Pentium g3258 vs i3-4150 for gaming

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HahnSolo

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The Pentium has massive overclock-ability (up to 4.5 Ghz on stock cooler), but has only 2 threads and 2 cores. The i3 has 4 threads and 2 cores and hyper threading, which makes it close to a quad core level of performance, but it cant overclock. Im kind of torn between the two. The i3 is about $30 more expensive too. Which is better?
 
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Shneiky
All the synthetics everyone here is talking about (like PassMark for example) are the pinnacle of stupidity in this thread. As Rit_86 posted - take a look at Anandtech's review. At 4.7 GHz - the 3258 cant overtake a I3 4330.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8232/overclockable-pentium-anniversary-edition-review-the-intel-pentium-g3258-ae/4

And to get a 3258 at 4.7 GHz you need to spend money on a cooler and get extremely lucky. Why do you need to spend the same money that an i3 is, to buy a Pentium and a cooler and hope you win the silicon lottery. Not all 3258s can get to 4.5. It is not a safe bet. Just get an i3 and don't look back. It is painless, no OC involved, no cooler upgrade needed, no good OC motherboard required - it just...
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The G3258 can't reach 4.5 GHz on a stock cooler with comfortable temps and noise levels. It will sound like a jet engine. Even at 4.5 GHz, the G3258 is below the I3 in terms of performance. Just get the I3 and don't look back.
 
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If you look at the all the Test and FPS charts available you will see a G3258 overclocked to 4.5ghz and above surpasses all I3'a in nearly ever single title. I did buy and build a system based off a G3258 unfortunate that I could only get a stable O.C of 4.4ghz and in Gaming "WoW,GW2 raiding" it held 30FPS and above which was impressive and much better than the FX 8350 the unit replaced. I wasn't happy with the out of gaming performance we tend to Multi-Task heavily and it wasn't as nice in that aspect, in the end I bought a I5 4690K "'$179 Micro Center" and sold off the G3258.
 
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1) Hyperthreading can only add up to 30% boost and only if all threads can be utilized. At the same frequency you're likely to get no more than a 15% boost for well threaded games.

By that calculation you need to get to just over 4GHz for the G3258 to get similar performance to the G3258, or a LOWER frequency for games that aren't as well threaded (At least 3.7GHz to match i3-4160 if no HT benefit).

2) PASSMARK is a reference I usually use since it includes total theoretical performance (100% usage of CPU) as well as SINGLE THREAD performance. I've never had a problem with the results until today.

However Passmark says the single thread performance of the G3258 is slightly HIGHER than the i3-4160 which is not only a slightly better architecture (Pentium slightly stripped down) but also a higher frequency. That makes NO sense.

The i3-4160 has a higher score at 5011 (vs G3258 at 4016) due to the hyperthreading, but again single threading favors the G3258 by 5%? When the i3-4160 is just over 12% higher frequency?

The i3-4160 (3.6GHz) single thread performance should be over 12% higher to a G3258 at stock 3.2GHz and not lower at all.

3) *I concluded before that the i3-4160 beat the G3258 even with the G3258 overclocked slightly. I don't have all my links now but I'm not inclined to change my mind and think the Passmark G3258 score is likely incorrect.

The G3258 can beat the i3-4160 in EVERY game once overclocked high enough but then that requires a motherboard that's good enough and better CPU cooler both of which negate the value benefit. At say $35 for a CM "EVO" and $15 minimum for a higher quality board that's $50 I'd put towards a better CPU like the i3-4160.

Summary:
G3258 has its place depending on total budget. Either way, I strongly recommend ensuring the motherboard is reasonable quality.
 
