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i3 versus Core 2 ?

N

netsider

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 12, 2004
Messages
466
Can someone please tell me generally what performance increase there is between a core 2 duo and a Core i3? I see the core i3 only has two cores just like the duo has. I've been out of the computer enthusiast scene for a while now (mostly because of money) but now I'm ready to put together a pretty good system for myself. Just don't really have enough for an i5 or an i7 though. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Not huge but it's faster... What kind of budget are you working with? Have you looked at the new SB i5 2500k? They are pretty reasonable, do you have a MicroCenter nearby?
 
netsider said:
oh... so there's really not a HUGE improvement from the core2 to the i3...
Click to expand...

In addition, the pre-Sandy Bridge i3 processors are now relatively poor values - only slightly better values than any of the remaining Core 2 Duos on the market.

It looks like the existing i3-5xx CPUs will remain available for a while longer after the current LGA 1156 i5 and i7 CPUs eventually get phased out. The new i3-2100 CPUs will initially be OEM-only, unlike the LGA 1155 (Sandy Bridge) i5 and i7 CPUs which are already available "retail-boxed" in the reseller channel.
 
no microcenter's nearby. I was just looking at Core 2 Quad's, or an Athlon II X3 425 for $132.80 barebones...
 
Yeah if you are looking super low budget you'd probably do better on the AMD side.
 
With a good video card would I still be able to play pretty much any game on the market though?
 
netsider said:
With a good video card would I still be able to play pretty much any game on the market though?
Click to expand...

How much money do you have to spend? Do you have any hardware you plan on carrying over to this build? You'd get much better performance with the Phenom II series compared to the Athlon II series.

Many games out today are CPU limited when using a low end chip and a high end card.
 
This is what I'm thinking:

Gigabyte M68MT-D3 DD3 ram slots
Athlon II X3 425 (3 x 2.7GHz - 1.5MB Cache - 4000 FSB
4GB DDR3-1333
500GB SATA2 - 3gb/sec 7200RPM (16MB Cache) Hard Drive
600 Watt Power Supply - PCIe 2.0 Compliant
ATI Radeon HD5570 1GB

Total Price ~$500.00

Any thoughts?
 
I'm *trying* to keep the cost of it around 500$.. for now. I could wait on the video card and buy a better one later though... I'm pretty patient when building and getting parts for PC's...
 
From looking online I could swap out the chip and mobo for a Phenom II X2 555 (2 x 3.2GHz - 7MB Cache - 4000MHz FSB)... comes with mobo... but that's subtracting a core...
 
netsider said:
This is what I'm thinking:

Gigabyte M68MT-D3 DD3 ram slots
Athlon II X3 425 (3 x 2.7GHz - 1.5MB Cache - 4000 FSB
4GB DDR3-1333
500GB SATA2 - 3gb/sec 7200RPM (16MB Cache) Hard Drive
600 Watt Power Supply - PCIe 2.0 Compliant
ATI Radeon HD5570 1GB

Total Price ~$500.00

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Is this all you need? Meaning you already have a case & DVD drive?
 
netsider said:
This is what I'm thinking:

Gigabyte M68MT-D3 DD3 ram slots
Athlon II X3 425 (3 x 2.7GHz - 1.5MB Cache - 4000 FSB
4GB DDR3-1333
500GB SATA2 - 3gb/sec 7200RPM (16MB Cache) Hard Drive
600 Watt Power Supply - PCIe 2.0 Compliant
ATI Radeon HD5570 1GB

Total Price ~$500.00

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Do you currently own a core2? If so what one?
 
So then pretty much any current system would be an upgrade. While you are looking at upgrades remember that AM3 systems will have similar IPC to core2 systems with iseries processors haveing a 20 to 30% advantage at the same clock speed and SB chips adding 10 to 20 more %.
 
Yeah... that's why I'm not *really* worried about the processor *too* much. Especially since the mobo most of these combo's come with are socket's AM3.. I could always upgrade the CPU power down the road, can't I?
 
Man, if I were you I'd come up with just a little more money to blow that away...actually this is only $515 before rebates... @ Newegg.


