Intel i3 or i5?

[Pekarous]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking to build a new low-end budget gaming rig. But I am not sure if I should either go with an Intel i3 4150 or Intel i5 4590

 

If I go with the i3, I will have extra money to spend on other parts, especially the GPU. If I go with the i5, less money for the GPU, maybe just a GTX 750Ti. So I am not sure which way to go. Leave me your suggestions, thanks in advance.

 

[cesrai]

Go for the i5 if you can.

[Arty]

i5 the 750ti is a nice card

[Aniallation]

I'm looking to build a new low-end budget gaming rig

Since you're getting locked chips, definitely get an i3 and a better GPU. The difference in price you save between an i3 and i5 is enough to get a noticeably better GPU then a 750 Ti.

[Pekarous]

Since you're getting locked chips, definitely get an i3 and a better GPU. The difference in price you save between an i3 and i5 is enough to get a noticeably better GPU then a 750 Ti.

Will the dual cores i3 bottleneck some games while the i5 has quad cores...

[Aniallation]

Go for the i5 if you can.

i5 the 750ti is a nice card

 

Consider that for LESS then the price of this: 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($187.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $306.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 13:29 EST-0500

 

You can get this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($99.99 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 285 2GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($179.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $279.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 13:30 EST-0500

 

750 Ti to R9 280 is a much bigger gaming performance increase then i3 to i5.

[Aniallation]

Will the dual cores i3 bottleneck some games while the i5 has quad cores...

The i3 is dual core with HT. It's perfectly fine to keep up with something like an R9 280/285.

[cesrai]

The i3 is dual core with HT. It's perfectly fine to keep up with something like an R9 280/285.

But the i5 is better, I think the i5 is better and he can upgrade the GPU later, the 390 series will drop and price will go down.

[Pekarous]

The i3 is dual core with HT.

what does HT stands for?

 

edit : oh hyper threading ok.

[Aniallation]

But the i5 is better, I think the i5 is better and he can upgrade the GPU later, the 390 series will drop and price will go down.

With an i3 he also can upgrade CPU as well. It would depend if he wants more performance now or more performance later. Honestly this is a "low end budget gaming PC" so I'd rather get the i3+280 now and see what the future holds in terms of GPUs and if the i3 bottlenecks a 390

 

what does HT stands for?

Each physical core has two logical cores on an i3, so each physical core on the i3 can do more then each physical core on an i5. Not twice as much, but definitely not to say that an i3 has half the power of an i5 due to it being a "dual core"

 

i3 = 4 logical cores

i5 = 4 logical cores

[cesrai]

With an i3 he also can upgrade CPU as well. It would depend if he wants more performance now or more performance later. Honestly this is a "low end budget gaming PC" so I'd rather get the i3+280 now and see what the future holds in terms of GPUs and if the i3 bottlenecks a 390

 

Each physical core has two logical cores on an i3, so each physical core on the i3 can do more then each physical core on an i5. Not twice as much, but definitely not to say that an i3 has half the power of an i5 due to it being a "dual core"

 

i3 = 4 logical cores

i5 = 4 logical cores

Okay I get your point but I think the i5 is better it will be cheaper.

[Aniallation]

Okay I get your point but I think the i5 is better it will be cheaper.

No it won't. Look at my post above (post #6). i5+750Ti is more expensive then i3+285

[Pekarous]

The i3 is dual core with HT. It's perfectly fine to keep up with something like an R9 280/285.

What if I want to go with NVIDIA?

[cesrai]

No it won't. Look at my post above (post #6). i5+750Ti is more expensive then i3+285

I meant the upgrade, upgrading the GPU will be cheaper than upgrading the CPU.

[cesrai]

What if I want to go with NVIDIA?

I really recommend it the 750Ti is an amazing card.

[Pekarous]

The i3 is dual core with HT. It's perfectly fine to keep up with something like an R9 280/285.

This also means that I have to get a beefier power supply to power the GPU

[Aniallation]

What if I want to go with NVIDIA?

Their cards aren't anywhere near as competitive for the price, no point in getting them at this price point. The 760 is noticeably more expensive then the 280/285 and performs worse. 

 

 

I meant the upgrade, upgrading the GPU will be cheaper than upgrading the CPU.

Depends if he wants to upgrade at all. OP hasn't stated what games he wants to play.

 

 

I really recommend it the 750Ti is an amazing card.

Not worth it when for 20 bucks more there's R9 270

[Aniallation]

This also means that I have to get a beefier power supply to power the GPU

What power supply do you have?

[Pekarous]

I really recommend it the 750Ti is an amazing card.

I agree that the 750Ti is a great card, I've seen reviews on it and the fact that it consumes so much less power considering the FPS it pumps out is crazy.

If I were to get a new GPU, I will never go below 750Ti.

[cesrai]

Their cards aren't anywhere near as competitive for the price, no point in getting them at this price point. The 760 is noticeably more expensive then the 280/285 and performs worse. 

 

 

Depends if he wants to upgrade at all. OP hasn't stated what games he wants to play.

 

 

Not worth it when for 20 bucks more there's R9 270

Better power consumption, less heat, Nvidia drivers, Shadow play.... 

[Pekarous]

What power supply do you have?

I was planning to get a Corsair CX430M Semi-Modular PSU

[Aniallation]

I was planning to get a Corsair CX430M Semi-Modular PSU

430 will be perfectly fine for an i3+285. But Corsair doesn't make amazing PSUs for the price, where are you shopping from?

[Pekarous]

OP hasn't stated what games he wants to play.

I'm just a casual gamer, and I don't play all those triple A titles games. AC, COD, BF I play a lot of Dota, recently got into Tomb Raider, but I don't need to play it at max settings.

[Aniallation]

I'm just a casual gamer, and I don't play all those triple A titles games. AC, COD, BF I play a lot of Dota, recently got into Tomb Raider, but I don't need to play it at max settings.

Then an i3 is perfectly able to handle that kind of stuff as they are very dependent on single-threaded performance rather then more cores.

[Pekarous]

where are you shopping from?

Well, I am still not sure where I will be getting the parts that I want. I'm still planning on it. Amazon will not ship here for free and I live on the other side of the world. South East Asia. I might get these parts from my local PC stores if they have them. And they will cost more for sure. If not, I might have to get them from Amazon but shipping prices will be a pain.