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All the synthetics everyone here is talking about (like PassMark for example) are the pinnacle of stupidity in this thread. As Rit_86 posted - take a look at Anandtech's review. At 4.7 GHz - the 3258 cant overtake a I3 4330.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8232/overclockable-pentium-anniversary-edition-review-the-intel-pentium-g3258-ae/4

And to get a 3258 at 4.7 GHz you need to spend money on a cooler and get extremely lucky. Why do you need to spend the same money that an i3 is, to buy a Pentium and a cooler and hope you win the silicon lottery. Not all 3258s can get to 4.5. It is not a safe bet. Just get an i3 and don't look back. It is painless, no OC involved, no cooler upgrade needed, no good OC motherboard required - it just simple - buy and plug and play. Even if an 3258 at 4.7 point whatever something is faster than i3 4150 - is it worth to spend more to get that over clock than just going with the i3? Is it worth for the 1-2% difference? Nope.

 
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Solution




I have unselected this as the correct answer because your AnAndtech link is for a different, more expensive processor than the one that was mentioned before, and as you failed to point that out in your post, it would be easy to assume that you were looking at graphs of the 4160 and not the 4360.

To add to this, I found that a Polish website did the reviews and benches of a 4150 directly against a G3258 (only 100mhz) difference and found the difference was mainly in the style of game. Open world games, like the newer RAGE engine (GTAV, Max Payne 3) and Crysis 3 favoured the 4150 slightly, but most other games favoured the G3258 and it's superior single core performance, and as they say theres no substitute for single core performance. Link to discussion in English with slides: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2389795

Of course all I'm trying to do is present you with a fair view of your options:

go with a G3258 with a strong OC which you'll need a good cooler for it and gain better performance with the majority of older games, and most new ones (lets face it there are more single and/or thread unbalanced games) but lose out in open world multithread balanced games.

or go with a i3 4160, save money on a weaker CPU cooler and gain only a fps decrease in all games

or go with a i3 4360, get a fps increase in most games period, but spend more money on the chip and cooling.

 
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Have you gone through the difference between the 4150 and the 4330? It is negligible enough to be ignored, as in all likelihood he will be using a discrete graphics card.
Go to this link. http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i3-4330-vs-Intel-Core-i3-4150
Not to mention, the Anandtech tests already prove the i3's superiority over the pentium.
Also, the polish tests are nothing short of laughable. The pentium outperforming an i5 ??? or even an i3 outperforming a same gen i3?? Ridiculous. Those guys should test their methodology rigorously. These are statistical outliers that should disappear if testing is done enough number of times. Modern games are more optimized for multi-threaded processors and the i3 will age a lot better. Also, many games already require 4 cores as a minimum standard. The i3 may scrape through to run a few of them, while the pentium ? Not a chance.
 
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I am trolling because I showed you a benchmark where a G3258 beats a 4150 at all games except GTA V, Crysis 3 and Max Payne 3 and yet I am trolling. Did you actually read anything I wrote? The 100mhz is in comparison to the 4160 which was mentioned earlier in the thread.

The findings of all benchmark comparisons as a whole for gaming are that the extra meg of cache on the 43XX i3's along with the bigger on board graphics chip make absolutely negligable difference to gaming capability once a graphics card is thrown into the mix.(These are half an i7 chip after all,and designed for slightly better office/design/ compute work).
You may believe that gives you the right under forum rules to unselect a best answer,
Personally I think you are wrong in your opinion of the 41 vs 43 i3 chips in gaming.
I would hope a moderator reverses your cheeky meddling and banishes you to the cellar for a week.
You Cheeky ah heck.
Oh,look. Somebody already did.. Off to the cellar you scoundrel!
Click to expand...

A: Nothing of the sort happened, I was not banished, and you should be aware that speaking for the moderators is against most forum's TOS I've ever been to.

B: I would hope that you go to the Mods about this and have a talk to the relevant people.

I am no Cheeky ah heck, but it amuses me when a lot of people get p*ssed off about a genuine counter point. I provided links and benches of a OC G3258 vs a 4150, only 100mhz off the target chip, the 4160/4360. I didn't do it in search of points. I did it in search of the OP so he could read it.

Sorry I got your knickers in a bunch... or not.
 
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Where is your benchmark?