Intel i5 2300 (QuadCore) $184.99
Gskill Sniper 8 GB DDR3 $89.99
Sapphire HD 5570 1 GB $69.99 (and a $15 rebate)
WD Blue 500 GB 7200 PRM SATA 3 $49.99
Coolmax 600w Modular Powersupply $54.99 (and $10 rebate)
ASUS P8H67-M LX LGA 1155 Intel H67 SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $95

Actually I'd get the Intel i5 2400 300 mhz faster and only $10 more.

Much faster processor 8 GB of memory instead of 4 GB, I'd still think about a slightly better video card though if you can come up with a little more cash.
 
I kinda just want a good starting point for a new computer.. like I said.. I can buy more parts, like the video card, when I get more money. I'm just wanting a good mobo and a decent CPU system going right now. Preferebly spending 200$ or less on the Mobo, and CPU itself.
 
OK, so you say you want to spend $500, I show you a much better build for $500 then what you had. Then you say you want to buy some old slow shit with no upgrade path at all for $200.

A good starting point isn't buying a socket that has no new CPU's coming out for it.

Do what you want :)
 
Build #1:
WD Blue 500 GB 7200 PRM SATA 3 $49.99
Sapphire HD 5570 1 GB
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W 80 PLUS Certified, Modular
Intel Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz (3.1GHz Turbo Boost)
MSI P67A-C45 LGA 1155 Intel P67 & CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB DDR3 1600

$10 off w/ promo code EMCKJJJ85, ends 1/17
$5 off w/ promo code EMCKJJJ27, ends 1/17
$15 off with promo code HARDOCP112A, ends 1/15

$516.94 with $35 worth of mail-in rebates & free shipping on everything.

This video card is $5 cheaper with HDMI instead of Display port:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127546

Edit, link part naming corrected.
 
Last edited:
Pretty similar to what I posted... I'd go with the H67 boards though if you aren't overclocking at all, and again I'd probably get the i5 2400 instead of the 2300 since it's only $10 more.
 
Database said:
Pretty similar to what I posted... I'd go with the H67 boards though if you aren't overclocking at all, and again I'd probably get the i5 2400 instead of the 2300 since it's only $10 more.
Click to expand...

H67 is probably better for the OP, Z68 can't here soon enough. I just wish there were some better quality mATX H67 boards out right now.

I went with the Gigabyte UD3 because it was the best cheapest option for me at the time. I'll probably regret it in a year if I don't get a good Z68 board.

netsider said:
Does that i5 on newegg come with a stock heatsink?
Click to expand...
Yes, the stock heatsinks are fine if you don't over clock or don't over clock much.
 
AM3 boards are not compatible with Bulldozer (the performance of which has not been measured as of yet) - thus there's a dead-end budget platform at best. AM3+ is the newest AMD platform...

Unless you want your system to remain a budget-PC, LGA 1155 is the only sensible option right now, but because I'd prefer to overclock, and because SB-chips are overclocking monsters, I'd get the chipset that best supports overclocking (P67 right now? - not sure).

As for the video card, I suppose you could go cheap and then re-purpose the card for HTPC use or PhysX (if you go nvidia). Right now, a good budget card would be an overclocked HD 6850 or GTX 460 1GB (if you can score them for less than $150, and they have been this low). Both are highly overclockable.

I'd pay extra to get a known good PSU: (I would have recommended the Antec TP 750, Corsair TX750, or PC Power and Cooling 750 because at several points in time they were all at about $70, but I can't seem to find those prices anymore...)

- Antec EA 650w or the Antec 620w PSU will be good, and likely around $70.

If not, here is a risk, but it seems good enough:

- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817815010 -

Reviews (navigate back to find actual load-testing) and Discussions:

http://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/xigmatek-nrp-pc702-power-supply-review/6/

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/929/pg6/xigmatek-nrp-pc702-700w-psu-review-conclusion.html

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6451 - discussion of PSU-design

This is probably acceptable... but still... I'd be more comfortable recommending something else.
 
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