Pentium G5500 or i3 7100

[burnhamjs]

I am looking to build a PC. Mostly a HTPC - some light gaming. I'm trying to decide between the Pentium G5500 and the i3 7100. The i3 7100 is currently $33 more then the G5500 - but is still in budget.

Spec wise they are quite similar.

The 7100 has a very slightly higher clock (3.9 vs 3.8), but the G5500 has a bit more cache (4MB vs 3MB). Nearly insignificant.

For a HTPC - power is a consideration - as more power/heat means more fan/noise. The 7100 uses slighly less power (51w vs 54w). Nearly insignificant.

Everything else appears the same although the 7100 supports Optane Memory and advanced instructions (AVX2) - but I don't see any need for these.

Thoughts either way? Anything I am not considering? Also, if you have a preference - do you have a motherboard preference? I don't need anything fancy here as it's for gaming.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Basically you are paying $33 more for 100mhz clock speed increase. Definitely not worth it for a HTPC. The Pentium G5500 was made for your use case.

I would not even consider the 7100 now that the 8100 has been released as the 8100 is a true quad core. But for a HTPC, the G5500 will do fine.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Choose between Pentium Gold G5400 and i3-8100.
For motherboard - get any B360 or H370 model.

There's no reason even to look at i3-7100. Plus i3-7100 requires different motherboard than i3-8100, G5400, G5500.

 

[InvalidError]

For a HTPC - power is a consideration - as more power/heat means more fan/noise. The 7100 uses slighly less power (51w vs 54w). Nearly insignificant.

TDP alone is insignificant, that's only a worst-case figure guideline, actual power draw under typical use will usually be much lower, especially under HTPC loads which are mostly (really) low. Playing a 1080p x264 videos on my PC uses 3% of my i5-3470 and puts a 13W load on the VRM. The power draw should be even lower on newer CPUs.

If you don't already own the motherboard, I'd go with the i3-8100/H370 instead of i3-7100/H270 as physical cores give you about twice the potential performance compared to HT.

 

[burnhamjs]

I would not even consider the 7100 now that the 8100 has been released as the 8100 is a true quad core. But for a HTPC, the G5500 will do fine.

I had looked at the 8100, but while its a quad core - the it's a 3.6GHz vs a 3.9GHz. Most of my applications are single core and single core benchmarks for the 7100 are better.

 

[burnhamjs]

Choose between Pentium Gold G5400 and i3-8100.
For motherboard - get any B360 or H370 model.

There's no reason even to look at i3-7100. Plus i3-7100 requires different motherboard than i3-8100, G5400, G5500.

I had looked at the 8100, but while its a quad core - the it's a 3.6GHz vs a 3.9GHz. Most of my applications are single core and single core benchmarks for the 7100 are better.

Why the G5400 over the G5500? (price difference is $10)

 

[burnhamjs]

For a HTPC - power is a consideration - as more power/heat means more fan/noise. The 7100 uses slighly less power (51w vs 54w). Nearly insignificant.

TDP alone is insignificant, that's only a worst-case figure guideline, actual power draw under typical use will usually be much lower, especially under HTPC loads which are mostly (really) low. Playing a 1080p x264 videos on my PC uses 3% of my i5-3470 and puts a 13W load on the VRM. The power draw should be even lower on newer CPUs.

If you don't already own the motherboard, I'd go with the i3-8100/H370 instead of i3-7100/H270 as physical cores give you about twice the potential performance compared to HT.

I had looked at the 8100, but while its a quad core - the it's a 3.6GHz vs a 3.9GHz. Most of my applications are single core and single core benchmarks for the 7100 are better.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

I would not even consider the 7100 now that the 8100 has been released as the 8100 is a true quad core. But for a HTPC, the G5500 will do fine.

I had looked at the 8100, but while its a quad core - the it's a 3.6GHz vs a 3.9GHz. Most of my applications are single core and single core benchmarks for the 7100 are better.

Userbenchmark shows a 3% difference in favor of the 7100 for single core performance. Where the multi core performance difference is 40% in favor of the 8100. For the applications that run on single cores, you will never see a difference in 3%. But for the applications that run on multi cores, you will definitely see a difference in 40%.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-8100-vs-Intel-Core-i3-7100/3942vs3891

The release of the 8100 rendered the 7100 moot.

 

[burnhamjs]

I would not even consider the 7100 now that the 8100 has been released as the 8100 is a true quad core. But for a HTPC, the G5500 will do fine.

I had looked at the 8100, but while its a quad core - the it's a 3.6GHz vs a 3.9GHz. Most of my applications are single core and single core benchmarks for the 7100 are better.

Userbenchmark shows a 3% difference in favor of the 7100 for single core performance. Where the multi core performance difference is 40% in favor of the 8100. For the applications that run on single cores, you will never see a difference in 3%. But for the applications that run on multi cores, you will definitely see a difference in 40%.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-8100-vs-Intel-Core-i3-7100/3942vs3891

The release of the 8100 rendered the 7100 moot.

Yea, good point. So - for my application (HTPC, light gaming) would you recommend the i3 8100 over the Pentium G5500? The Pentium isn't a quad core - but is 3.8GHz vs 3.6GHz and has hyperthreading where there i3 8100 doesn't.

The Pentium G5500 seems to provide a great value (as the Kaby Lake Pentium G4560 did), the i3 8100 is only $38 more....Wish there were some better comparisons/benchtests between the i3 8100 and G5500

 

[feelinfroggy777]

For playing movies on a HTPC, the G5500 is more than adequate. But for gaming, you may want a true quad core CPU. While the G5500 has hyperthreading, the 8100 has 2 extra cores. Both CPUs have 4 threads, but performance is exponentially better on actual cores instead of logical cores.