We are comparing here a 4.7 GHz Pentium G to a stock I3 and the G loses 1/3 of the time, while being almost equal the other times. You know how many Gs will hit 4.7 GHz? Not all. Most of the ones I have seen cap out at 4.5/4.6 and that is pushing quite a lot voltage through the chip. Overclocking is not a safe bet. And the safe bet of 4.5 GHz does not perform nearly as well as a stock plug and play I3.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8232/overclockable-pentium-anniversary-edition-review-the-intel-pentium-g3258-ae/4
 
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It seems people have a big issue following links and scrolling down these days so I will directly link each of the slides.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/arma3_1920n.png

2fps faster than both the 4460 quad core and the 4150 dual core @ 300mhz more than the i5 4460.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/bf4_1920n.png

8 fps faster than the 4150 dual core. 20fps behind the i5 4460.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/c3_r1920n.png

4 fps faster than the 4150 dual core. 15 fps behind the i5 4460.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/gta4_1920n.png

Beats everything including the i5 by 5 fps.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/civ5_1920n.png

Same story. Beats everything by 5 fps.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/w2_1920n.png

Wiedzmin 2 is The Witcher 2 in polish.

Again beats everything but the i5 that actually has 2 more cores than it.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/sc2_1920n.png

Same story but beats i5.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/tw_1920n.png

Same story but loses to i5 by 3fps.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/fsx_1920n.png

10fps ahead of everything, including Ivy i5@3200.

The end point is what it's always been; singlethread performance is king, and the G3258 at 4.7 (or 4.6 for that matter) has so much of it that the smaller cache, disabled instructions and lack of hyperthreading make this chip faster than the 4150 in the majority of games and applications. How easy it is or is not is not relevant to me. OP asked which is the best bang for buck and I intend to inform him fairly. If he can afford an i5 I would be directing him that way but he suggested against it, and everyone else is suggesting an i3. Right now that means talking up the G3258 because one Anandtech review does not necessarily tell the whole story.

http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/mp3_1920n.png
http://pclab.pl/zdjecia/artykuly/radek/2014/pentium_g3258/charts/wd_1920n.png

Now to make it balanced, it seems newer RAGE engine titles (and let's make this clear, I already said this but people don't seem to read too well) seem not to like it, but then they allow a 3.5Ghz dual core to beat a 3.2Ghz quad core whilst losing to a 4.7Ghz dual core on the same ISA, so it seems the game favors some advanced instructions that are in the i3 and i5 but can only address two cores. Same goes for that Disrupt Engine that Watch Dogs was built on.

Anyway, it seems quite clear that a reasoned comparison isn't going to be made by anyone but me so I bid you all farewell.

PS. I've used every G3258 slide on the originally linked page, *and* i listed them all in the order they appeared. Do not mistake the torrent of G3258 wins for cherry picking.
 
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Sorry to tell you, but pclab.pl has often proven to provide bench results that are non reproducible.

While if you check Tom's, Anandtech and Kitguru you would see that they are always in-line with each other (with a slight error of margin).

Not to mention that 4.7 GHz is most likely unreachable without a more expensive motherboard and the extra cooling. Overclocking the G will be more costly and bring almost nothing. I3 is just the way to go.
 
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There has been no mention of Skylake i3 yet, most likely won't be Sept.
 
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Asus H81M-PLUS + G3258 + Hyper 212 Evo = 4.6GHZ fairly easy I've done it twice now with 2 builds. Not many boards will run stable @ 4.7ghz. Gaming on a G3258 should only be considered for someone on a tight budget, as the gaming experience is not as fluid on the Pentiums as it is on a I3 though you may get a little more FPS in some titles but you will notice some annoying elements like Flickering and Stuttering to be more present. Frankly the G3258 is a nice chip but not something you want to keep if your into AAA titles at max or near max setting. For titles like LoL, Dota 2 this little Pentium is a fantastic value even before you overclock.
 
