Socket 1150 Holdover CPU

So, I will eventually get a 4790K, but right now, it would take 3 months to save for it...

So, I have been looking at a good, cheap CPU to get my PC up and running, in the meantime. I am looking at the G3258 ($50+tax) or the i3 4170 ($100+tax).

A few questions:
1. Will the Hyper Threading of the i3 make up for the lack of cores in gaming? I know some games require 4 cores to run properly. With the i3's 2c/4t architecture bring a significant impact to gaming performance?
2. Does the i3 overclock? Having a tough time finding a solid answer there. Is it just BCLK-based overclocking, with a locked multiplier?
3. Is the integrated graphics on either of these chips good enough for 1080p and/or 4k movie watching? Indie gaming (Super Meat Boy, FTL, Bastion, etc)?

Thanks as always.

i3 with HT will run on a quad core dependent game. It will not overclock much (bclk + turbo multi only, yes).

Watching movies, yep... not sure about indie gaming... doubtful.

The i3 should be faster in 90% of tasks including games. But, why not use the 780Ti in your sig?

Also, no, you won't be overclocking that i3. Adjusting the bus speed is an option I suppose, but it overclocks everything, not just the cpu, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Oh, should have clarified.

I am definitely using the 780ti. BUT, I was also considering, once the 4790k is purchased, using this CPU in a Mini ITX HTPC type of application. Just seeing if it could stand on its own once I do upgrade to the i7.

Thanks for the info so far.

I am leaning towards the Pentium, so I can get some practice on this Haswell Overclocking stuff. All the Turbo, Uncore, blah blah blah seems drastically different than when I OC'ed my FX CPUs. The only Intel CPUs I've had were an E8400 and an i5 750, so this will be a learning experience. And I'm looking forward to the eventual 4790k, having the top dog for once in my life...

Its easy.. cpu multi, vcore, done. In rare situations, cache clocks help so there isn't much point, except for the fun of it of course, to overclock anything else.

See, that just seems so BORING, haha. Is it possible to tweak it beyond that to have it idle below stock voltage, potentially downclock as well, and still Turbo beyond stock?

Yep. That is normal behavior essentially with the power saving options enabled.

OK, at least it has SOME level of tweaking I can do. I don't just want to click two buttons and magically have 4.8 GHz... Call me old-fashioned.

just go ahead and get the G3258, its perfect for your plans.

I think I will get the Pentium. It's going to be like $55 with tax, so I can get it early next week, and can finally get my PC up and running. And I'll see if I can't get over 4.5GHz with it. Should be enough with the 780ti to get my feet wet and appreciate having a decent PC again.

not sure if its considered lucky but all i did was [email protected]. messing around at [email protected], i might be overvolting it a bit, havent run prime95/orthos atm. guess i should also say im running a 102blck, some things seem to be a bit better.