I don't know your budget, but for me, I would spend the extra $30 and get the 8100. But I am also a junkie

 

[burnhamjs]

For playing movies on a HTPC, the G5500 is more than adequate. But for gaming, you may want a true quad core CPU. While the G5500 has hyperthreading, the 8100 has 2 extra cores. Both CPUs have 4 threads, but performance is exponentially better on actual cores instead of logical cores.

I don't know your budget, but for me, I would spend the extra $30 and get the 8100. But I am also a junkie

The $30 extra is definitely in my budget.

Do you think the 8100 would pair nicely with the Gigabyte H370 HD3 mobo? Or is there another you would suggest?

I have a "spare" GeForce GTX 960 I was going to use for this build. My other parts:
Case: Corsair 100R Silent ATX Mid
Cooler: Cryorig H7
PSU: RMx550
Mem: Patriot Viper Elite 2 x 4Gb DDR4-2800 (though I may up this to 2 x 8Gb)
Storage: WD Blue 250GB M.2 SSD
WD Blue 2TB Hard Drive
Optical: LG 16NS40 Blu-Ray Writer

pcpartpicker link: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2C2L29

 

[feelinfroggy777]

For playing movies on a HTPC, the G5500 is more than adequate. But for gaming, you may want a true quad core CPU. While the G5500 has hyperthreading, the 8100 has 2 extra cores. Both CPUs have 4 threads, but performance is exponentially better on actual cores instead of logical cores.

I don't know your budget, but for me, I would spend the extra $30 and get the 8100. But I am also a junkie

The $30 extra is definitely in my budget.

Do you think the 8100 would pair nicely with the Gigabyte H370 HD3 mobo? Or is there another you would suggest?

I have a "spare" GeForce GTX 960 I was going to use for this build. My other parts:
Case: Corsair 100R Silent ATX Mid
Cooler: Cryorig H7
PSU: RMx550
Mem: Patriot Viper Elite 2 x 4Gb DDR4-2800 (though I may up this to 2 x 8Gb)
Storage: WD Blue 250GB M.2 SSD
WD Blue 2TB Hard Drive
Optical: LG 16NS40 Blu-Ray Writer

pcpartpicker link: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2C2L29

That motherboard is perfect for the 8100. You don't have to use an aftermarket cooler if you want too. The 8100 comes with a stock cooler that will be fine. But the stock cooler is loud and for HTPC it can be important to have a quite system. The Noctua NH-L9i is a low profile and quite CPU cooler that you may want to consider.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gGXZ8d
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gGXZ8d/by_merchant/

CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($38.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $38.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-17 12:32 EDT-0400

 

[burnhamjs]

For playing movies on a HTPC, the G5500 is more than adequate. But for gaming, you may want a true quad core CPU. While the G5500 has hyperthreading, the 8100 has 2 extra cores. Both CPUs have 4 threads, but performance is exponentially better on actual cores instead of logical cores.

I don't know your budget, but for me, I would spend the extra $30 and get the 8100. But I am also a junkie

The $30 extra is definitely in my budget.

Do you think the 8100 would pair nicely with the Gigabyte H370 HD3 mobo? Or is there another you would suggest?

I have a "spare" GeForce GTX 960 I was going to use for this build. My other parts:
Case: Corsair 100R Silent ATX Mid
Cooler: Cryorig H7
PSU: RMx550
Mem: Patriot Viper Elite 2 x 4Gb DDR4-2800 (though I may up this to 2 x 8Gb)
Storage: WD Blue 250GB M.2 SSD
WD Blue 2TB Hard Drive
Optical: LG 16NS40 Blu-Ray Writer

pcpartpicker link: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2C2L29

That motherboard is perfect for the 8100. You don't have to use an aftermarket cooler if you want too. The 8100 comes with a stock cooler that will be fine. But the stock cooler is loud and for HTPC it can be important to have a quite system. The Noctua NH-L9i is a low profile and quite CPU cooler that you may want to consider.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gGXZ8d
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gGXZ8d/by_merchant/

CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($38.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $38.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-17 12:32 EDT-0400

The cryorig H7 is a good quiet unit as well for $35. Do you like the Noctua better then the Cryorig?

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/93Crxr/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h7

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Cryorig makes good coolers for a decent price. I have no issues with it. I made a HTPC several years ago and used the Noctua NG-L9i and I liked it a lot. This is why I suggested it. I also needed it because it was a low profile cooler and I was building a very small form factor HTPC.

 

[burnhamjs]

Cryorig makes good coolers for a decent price. I have no issues with it. I made a HTPC several years ago and used the Noctua NG-L9i and I liked it a lot. This is why I suggested it. I also needed it because it was a low profile cooler and I was building a very small form factor HTPC.

Right. The first case I was considering (Silverstone) would have required something like the Noctua. I was planning to use the EVO 212 as I used that in other builds (I higher end gamer for my son) - but it would be tight in the Corsair case. The cryorig fits and should be quieter as well. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Cole_9]

I would not even consider the 7100 now that the 8100 has been released as the 8100 is a true quad core. But for a HTPC, the G5500 will do fine.

I had looked at the 8100, but while its a quad core - the it's a 3.6GHz vs a 3.9GHz. Most of my applications are single core and single core benchmarks for the 7100 are better.

Userbenchmark shows a 3% difference in favor of the 7100 for single core performance. Where the multi core performance difference is 40% in favor of the 8100. For the applications that run on single cores, you will never see a difference in 3%. But for the applications that run on multi cores, you will definitely see a difference in 40%.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-8100-vs-Intel-Core-i3-7100/3942vs3891

The release of the 8100 rendered the 7100 moot.

I agree. I would rather spend a little more to get a true quad core cpu rather than a dual core with hyper threading. It is so worth it considering the multicore performance alone.