From G3258 4.6ghz OC to i3 4160/70?

[GriggsCK]

So I've upgraded from a 750 ti to a 960 3 days ago, I have huge improvement over some titles such as Tomb Raider, Metro last light or titles that utilize all of your gpu power. 

Thought I have one problem with some of the games, such as Battlefield 4 and Fallout 4, my cpu usage spike up to 100% constantly, which is normal for me, but the gpu usage is quite low, below 60% most of the time, 50% average, sometimes spike up to 80~90% in BF4. I suspect this might be cpu bottle-necking?

My question is, would upgrade to an i3 4160 or 70 solved this problem, would it gain back the gpu usage in titles that love your cpu power? I played at 1366x768 btw. I know it's a shitty resolution but I want that high frame rate in demanding game. 

Edit: I can't really afford an i5, even the entry level one as it's almost twice as much, the value of my country's currency dropped make it even worse for me. 

[manikyath]

that might be your dual core not keeping up anymore.

 

a lot of quadcore (or higher) optimized games REALLY dont like dual core. i'm not too sure about an i3, but an i5 would be a huge boost.

(could also pick up a cheapo xeon, they are very good price/performance wise)

[Morgan MLGman]

Yes, the Pentium is not a good CPU. It's an overclocking toy. Dual cores are not good enough anymore.

and yes, the i3-4170 would not bottleneck the GTX 960, but it's also not a good long-term solution. I suggest you get an i5-4460

[ThomasD]

You will probably see some improvement going to an i3.  But, if you can scrape up the extra funds you'll be happier longer with an i5 4460.

[iHardware Shelden]

Save up and get a 4690k, seeing you have a board that overclocks it will be much more worth while than going to the i3.

[iHardware Shelden]

You will probably see some improvement going to an i3. But, if you can scrape up the extra funds you'll be happier longer with an i5 4460.

Exactly, I would say a 4690k though because he can overclock and get the use out of his board and possibly after market cooler.

[iHardware Shelden]

How big of a price difference is the i3 4xxx series vs the i5s?

[MageTank]

For MMO's/MOBA's, you might see a slight dip in performance (They are heavily single threaded, and tend to care more about clock speeds over core counts) however, for AAA titles, you will see a performance boost going from even a highly overclocked G3258 to a locked i3. I would not recommend the i5 4460 like everyone else, as its hardly an i5 with its 3.2ghz core clock, and 3.4ghz boost. The 4170's flat 3.7ghz would easily hand it to the i5 in most games. If you get an i5, you need to go the highest end locked i5, one of the unlocked i5's.

 

Simply put: The Core i3 4170 can drive a 960 fairly easy. I am willing to bet it could drive a GTX 970 for the most part. While hyperthreading is not magic (4 real cores > 2 cores + 2 threads) the raw difference in clock speeds combined with the extra threading that current AAA titles need, it will easily match or surpass the 4460 at a lower price point.

[GriggsCK]

Save up and get a 4690k, seeing you have a board that overclocks it will be much more worth while than going to the i3.

It's actually Asrock H81 Mobo with Non-z overclock, I don't think it can OC 4690k. Sry, should have mentioned that. 

[The Official Czex]

How big of a price difference is the i3 4xxx series vs the i5s?

 

About 100 USD.

[GriggsCK]

How big of a price difference is the i3 4xxx series vs the i5s?

In my local currency, i3 4160/70 is 500 bucks, i5 4460 is 800 bucks. Close to MSRP but the currency is 4.2x smaller than USD, so yeah.. 

[mapegl]

So I've upgraded from a 750 ti to a 960 3 days ago, I have huge improvement over some titles such as Tomb Raider, Metro last light or titles that utilize all of your gpu power. 

Thought I have one problem with some of the games, such as Battlefield 4 and Fallout 4, my cpu usage spike up to 100% constantly, which is normal for me, but the gpu usage is quite low, below 60% most of the time, 50% average, sometimes spike up to 80~90% in BF4. I suspect this might be cpu bottle-necking?

My question is, would upgrade to an i3 4160 or 70 solved this problem, would it gain back the gpu usage in titles that love your cpu power? I played at 1366x768 btw. I know it's a shitty resolution but I want that high frame rate in demanding game. 

Edit: I can't really afford an i5, even the entry level one as it's almost twice as much, the value of my country's currency dropped make it even worse for me. 

You would probably not be happy about the performance gain compared to the price you have to pay.

You are still on a dual core, the only difference being that it is slightly better at running additional tasks, but only slightly. You still would have just two cores, which presumably are slower than on your Pentium.

 

Really the only reasonable upgrade is an i5, since this will give you 4 real cores. I actually tried something like that by disabling 2 cores and it let's my CPU grind its teeth and go to 100% usage while with all 4 cores enabled it is going mostly up to 70%. BIG difference, especially the stutter you feel with only two core goes away.

[GriggsCK]

For MMO's/MOBA's, you might see a slight dip in performance (They are heavily single threaded, and tend to care more about clock speeds over core counts) however, for AAA titles, you will see a performance boost going from even a highly overclocked G3258 to a locked i3. I would not recommend the i5 4460 like everyone else, as its hardly an i5 with its 3.2ghz core clock, and 3.4ghz boost. The 4170's flat 3.7ghz would easily hand it to the i5 in most games. If you get an i5, you need to go the highest end locked i5, one of the unlocked i5's.

 

Simply put: The Core i3 4170 can drive a 960 fairly easy. I am willing to bet it could drive a GTX 970 for the most part. While hyperthreading is not magic (4 real cores > 2 cores + 2 threads) the raw difference in clock speeds combined with the extra threading that current AAA titles need, it will easily match or surpass the 4460 at a lower price point.

