Which is Better for Gaming?

[LucaFire]

So I'm planning to build a gaming PC and I was wondering, which one's better?
Here's the build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($47.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($91.75 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Cooler Master Blade Master 76.8 CFM 120mm Fan ($7.95 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Cooler Master Blade Master 76.8 CFM 120mm Fan ($7.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer S220HQLAbd 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $836.82


The i3-4160 has a better clock speed than the i5-4460 while also being cheaper but the i5 has four cores and the i3 is well... and i3. Could someone explain why I would want the i5?

 

[andreii707]

Well the i3 has hyper threading, to be precise it has 2 cores and 4 threads, it acts as a quad core BUT, as far as I am aware, an actual, physical core is better than a virtual one (a thread). Clock speeds are not that important anymore, but it's recommended to have above 3GHz. Out of the two I would go with the i5, the i3 though is still a decent option.

 

[gskill support]

Clock speed alone does not determine the maximum capability of the CPU. If this were the case we could all use a G3258 at 4.5GHz for cheap gaming, but fact is it's not good enough. i3 is not for gaming, you want at least i5.

 

[Rhezner]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NND6f7

the i5 is better but this build would definitely be better for gaming.

A z97 mobo is unnecessary with a locked CPU and the h97m anniversary is great.

this ram has a better CAS latency

This is a great case that i recommend

The 290 will perform worlds better than a 960

The PSU in your build was really bad and is not a quality PSU. This one is.

This build will definitely game better.

 

[Rhezner]

Clock speed alone does not determine the maximum capability of the CPU. If this were the case we could all use a G3258 at 4.5GHz for cheap gaming, but fact is it's not good enough. i3 is not for gaming, you want at least i5.

You dont need at least an i5. For the vast majority of games you will see almost identical framerate between an i3 and an i5, and if you are on a budget then an i3 is perfectly fine.

 

[theonerm2]

You should get the Core i5 because it has double the cores and double the cache. There are games coming out that are requiring 4 cores just for the minimum requirements. In fact, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain requires a Core i5 4460 as the bare minimum CPU that you should be using.

 

[andreii707]

I can agree with Rhezner, I run an i3 2100 3GHz and it surprisingly still does a good job with newer games, and it's 4 years old, still runs great.

 

[Rhezner]

You should get the Core i5 because it has double the cores and double the cache. There are games coming out that are requiring 4 cores just for the minimum requirements. In fact, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain requires a Core i5 4460 as the bare minimum CPU that you should be using.

they require 4 threads not 4 cores and the i3 has 4 threads just like any i5. It will be a long time before they require more than 4 cores, they might never.