 v3 - which Ghz for gaming should I buy?

[hunan1]

Question is in the title. Also, take into account that I'm on a budget so cheaper is better, without sacrificing too much performance. I would like to make a note that I will be using applications like adobe premiere and sony vegas. I noticed when looked at different versions of this CPU, there's different versions available: 3.1 Ghz. 3.2 Ghz, 3.4 Ghz. They all vary in price, and I'm trying to opt for a cheap build so I was wondering which would be the best to suit my needs (I'm hoping to play newer games e.g. Tom clancy's: the division, etc..).

 

[Barty1884]

Your question isn't really clear. The E3-1231 V3 is a 3.4GHz (turbo'ing to 3.8GHz), so there's no alternatives of higher or lower GHz on that chip.

The Xeon is a great chip when your needs call for an i7, but you have a GPU (workstation, for example) as it's essentially an i7 without the graphics. It can be used to game pretty well indeed - if you can source it for a cheap price.

For gaming, an i5 is all you need, and you can also overclock an i5 (assuming you buy the right one, of course).
For example, the 1231 is somewhere around $250US usually.....
The latest unlocked, Skylake i5 is also right in that pricepoint: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80662i56600k
And it's actually more "fit for purpose".

You can look at Haswell i5's too: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k
Same idea, in the $200-$250 range.

For gaming, I'd honestly say there's no reason to consider a Xeon (again, unless you want a 'workstation' rig, that can also game).

 

[logainofhades]

Depends on what they do other than game, and how CPU intensive the games they play are. I have that problem, and am at a point of needing an i7. I game on one monitor, and web browse, watch video, ect, on another. WoW and GW2 are quite CPU heavy, especially GW2, and I have had stuttering problems, when trying to play one of those, and doing stuff on the other monitor.

 

[Barty1884]

Depends on what they do other than game, and how CPU intensive the games they play are. I have that problem, and am at a point of needing an i7. I game on one monitor, and web browse, watch video, ect, on another. WoW and GW2 are quite CPU heavy, especially GW2, and I have had stuttering problems, when trying to play one of those, and doing stuff on the other monitor.

Oh absolutely. We don't have all the information from the OP. Consider they're "on a budget", the Xeon may well be the best option. I just hope they come back to clarify what they're doing. "for gaming" is a pretty generic statement and, as you point out, the answer may well depend on a specific game.