I see, I've seen a video where i3 4130 perform slightly worse in than 4.7 ghz pentium, but I wonder if the higher clock speed of 4160/70 makes up for it. 

[GriggsCK]

You would probably not be happy about the performance gain compared to the price you have to pay.

You are still on a dual core, the only difference being that it is slightly better at running additional tasks, but only slightly. You still would have just two cores, which presumably are slower than on your Pentium.

 

Really the only reasonable upgrade is an i5, since this will give you 4 real cores. I actually tried something like that by disabling 2 cores and it let's my CPU grind its teeth and go to 100% usage while with all 4 cores enabled it is going mostly up to 70%. BIG difference, especially the stutter you feel with only two core goes away.

Single core wise indeed Pentium is better, but it can't bring my gpu usage above 60% most of the time for some reasons. Poor multi-threaded performance or something? Can't really afford an i5, sad for me. 

[mapegl]

Single core wise indeed Pentium is better, but it can't bring my gpu usage above 60% most of the time for some reasons. Poor multi-threaded performance or something? Can't really afford an i5, sad for me.

Then put aside the money you wanted to spend and save up to the i5. The i3 is just wasting money in your position. Your gains will be minimal.

[GriggsCK]

Then put aside the money you wanted to spend and save up to the i5. The i3 is just wasting money in your position. Your gains will be minimal.

Well, didn't plan to buy anything, looks like I'll have to sell my Pentium.

[MageTank]

I see, I've seen a video where i3 4130 perform slightly worse in than 4.7 ghz pentium, but I wonder if the higher clock speed of 4160/70 makes up for it. 

Yes. 4.7ghz vs 3.4ghz is a huge difference in speed. Even against this 3.7ghz i3, the 4.7ghz G3258 will still win in single threaded applications, such as MMO's and MOBA's. However, no matter how fast you make the pentium, it will still choke when more threads are needed. That is where the i3 and i5 wins. The 4460 is still 20-30% faster than the 4170 at multi threaded applications too. HOWEVER. AAA gaming depends on a mix of both single and multi threaded performance. The 4460 might be 30% faster than the 4170 in multi threaded workloads, but its still 10-15% slower in single threaded workloads. It also costs $70 more than the 4170 (64% difference in price) but it is not 64% faster. In fact, comparing FPS between the two, you will barely see a difference of 10% or so in favor of the i5 in AAA titles, but the i3 would win in MMO's/MOBA's. 

 

Pair the i3 with some faster memory, like 2133 or 2400mhz, and you will be fine. Read my signature for information regarding memory speed and the impact it has on games in scenarios with high cpu overhead. 

[mapegl]

Yes. 4.7ghz vs 3.4ghz is a huge difference in speed. Even against this 3.7ghz i3, the 4.7ghz G3258 will still win in single threaded applications, such as MMO's and MOBA's. However, no matter how fast you make the pentium, it will still choke when more threads are needed. That is where the i3 and i5 wins. The 4460 is still 20-30% faster than the 4170 at multi threaded applications too. HOWEVER. AAA gaming depends on a mix of both single and multi threaded performance. The 4460 might be 30% faster than the 4170 in multi threaded workloads, but its still 10-15% slower in single threaded workloads. It also costs $70 more than the 4170 (64% difference in price) but it is not 64% faster. In fact, comparing FPS between the two, you will barely see a difference of 10% or so in favor of the i5 in AAA titles, but the i3 would win in MMO's/MOBA's.

Pair the i3 with some faster memory, like 2133 or 2400mhz, and you will be fine. Read my signature for information regarding memory speed and the impact it has on games in scenarios with high cpu overhead.

I agree with this post. Mostly. Only thing is, you might see good fps with an i3 and faster memory (very good pointing that out BTW), but frame times are usually a different story here. You will also usually see more stutter with an i3 compared to an i5.

[MageTank]

I agree with this post. Mostly. Only thing is, you might see good fps with an i3 and faster memory (very good pointing that out BTW), but frame times are usually a different story here. You will also usually see more stutter with an i3 compared to an i5.

Yeah, if OP could spring for an i5, it would be worth it in the long run. However, i just noticed OP has an H81 board, which means faster memory is now out of the question. Still, the i3 will be able to drive a 960 just fine. If OP wanted an i5, i would recommend a 4590 at minimum, as its only $10 more than the 4460, and boosts to 3.7ghz (3.3ghz base). It would match the i3 in clock speeds, and not have to rely on the quirks of HT. 

[GriggsCK]

I wonder what if I get 4370 instead? Still dual core but performance seems closer to 4460 compare to 4170. 

[Megahurt]

An i3 probably won't give you much more avg fps, but would remove any stutter issue you might have, as I have not heard anyone mention stuttering caused by an i3, an i5 would have about 50% more for the same clockspeed.

 

But given that your G3258 overclock isn't that high and that you're planning on buying a high clocked i3, I guess it would remove most of your bottleneck.

[mapegl]

I wonder what if I get 4370 instead? Still dual core but performance seems closer to 4460 compare to 4170.

You know.I get it. You would love to upgrade. But honestly, just stick with your pentium till you can really afford a major upgrade. I would not advise you to spend the money now. Your pentium will outperform an i3 or be only slightly worse. So it is not really an upgrade.

[Prysin]

you bought a 960.... in december 2015...

man, you really gotta hate your wallet, dont you?

[iHardware Shelden]

Ya in your case the i3 will do fine and will perform much better in the games you play because of the extra threads

[SteveGrabowski0]

An i3 should be a nice upgrade over even a heavily overclocked Pentium, but I'd still just save money for an i5-4430 or better or maybe try to buy one on the used market.