Curse

Blkout · Aug 16, 2010, 09:04 AM // 09:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaker

The i3-530 may be enough for your CAD work - it would only be a matter of a few seconds difference to do something. But, if you plan to play GW, and, I assume, GW2, you would want a CPU with a bit more grunt. I would go with the i5-750 or 760. (Note - tigerdirect lists the i5-760, but I can't find it on Intel's website. But then again, Intel's website is like a maze when you try to find anything.)

Not sure about this, but maybe it's just a matter of not supporting the i3's on-chip graphics. You should go for the i5-750/760 anyway.

You need to check the tech site reviews for the i3 CPU's. It compares very well against any tri-core or quad-core CPU in gaming and when its overclocked, its an absolute beast for the money. VERY few games take advantage of more than two cores and that hasn't changed in the last few years and the the few that do don't see a huge difference over a dual-core CPU. The i3 is a gaming monster for the price.

The only caveat is that the integrated graphics on the i3 isn't impressive so you would still need a discrete GPU of your choice to play higher end games.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2921/2

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i...ssor-review/17

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/I...40_530/10.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ng,2588-6.html

Quaker · Aug 16, 2010, 03:56 PM // 15:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blkout

You need to check the tech site reviews for the i3 CPU's.

I think you may need to check your own links. The only chart you linked that actually includes an i5-750 - the anandtech one - shows the i5-750 clearly outperforming the i3-530.

You also state that very few games support multiple cores, but there's two things wrong with that.
1. That may be true now, but it's most likely that more and more new games will support multiple cores. (for example. GW2)
2. The OP was asking about a multi-use system. Many of the type of apps he wants to run will make use of multiple cores.

Also, of course, when it comes to overclocking:
1. The OP is not apt to be interested in overclocking.
2. If he is, the i5-750 also overclocks very well.

Elder III · Aug 16, 2010, 08:42 PM // 20:42

i5 kills i3 no doubt about it - it would be a much better choice for auto-cad and similar software, and as good as any -$200 CPU can get for gaming.

Blkout · Aug 26, 2010, 08:38 AM // 08:38

The i5 only beats an i3 in video and audio encoding and a few multi-tasking benchmarks which most people will never see in the real world. The i5 is a great CPU but it costs more, runs hotter, draws more power, and if gaming is a priority first with multitasking second, the i3 wins hands down. Quaker specifically said if you want to play GW and GW2, you will need a CPU with more grunt, an i3 is more than capable of handling that task and I provided the links to prove it. You guys really need to do a bit more research on the i3, especially when overclocked. The i3 is hitting 4.5-5.0GHz overclocked the i5 is hitting 4GHz-4.2GHz and the i3 takes less voltage to get there.

And before you act like you know it all, I own an i7 and an i3 and I probably multi-task more than most people in this thread so I'm well informed on this matter.

Quaker · Aug 26, 2010, 04:26 PM // 16:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blkout

Quaker specifically said if you want to play GW and GW2, you will need a CPU with more grunt, an i3 is more than capable of handling that task and I provided the links to prove it.

Note that NCsoft has stated that "Guild Wars 2 runs best on a quad core."
Also note that I said "would want" not "will need". I'm aware that an i3-530 can run GW2, but an i5-760 will run it much better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaker

I think you may need to check your own links. The only chart you linked that actually includes an i5-750 - the anandtech one - shows the i5-750 clearly outperforms the i3-530.

By a significant margin, btw.

'Nuff said.

Blkout · Aug 28, 2010, 03:57 PM // 15:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaker

Note that NCsoft has stated that "Guild Wars 2 runs best on a quad core."

By a significant margin, btw.

'Nuff said.

You really need to see an i5 750 benched against an i3 530 to see the difference when this link provides an i7 860 which is faster than the i5 750 and the i3 530 does just fine against its much more expensive brother.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ng,2588-6.html

Stay ignorant if you wish, just trying to show that there are better solutions for gaming for less money. Bigger isn't always better which is why the new 6 core Intel 980x doesn't perform any better than the Intel i7s quads clock for clock in gaming. But hey, you know everything right?

Save $80 from buying an i5 750 and go with the i3 540 and use that money towards a better video card which is what a primary gaming computer needs anyway.

And here's a good thread on the overclocking potential of the new i3 and i5 32nm CPU's.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=245914

Quaker · Aug 28, 2010, 05:05 PM // 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blkout

You really need to see an i5 750 benched against an i3 530 to see the difference

I don't understand.
Are you not even aware that the first link you gave - the anandtech one - has both the i3-530 and the i5-750 on it?
Are you not even aware that both the i3 and i5 can be overclocked and an overclocked i5 beats an overclocked i3?
Or are you simply trolling?

Lord Sojar · Aug 30, 2010, 10:33 PM // 22:33

CLOSED, old and resolved.