Should I Buy the Pentium 3258?

[DarkAddo]

Here are my current PC Specs

Pentium G3220
MSI H81i Mini-ITX Mobo
8GB G. SKill Ripjaws
Cooler Master Elite 130 Case
R9 270
Rosewill Arc-M450 PSU

My question is would it be worth it to upgrade to a G3258 (I am fairly strapped for cash) or should I save and get an 860k/AMD mobo.

Also, would I be able to OC the pentium given my case and PSU or should I not attempt that. What do you guys think? Thanks!

 

[Geekwad]

Depends on what you're primarily using it for. What kind of games do you play, and do you use any productivity applications (Photoshop, etc)?

 

[Karadjgne]

Xeon 1230v3. It's a locked i7 without the igpu. Or a i7 4790. Your board will handle either, have better performance over a broader range than a fm2 860k, and is roughly equitable in price. 4 cores+HT (8 threads) beats an OC dual core in everything but single threaded games like vanilla skyrim. Current generation and more future generation games are veering away from single threads and using 4 or more threads as code complexity is forcing the issue.

If all you are interested in is LoL or CS:Go or minecraft, stick with the g3258 +OC, otherwise start looking at quad cores as a minimum.

 

[DarkAddo]

Ok but would I be able to overclock the 3258 with what I have now?

 

[Karadjgne]

Yes, I do believe so. The pentium has such a low TDP that even overclocked decently, its still less than some of the more powerful cpus. You have a H81 LGA1150 motherboard, it will accept any LGA1150 cpu physically but may require a bios upgrade for the Haswell Refresh or Broadwell cpus. It's only drawback is that it is an H board, so won't accept OC other than in special circumstances like the g3258.

 

[DarkAddo]

Yes, I do believe so. The pentium has such a low TDP that even overclocked decently, its still less than some of the more powerful cpus. You have a H81 LGA1150 motherboard, it will accept any LGA1150 cpu physically but may require a bios upgrade for the Haswell Refresh or Broadwell cpus. It's only drawback is that it is an H board, so won't accept OC other than in special circumstances like the g3258.

Alright then. That's really all I needed to know. However I was browsing around for older Xeon chips because I remembered seeing a used one on Amazon and then I stumbled across this--

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Intel/80601W3530U/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_campaign=googlebase&gclid=Cj0KEQjwy92wBRCl7trx4PaIo8EBEiQASPhtC5zaB8_7JS3g3sqOPAzpn24bJgw9h9X6qKYa78Etf4IaAsuK8P8HAQ

Is there any reason that this is so cheap? If it's completely authentic and legitimate then would it be worth it to switch my entire build over to one that could accomodate this?

 

[Karadjgne]

No. It's old. As in lga775 Era old.

 

[jeffredo]

Intel and Microsoft released a microcode update last summer that restricts the installation of Windows 10 on non-Z series motherboards when using a Pentium G3258. There are work arounds (basically turning off one core of the CPU) and some manufacturers have released updated BIOS, but often those only allow two cores to be used but not to be overclocked. There is a workaround that involves renaming a file to get Windows 10 to install and overclock, but I'm not sure of the particulars. Basically, its kind of a crap shoot if you're going to use Windows 10 whether you can install it and overclock a G3258 on anything but a Z87/Z97 motherboard. I enjoy my G3258, but I have a Z97 motherboard for it and regardless, I have no plans to install Windows 10 on that PC.

 

[DarkAddo]

No. It's old. As in lga775 Era old.

Alright. Then what about this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-W3565-3-2-GHz-Quad-Core-CPU-Processor-SLBEV-LGA-1366-/271917848632?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

I am pretty sure it's newer. The only question I really have with this one is would I be able to use normal RAM with it?

 

[Karadjgne]

Lga1366 was released in Nov. 2008. It was meant to be the 'upgrade' high end boards for lga775, kinda like how 2011 is the high end for 1155. The 2011 Sandy-Bridge E was released in 2011 as the successor for 1366, and 1366 was discontinued in 2012 at the same time as 1156. What all this means is the Xeons you looked at are the 2011 versions of lga775. The cpus are relatively cheap, because they refuse to die if taken care of, but motherboards are a whole different story. Capacitors have a shelf life once used, they start to degrade, albeit very slowly, so any used 1366 board is looking at a very short lifespan. You'd have to find a board that's either brand new (China has some I believe) or a board that's been completely refurbished/rebuilt from scratch and then there's no guarantee that the person doing it is 100% reliable and above board.

You are looking backwards and being pushed that way by the budget, its not fair, but it's also not the right direction to go.

Edit: eBay prices for new/refurbished boards worth buying range from @$150-$500

 

[DarkAddo]

Lga1366 was released in Nov. 2008. It was meant to be the 'upgrade' high end boards for lga775, kinda like how 2011 is the high end for 1155. The 2011 Sandy-Bridge E was released in 2011 as the successor for 1366, and 1366 was discontinued in 2012 at the same time as 1156. What all this means is the Xeons you looked at are the 2011 versions of lga775. The cpus are relatively cheap, because they refuse to die if taken care of, but motherboards are a whole different story. Capacitors have a shelf life once used, they start to degrade, albeit very slowly, so any used 1366 board is looking at a very short lifespan. You'd have to find a board that's either brand new (China has some I believe) or a board that's been completely refurbished/rebuilt from scratch and then there's no guarantee that the person doing it is 100% reliable and above board.

You are looking backwards and being pushed that way by the budget, its not fair, but it's also not the right direction to go.

Edit: eBay prices for new/refurbished boards worth buying range from @$150-$500

Alright then. I think what I'm going to end up doing is saving my money for a month or two and then getting an i4-4460. I'm only 16 so I don't really have a steady income for what I want :3. Thanks for your help though

 

[Karadjgne]

That sounds like a much better option, the 4460 is a good strong chip and at 3.2GHz you are pretty much covered for minimum reqs on any game.