G3258/i3-4160/i5-4460?

[Eewee]

Hi, I am going to build a budget/value oriented rig for my girlfriend.

I am having some struggle choosing CPU/MOBO/RAM combos.

The site I was planning to order from has "upgrade-packs" that I was planning to purchase, as there is money to save compared to buying the individual components.

 

Packs that I have considered are as follows:

- G3258, ASUS Z97-P, HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz

- i3-4160, MSI B85M-E43, Crucial 4GB 1600MHz (noticed just now that his pack only had 8GB RAM)

- i5-4460, MSI B85M-E45, Crucial BallistiX Sport 8GB 1600MHz

 

G3258 and i3 fits budget nicely, i5 is a bit above budget - but reachable if the upgrade is worth it.

We already have a 750Ti and 550W Gold PSU.

 

Rig will be used for mainly gaming - World of Warcraft and League of Legends mostly.

Power for heavier games is preferable, because I think she has been playing mostly these two games because of the limited power in her current laptop.

 

Also open for AMD platform, if there are any good options.

 

Thanks for all advice!

 

[ooiman92]

I'd recommend going with the i3 at least, I have the pentium and it's nice to be able to overclock, but the extra threads make it much more stable. 

 

Edit: Right, I didn't consider the memory. Could you add the cost of the bundles?

[Techhog]

G3258, overclock the hell out of it. I'd normally say i5, but if those are the games she plays she needs single-threaded performance. The i3 pack just doesn't have enough RAM.

[Thebman712]

hummm, i would say get either a g3258 and a b85 board or a i5 4460 and b85

[SteveGrabowski]

The most balanced combo is probably the one with the i3 if you don't plan on upgrading the video card any time soon (e.g., in the next couple of years). If you think she'll get the urge to go for a high end or midrange video card in the next year or so, then absolutely go for the i5 combo. The G3258 + Z97 board combo never makes any sense to me.

[FellTheSky]

i5

[Eewee]

I'd recommend going with the i3 at least, I have the pentium and it's nice to be able to overclock, but the extra threads make it much more stable. 

 

Edit: Right, I didn't consider the memory. Could you add the cost of the bundles?

G3258 - 2.195NOK (294USD)

i3 - 1.895NOK (254USD)

i5 - 2.995NOK (401USD)

Converted USD probably seem quite steep, norwegian currency is falling in value.

 

If she will want/need a better graphicscard I can't say for sure, but having the option is nice.

I know that WoW is quite CPU intensive, but I didn't really know about multicore performance. Seeing as it is 10 years old now, it would make sense that OC'd G3258 could do quite well?

i5 will obviously also nail WoW quite easily, but the price jump is quite large.

 

Thanks for the advice so far, and thanks for any new advice!

[ooiman92]

You can probably go with the i3 combo and add grab an extra 4gb stick and would cost about the same as the Pentium combo. The Pentium combo DOES however give you the option to upgrade in the future, as it's a Z97 board. The ASUS board is better overall.

 

Any possibility to choose your own mobo/cpu?

[IMPERIUS]

Hmmm hard decision. I say get the pentium and oc it

[Eewee]

I can pick choose my own parts, yes. i just found that I could maybe save some money on those bundles.

Open for buying seperate though, thanks for suggestions.

[ooiman92]

I would definitely go with the i3 as a base along with the ASUS board, in case an upgrade is needed, but at least try to look for a Z97 board, there are non Z boards that are capable of overclocking but the power circuitry is not built for that. Good luck!

[JonU]

I would vote for atleast the i5 if you can stretch for it. I've gotboth a 4790k and the G3258. While the 3258 is an amazing performer (especially when considering price), the limited cores seem to hold it back just a little bit. But the G3258 vs. the i3? I'll take the 3258 all the way to the bank. Yes the i3 has hyperthreading, but i feel that provided you are willing to overclock a bit the G3258 will punch above its weight. Plus that z97 board will most likely have more features than the other two (didn't actually look to check).

[JonU]

I could even temporarily install WoW and give it a whirl on the 3258 w/ gtx760 and 8gb RAM if you want.

[MeDownYou]

Hi, I am going to build a budget/value oriented rig for my girlfriend.

I am having some struggle choosing CPU/MOBO/RAM combos.