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someone forgot the relevance of frame-time variance, in games even if it prefers the pentium in terms of raw FPS, the number of usable threads decreases the overhead for each process which then reduces the effects of frame-time variance.


or to put it in other words... an i3 @ 3.5Ghz with 4 simultaneous threads takes 0.29nanoseconds to finish 4 processes at once, where as a pentium @ 4.5Ghz with 2 simultaneous threads takes 0.22nanoseconds to finish 2 processes at once.
in which if you compare per process performance, the pentium would take 0.44nanoseconds to finish 4 processes at once.

so in this case, even if the pentium has a higher overall throughput and performance, the instances of finishing multiple processes faster still favors the i3, as for it's relevance in frame-time variance, those processes that should've finished faster would've caused some delays to each frame, which is the main cause as to why we have minimum and maximum frame rates.

PS: 1GHz or 1GigaHertz is 1billion cycles per second, or each cycle takes 1billionth of a second.
 
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2 threads will run no modern title! ex: fc 4 cannot ever start in a pentium
 
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2 threads will run no modern title! ex: fc 4 cannot ever start in a pentium
Click to expand...

Are you sure?

Update: Far Cry 4 mostly utilizes your CPU's third core, barely tapping into the first two cores on a processor, as members of this Reddit thread first pointed out (and I've since confirmed on my own system). This seems like a case of poor PC optimization more than any inherent dual-core hardware limitation. Ubisoft has yet to respond to my request for comment.
Click to expand...

A few patches later and a 3rd party fix "Google Far Cry 4: How to fix Black Screen. ( Dual Core CPU FIX)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2v5evZgLqM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MXLpRs77uI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aZkoLmYPU
http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/257491-far-cry-4-actually-do-able-on-pentium-g3258/

A G3258 O.C. will run every game on the market but It wont exactly be a smooth enjoyable experience. It is what it is a Placeholder until you move to a I5. FC3,FC4,AC:Unity,Dragon Age: Inquisition are all piss poor Ports that will sometimes run better on a heavily overclocked G3258 than a I3 or even older I5's like a I5 2300. These games may claim to use 4 cores but there are lots of Forum posts out that prove this isn't always the case as the are still pretty CPU dependent and prefer to use certain Cores primary..

Now would I recommend a G3258 again to someone that has no damn clue what Motherboard and Cooler to get and to Overclock it to at least 4.5ghz? No, anyone that doesn't have the technical know how or even want to attempt to overclock should stick with a I3, Athlon II X4 860 or FX 6300 for a budget build. A G3258 is a Placeholder that your not going to want to keep around from more than a year if your really into gaming the Frame Skipping you get is quite annoying on heavy threaded Titles.
 
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Defintely. Here are some games that will not run or they will have a lot of lag and fps drop without using an unofficial patch mod or third-party software.
1>gta 5
2>watchdogs
3>far cry 4
4>the witcher 3
5>Batman: Arkham Knight
6>metal gear solid 5
7>cod advanced warfare
8>ac unity
9>ac syndicate

 
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I see one issues with that list, with the exception of GTA V that will run on a G3258 every other title is a Bad Port that has a long list of Complaints across multiple versions of Hardware. So will Bad Ports run on a Dual Core when the games prefer to use Core 3 or 4 primarily? No, not without some help. GTA V on the other hand will run at lower settings fine your just not going to want to do 1080p Ultra on it. GTA V is actually a pretty decent PC Port that is fairly optimized now and will run on just about anything provided you reduce the settings.
 
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In my personal exprerience, the Pentium is actually really good in world of tanks and world of warplanes, but loses in war thunder to my I3. The Pentium averages around 50 fps in wot, while the I3 averages around 50, but will drop to 30 when the team I'm on starts to get murdered. The pent drops to 40. In war thunder, the Pentium averages 60, along with the I3, but the Pentium drops to 40 while the I3 rarely drops to less than 50.

Although this is a very small test, on two very particular games, it shows 3 things: the Pentium has better single core speed (pointed out earlier), that both cpus are adequate to run newer titles smoothly, and that world of tanks still uses one core, which is pretty stupid :)

Pentium is oced to 4.6ghz, tested with 8gb Ddr3, cooler master hyper 212
 
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