A Request - Unlocked i3

[TheCaptain53]

Many people will argue that an unlocked i3 would move people away from the unlocked i5. I personally don't agree. The unlocked i5's hefty price premium over the next cheapest unlocked Intel (G3258, which doesn't perform so well in AAA titles due to only having two, non-hyperthreaded cores). There's this huge £140 price gap, which is pushing people to AMD instead, rather than forcing people to initially shell out extra for the 4690K or Intel equivalent. This was actually the reason I built my system with an FX-6300 first, but I changed to a 4690K just yesterday (night and day difference, by the way).

Economics aside, an unlocked i3 (the difference against the G3258 being hyperthreading and probably turbo boost) does not exist, and as such cannot be compared in terms of performance against an unlocked i5. But what if you could simulate it?

Many people have disabled cores and such for the purposes of benchmarking, but what if someone with say, a 4790K disabled two cores, kept the hyperthreading and overclocked it to somewhere in the range of 4.6-4.7GHz. Whilst it wouldn't be absolutely true to life of such a product, it should be a good indication. I would do this myself, but I do not have hyperthreading, so I can't simulate an unlocked i3. If the 'unlocked i3' pretty much matches the performance of the i5 with a higher graphics card configuration, then Intel made the right move in not releasing such a product.

So... Anyone willing to bite?

[Delusional Phil]

No ... We need to move the i3 to 4 cores without hyperthreading , move the i5 up to 4 cores WITH hyperthreading , move the i7 to 6 cores with HT ...

[msvelev]

They'l have quite a big difference in cache, so it won't really reflect a true unlocked i3, but this is a good idea. I have an i5 so I can't simulate it.

[TheCaptain53]

They'l have quite a big difference in cache, so it won't really reflect a true unlocked i3, but this is a good idea. I have an i5 so I can't simulate it.

That's why I think it would be more of an approximation rather than an accurate, scientific result. I'd just really like to see a more budget, but also capable option from Intel. Trying to wait around for AMD to release a half decent architecture on a platform with which there's a decent upgrade path is pointless.

Also, would cache size affect gaming performance in any meaningful way?

[Dabombinable]

No ... We need to move the i3 to 4 cores without hyperthreading , move the i5 up to 4 cores WITH hyperthreading , move the i7 to 6 cores with HT ...

Or simply add an extra core and hyperthreading to the i5, and add another CPU with 6 cores 12 threads as the i7 X (like the 3rd generation Core i7 )

[Delusional Phil]

Or simply add an extra core and hyperthreading to the i5, and add another CPU with 6 cores 12 threads as the i7 X (like the 3rd generation Core i7 )

I think it's much easier to go from 2 to 4 than 2 to 3 cores ... 

[Briggsy]

No ... We need to move the i3 to 4 cores without hyperthreading , move the i5 up to 4 cores WITH hyperthreading , move the i7 to 6 cores with HT ...

 

agreed, because quad core is the new dual core for gaming. hopefully AMD Zen is good enough to push Intel in the direction you're suggesting. 

[Delusional Phil]

agreed, and quad core is the new dual core for gaming. hopefully AMD Zen is good enough to push into in the direction you're suggesting. 

I really hope so ... If Zen could push the buttons on Intel , that would be amazing for both consumer and seller ... 

 

edit : You may lose that bet you know ... 

[79 Potatoes]

No. "Unlock" all CPUs.

That's one of the points I hate about intel... Locking CPUs for money

[Trik'Stari]

No. "Unlock" all CPUs.

That's one of the points I hate about intel... Locking CPUs for money

AMD has plenty of lock CPU/APU's

 

My A-10 5700 was locked, and terribly slow.

[79 Potatoes]

AMD has plenty of lock CPU/APU's

 

My A-10 5700 was locked, and terribly slow.

Damn true, I Ignored the APUs... I hope they don't follow that path..

[Trik'Stari]

Damn true, I Ignored the APUs... I hope they don't follow that path..

Oh AMD seems to be far more interested in them and Heterogeneous System Architecture than regular CPU's and GPU's. Why you think they keep releasing rebranded cards?

[ThomasD]

I doubt you'd ever see an unlocked i3 for two reasons.  One is that too many of them are binned chips and trying to OC them would probably tend prove rather unsatisfying.  The second reason is that they are marketed to a very tight price point, and the higher price of an unlocked version would put them out of line with the rest of the product line.

 

Nobody is going to give you a free lunch.

[NumLock21]

Unlock Core i3?

[Dabombinable]

I think it's much easier to go from 2 to 4 than 2 to 3 cores ... 

Simply put, AMD managed it quite well with their Phenoms.

[CalumGiff]

No ... We need to move the i3 to 4 cores without hyperthreading , move the i5 up to 4 cores WITH hyperthreading , move the i7 to 6 cores with HT ...

That would be awesome, or have the i5 using 2 cores that are hyperthreaded and 2 core un HT giving it 6 threads, and moving the i7 up to 6 cores HT

[SteveGrabowski0]

No. "Unlock" all CPUs.

That's one of the points I hate about intel... Locking CPUs for money

 

AMD used to lock their CPUs too back before they were junk for gaming. I had use silver paint to unlock the multiplier on my Athlon XP.

 

[Delusional Phil]

That would be awesome, or have the i5 using 2 cores that are hyperthreaded and 2 core un HT giving it 6 threads, and moving the i7 up to 6 cores HT

Too uneven workload ... 

[Delusional Phil]

Simply put, AMD managed it quite well with their Phenoms.

I like the scailing from 2 to 4 ... 3 cores seems lackluster to me ...

[Dabombinable]

I like the scailing from 2 to 4 ... 3 cores seems lackluster to me ...

Its still a niche though, and 3 cores 6 threads would be quite good.

[Delusional Phil]

Its still a niche though, and 3 cores 6 threads would be quite good.

Intel will never make a 3 core ... 

[Dabombinable]

Intel will never make a 3 core ... 

I know, but it would be interesting.

[Delusional Phil]

I know, but it would be interesting.

Intel won't do any Interesting products ... They will make amazing/consumer/enthusiast product ... 

[Dabombinable]

Intel won't do any Interesting products ... They will make amazing/consumer/enthusiast product ... 

They do though. The 18 core Xeon is interesting (and something to drool over).

[FireFox]

agreed, because quad core is the new dual core for gaming. hopefully AMD Zen is good enough to push Intel in the direction you're suggesting. 

 

I hope so, I love Intel but goddamn do they need a fucking kicking.

 

I was hoping for an Intel Core i3-2120K (back in the day lol) but it never came into being.