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Comparison i3-530 VS i3-540

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Ronbert

Ronbert

Member
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Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Location
La Crosse, WI
I'll let you guys help me with this one too, you all havn't stirred me wrong as a community here yet =]

So as always I'm bringing back my same old "i3" discussion but this time I'm wondering if you guys can give me some insight. I've been looking at the 530 and 540 on Newegg and the only difference that's obvious from newegg's charts is the clock speed. There has to be more to it than that, which one is better? The CPU will be used almost exclusively for gaming, some next gen some misc.

Side note to the i3 530 is on-sale for a whole $5 under it's usual price lol.
 
well what speed u trying to oc too?
4ghz< 530 4ghz>540

and if you arent even ocing just get the 530

Btw if you live near a micro center you can pick on an i5 650 for $150
 
Last edited:
Austin3334 said:
well what speed u trying to oc too?
4ghz< 530 4ghz>540

and if you arent even ocing just get the 530

Btw if you live near a micro center you can pick on an i5 650 for $150
Click to expand...

Hoo damn, I don't live near a Micro Center much to my dismay :bang head
I will be OCing when I get the I3 like I've been talkin' about in other threads and now that you bring up to what speeds I'm considering, I'm thinking (or hoping rather :p) to hit around 4Ghz MAYBE beyond. In reality though how much CPU power do I need for next gen games?

If it helps I'm gonna be combining it with the ATI HD5770.

Also will the Freezer7 work with the i3's socket base? I want one this RocketFish cooler is getting old and when it comes to cooling I trust Arctic.
 
4ghz is plenty, pair it with a 5770 and you'll be able to run pretty much everything max at 1920x1080 right now atleast.

the original freezer isnt gonna work unless you get an evga p55 board since they have holes for 775.
the rev 2 will fit and it works great haven't seen anything over 53 degrees with mine.

Try to stay away from MSI P55 if you get the I3.
 
Austin3334 said:
4ghz is plenty, pair it with a 5770 and you'll be able to run pretty much everything max at 1920x1080 right now atleast.

the original freezer isnt gonna work unless you get an evga p55 board since they have holes for 775.
the rev 2 will fit and it works great haven't seen anything over 53 degrees with mine.

Try to stay away from MSI P55 if you get the I3.
Click to expand...

I heard something about they have a terrible BIOS set up going for them or something?

And I'll check into this rev 2 thanks man :thup:
 
Ronbert said:
I heard something about they have a terrible BIOS set up going for them or something?

And I'll check into this rev 2 thanks man :thup:
Click to expand...

yeah basically lol.
the rev 2 when i bought it was $ 30 but i just checked on the egg and its $40+shipping so you could probly get a good 120mm for the same price or cheaper.
 
IMO, for $40-$50 you should get the Xigmatek Dark Knight.

EDIT: Just saw you'll need an adapter for 1156 support, so it would be more. You could go with the Venomous X from ZipZoomfly.com for $55 shipped (cheaper than DK + Adapter) or wait until I put my HDT-s1283 up for sale in the classsies (you'll still need the 1156 adapter, but it'll be cheaper) :D
 
Last edited:
Austin3334 said:
yeah basically lol.
the rev 2 when i bought it was $ 30 but i just checked on the egg and its $40+shipping so you could probly get a good 120mm for the same price or cheaper.
Click to expand...

I'll shop around Newegg that's what I always do hehe. I'm trying to sell my PS3 to get some revenue going for this new PC setup if all goes well I'll be building it successfully by the end of the month :thup:

Good call Matt I'll check into. Another big question has been raised, I plan to get that 5770 for my current set up in my siggie just until I can get the rest of the parts together. Will my E5200 bottle neck the 5770?
 
It shouldn't bottleneck by much, if any. You'll be getting a 530/540 later anyways.

Check my edit above.
 
For a moment I thought that you might put up some benches for us.
At stock 540 just has higher bin and everything else is the same. i3-550 is on the way.
My benches of i3-530 is below.
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=634958

As far as stability on mine, above 4.34Ghz is thin and required a lot of voltages.....and not worth it IMO.
Both 530 & 540 probably max out at about the same clock or maybe a hair better for the i3-540
 
SamSaveMax said:
For a moment I thought that you might put up some benches for us.
At stock 540 just has higher bin and everything else is the same. i3-550 is on the way.
My benches of i3-530 is below.
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=634958

As far as stability on mine, above 4.34Ghz is thin and required a lot of voltages.....and not worth it IMO.
Both 530 & 540 probably max out at about the same clock or maybe a hair better for the i3-540
Click to expand...

Hmm, so what do you think as a group should I go for the 530? Because the 540 is only a few buck more expensive.
 
The only difference is the 540 has a 23 multiplier, where the 530 has 22. Theoretically, you could OC a little more with a 540, but whether or not it's worth $20 is up to you.

EDIT: Got a 7th star...lol
 
MattNo5ss said:
The only difference is the 540 has a 23 multiplier, where the 530 has 22. Theoretically, you could OC a little more with a 540, but whether or not it's worth $20 is up to you.

EDIT: Got a 7th star...lol
Click to expand...

I am Ron master of star giving. It is no coincidence that you posted in my thread and received a 7th star. Guess what guys? My ps3 just sold! Guy is coming tomorrow 350 cash ^-^

And I'll be going for the 530 I think, 20 bucks saved is nothing to scoff at. Especially since I'm not gonna be playing anything quiet the strenuous on my CPU. In fact 4.0Ghz is probably way more than necessary right now anyway but 4.0Ghz would be a feat to me, a step into unfamiliar territory. For me OCing is all about the wonders of taking limited resources and stretching them to an almost unlimited proportion.

:bang head Sorry to go off into fantasy land speech there rofl
 
Ronbert said:
I am Ron master of star giving. It is no coincidence that you posted in my thread and received a 7th star. Guess what guys? My ps3 just sold! Guy is coming tomorrow 350 cash ^-^

And I'll be going for the 530 I think, 20 bucks saved is nothing to scoff at. Especially since I'm not gonna be playing anything quiet the strenuous on my CPU. In fact 4.0Ghz is probably way more than necessary right now anyway but 4.0Ghz would be a feat to me, a step into unfamiliar territory. For me OCing is all about the wonders of taking limited resources and stretching them to an almost unlimited proportion.

:bang head Sorry to go off into fantasy land speech there rofl
Click to expand...

4ghz was pretty easy to get to but anything above that it gets a little tough, its a rather large step in voltages from 4ghz to get anything stable.
 
MattNo5ss said:
Nice, you putting all of that $350 into i3/LGA1156/DDR3?
Click to expand...

Oh heck yes! All that and the little bit I've been saving from that old thread. You remember that one I think it was something to the affect of "Looking at i3's" or blah blah.

Isn't sold until you got cash in your hands. Cross your fingers.
Click to expand...
Good point I'm hopin' to the almighty that this deal goes through because it's almost like a blessing in disguise.
 
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