The site I was planning to order from has "upgrade-packs" that I was planning to purchase, as there is money to save compared to buying the individual components.

 

Packs that I have considered are as follows:

- G3258, ASUS Z97-P, HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz

- i3-4160, MSI B85M-E43, Crucial 4GB 1600MHz (noticed just now that his pack only had 8GB RAM)

- i5-4460, MSI B85M-E45, Crucial BallistiX Sport 8GB 1600MHz

 

G3258 and i3 fits budget nicely, i5 is a bit above budget - but reachable if the upgrade is worth it.

We already have a 750Ti and 550W Gold PSU.

 

Rig will be used for mainly gaming - World of Warcraft and League of Legends mostly.

Power for heavier games is preferable, because I think she has been playing mostly these two games because of the limited power in her current laptop.

 

Also open for AMD platform, if there are any good options.

 

Thanks for all advice!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GxKGt6

 

fit in a 212 evo for under 300 usd for some overclocking aswell

[JonU]

So running around just doing random stuff in WoW (no raiding or 5 man) nets me a pretty stable 60fps with maxed graphics on a G3258 running at 4.4GHz, a GTX760, and 8GB of RAM. Also had shadowplay running, but that doesn't really affect the performance anyways.

 

Here is the banner from CPU-Z:

[zappian]

I bought a i3 4160 this morning  , so glad i ignored my friend that told me to get a 6300.

1150 is the future and when i upgrade in two years to an i7 or xenon e3 i wont have to change my mobo.
I hope my friend has fun buying a new mobo.

Plus the i3 is faster in games and emulators.

[Eewee]

Many split opinions here. I was very split myself, which is why I asked in the first place.

Would be sweet if anyone could make a short list of cons/pros for the three options!

[MeDownYou]

Many split opinions here. I was very split myself, which is why I asked in the first place.

Would be sweet if anyone could make a short list of cons/pros for the three options!

G3258, ASUS Z97-P, HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz

Pros: ASUS z97 mobo will last a long time, 8gb 1866mhz leaves expandability and is enough for now

Cons: g3258 while overclockable is only dual core without hyperthreading so multitasking on this processor KILLS it.

 

 i3-4160, MSI B85M-E43, Crucial 4GB 1600MHz (noticed just now that his pack only had 8GB RAM)

Pros: Hyperthreading support on the dual core i3

Cons: slightly outdated mobo, only 4gb ram you want 8gb i'd say

 

 i5-4460, MSI B85M-E45, Crucial BallistiX Sport 8GB 1600MHz

Pros: Quad core

Cons:slightly outdated mobo, no hyperthreading

[MageTank]

Ok, ill make a list of the pros and cons of each option.

 

G3258+Z97

 

Pros:

1. Very fast single threaded performance (most MMO's are single threaded, such as WoW)

2. Very high OCing

3. Low 53W TDP means OCing to 4.5ghz is still acceptable on the stock cooler

4. Z97 motherboard has more features, supports higher OCing and up coming broadwell series CPU's for upgrades in the future.

 

Cons:

1. Only 2 cores (means less performance in heavily threaded applications, noticeable in games like Rust, and Metro: Last Light)

 

i3-4160+B85M-E43

 

Pros:

1. Hyper threading for applications that support it (means more multi threaded performance within certain applications).

 

Cons:

1. Not every application will support Hyper Threading

2. Board leaves little room for upgrading, and Ocing (no maxwell support, and not a good VRM).

 

 i5-4460+B85M-E45

 

Pros:

1. More cores for multi-threaded applications and hardware virtualization scenarios.

 

Cons: 

1. Higher TDP means overall CPU temperature and case temps will be higher when compared to the G3258.

2. Motherboard has limited support for OCing and little room for upgrading.

 

 

Overall, when building a computer, it's best to think of your current needs, and leave enough room for what may change in the future. The first combo of the G3258 is the wisest choice in my opinion, as the motherboard leaves a lot more room for any future upgrades, whereas the other two options will leave you needing a new board in the future. The G3258 will easily match the current i7's in single threaded games and applications with even a modest OC. 

 

That being said, choose whichever will yield the most performance for the price, as thats generally the best way to shop for the present. 

 

-MageTank