i3 540 @ 4.3ghz vs i7 860 @ 4ghz for gaming?

[Mindaugasinas]

So my situation is:

 

I had overcloclocked i3 540 @ 4.3ghz, and it played games very well.

But I had a chance to get a i7 860 for a cheap.

I overclocked it only to 4ghz.

Before cpu swap I hadn't did any benchmarks to compare.

 

So in all of your opinion, who performs better in games, same generation faster clock rate dual core with HT or slower clock quad core with HT?

I do only gaming.

[Pugs501]

Look at benchmarks!

[flibberdipper]

In most cases, the i7 will crush the i3, if your graphics card is being held back.

[Mindaugasinas]

In most cases, the i7 will crush the i3, if your graphics card is being held back.

I will upgrade my GPU to GTX 970 after my next payday, so no gpu bottleneck, I play at 1080p

[typographie]

The i7 at 4 GHz should be faster. Its a question of just how cheap, though. I wouldn't suggest putting much money into such an old platform, and you might find that its not a consistently noticeable difference.

[Lotus]

The i3 will actualyl beat the i7 on single threaded performance, but only barely. Other than that, the i7 will crush the i3.

[Mindaugasinas]

The i7 at 4 GHz should be faster. Its a question of just how cheap, though. I wouldn't suggest putting much money into such an old platform, and you might find that its not a consistently noticeable difference.

I got it for 65 Euros, I live in Europe. With my i3 @4.3 and GTS450 i play most of the games games at 1080p on high settings at 45-55 avg FPS. ATM I have no money to upgrade my mobo and and new-gen cpu.

[harrynowl]

i7 will win in most scenarios. Those old arrandales/lynnfields overclocked can still match a modern i3/7 in some benchmarks. 

 

(I beat Ivy i3 with my i3-550 @ 4.45ghz).

[Senor Potato]

In the future the i7 will be better because of the core amount. But because of consoles, i3 is higher clock so it might actually run games better right now. But go for the i7 because it will last longer.

[typographie]

I got it for 65 Euros, I live in Europe. With my i3 @4.3 and GTS450 i play most of the games games at 1080p on high settings at 45-55 avg FPS. ATM I have no money to upgrade my mobo and and new-gen cpu.

 

65 Euro sounds a little high for what I'd personally want to pay for this, but if putting that money toward a new system is not an option, this is probably the next best thing. I'm still using an overclocked Core i5-750 myself, and while some games (Battlefield 4, Watch Dogs) really hammer it, its generally still a pretty solid processor. The i7-860 would probably hold up in places my i5 does not.

[Mindaugasinas]

Any more input?

[Mindaugasinas]

OK! I'M ACTUALY BLOWN OFF NOW!!!!

I installed Corsais H105, did propper overclock with stable 4ghz on i7 860, overclocked RAM to 1824 mhz CL8, and did some non synthetic gaming benchmarks.

I benchmarked the most demanding parts, that I did on my i3 540 @ 4.3ghz in ASSASINS CREED 3 at arival in Boston and ARMA 3 Dominator multiplayer map, and I am stunned!!!

I gained 30 to 40 FPS MORE on same graphics setings as on i3 540 @ 4.3ghz.

Even i7 860 runs @ 4ghz and QPI is 6566mhz, i3 540 was @ 4.3ghz and QPI was 8406mhz.

I'm happy with my results upgrade results.

Now I'm waiting for my payday to get GTX 970 G1

[Mindaugasinas]

Ok today I was surprisingly shocked.

I used my i7 860 @ 3.9ghz 1.43V for a half of year now, only with that voltage it is stable,

and I was tired of loud noise, that processor kicks imense heat.

So I decided to try mky old i3 540 @4.3 ghz 1.325V.

And the moment I installed I was shocked, the games runs alot better now, I'v got a huge improovement in FPS compared to i7, probably its due to higher clock, and the fans spins like on idle during gameplay, that means my pc is now quet again.

So I'm gona be using it now again.

[eisenklad]

Ok today I was surprisingly shocked.

I used my i7 860 @ 3.9ghz 1.43V for a half of year now, only with that voltage it is stable,

and I was tired of loud noise, that processor kicks imense heat.

So I decided to try mky old i3 540 @4.3 ghz 1.325V.

And the moment I installed I was shocked, the games runs alot better now, I'v got a huge improovement in FPS compared to i7, probably its due to higher clock, and the fans spins like on idle during gameplay, that means my pc is now quet again.

So I'm gona be using it now again.

 

 

try disabling HT on I7...coz HT does make  cpu kick off more heat....then again it becomes an I5

 

... they are physically different at the nano meter level... which does affect perfomance

[Mindaugasinas]

try disabling HT on I7...coz HT does make  cpu kick off more heat....then again it becomes an I5

 

... they are physically different at the nano meter level... which does affect perfomance

Nah, I will stick with i3, because I can get higher clock with it with less voltage. When I overclocked i7 I tryed disabling HT, but it did not helped to reach higher clock and it demanded the same voltage. Eeven on idle my i7 kicks lots of heat and fans spins like crazy. With i3 its alot different, PC stays dead silent all the time, even in gaming and in intel burn test on extreme test I get only 60C with Corsair H105, And gaming... God it made a difference... With i3 they run alot better.