i3 3220 vs. i5 3470 for Gaming?

[TheRichboy247]

Hi all,

The time has nearly come for me to order parts for my gaming PC build. I am just stuck on one thing though. I am basing my build on duncan33303's $600 build but adding some better parts. After watching his final build video, I saw that his i3 + 7850 1GB combo produced pretty good frame rates on BF3 and Farcry 3. That got me thinking that I could save a bit of money on my CPU.

This rig will be mainly used purely for gaming. I might find a use for it other than gaming but that's very unlikely since I have another computer that does all the other stuff (Don't get me wrong) very nicely.

My options are: i3 3220 + Sapphire HD 7850 2GB OC or i5 3470 + Sapphire HD 7850 2GB.

The games I will be playing include: Black Ops 2, LoL (MMORPGs) and some other new FPS or MMO's that come out in the future.

Will a better CPU give me a better advantage for my games?

Thanks

 

[fornoob]

Hi!

I don't know anything about this duncan but here is what I can say

I3 3220 is more than enough for 90% of the games coupled with a 7850 (no need of OC edition, you can do it yourself if needed).
For BF3 and Farcry 3, I am more dubious with high settings. It will run, with good frame rates, but what kind of compromise will have to be done on the quality?
What was the resolution? 1900*1080? or lower like 1680*1050? Did he use AA?

The 7850 2GB is kinda unbalanced choice to me...
The 2GB gives you almost nothing compared to the 1GB version, considering the efficiency of the 7850... The 7870 is well better balanced for not that much more money
And the 7870 would know how to use the 2GB

i5 have quad core, turbo and since the 3470 is locked for OC, the higher stock frequency is a plus

Let's say:

If you accept compromise on the quality (resolution, filtering, etc...), you can go for an i3 without any doubt, and add a 7870 with stock frequency
If you don't want to be limited, go for an i5 and a 7870 (no OC), the 7850 might bottleneck you in this case

 

[Ajay57]

Well to add to the debate you should take a look at this post the i5-3470 looks to me to be out in front! AJ.

1, http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/677?vs=702

2, http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/358107-10-intel-3220-good-gaming

Then again for gaming it could be different, but in the post above 6 of one half dozen of the other. But as you read the comments the overall factor in this is the GPU Card?

 

[fornoob]

Well AJ, the question seems not to me to be "which one is the best?" (which is quite obvious ^^) but more "would an i3 fit or do I need an i5?"

Thx for the link, some games are tested like skyrim and D3... at 1680*1050 (seems like compromise have to be done )

Here is an other that I've found:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/A10-5800K-vs-Core-i3-3220-CPU-Review/1646/15

 

[Ajay57]

Correct fornoob buddy just posted new info as you can see it rest with what GPU card you choose to run with each CPU? AJ.


P.S. On second thoughts he never said what mobo he is using which would some what be a help as well?

 

[fornoob]

Correct fornoob buddy just posted new info as you can see it rest with what GPU card you choose to run with each CPU? AJ.


P.S. On second thoughts he never said what mobo he is using which would some what be a help as well?

Yes, anand didn't mention the GPU used with the benched CPU, that's why I didn't focus on the framerates but on the settings choosen

Since he doesn't plan to OC, MOBO is less a concern than usual
But you're right, a Z77 chipset would be helpful for the PCIe 3.0!

 

[Ajay57]

Correct +1 ^^ to that! AJ.

 

[TheRichboy247]

Thanks for the replays, really appreciated. I want to be able to play 1080p on medium to high settings, just enough for the game to look decent. I don't really think the i5 would give me mind blowing performance compared to the i3. I can always upgrade later anyways.

 

[TheRichboy247]

I've just checked prices for a 7870 an it looks as though if I get one I'll go over budget. Its just a little bit more though. 3220 + HD 7870 2GB or 3470 + HD 7850 2GB.

 

[Svnryn]

If you're going strictly for gaming, I would say the 3220 ($109.99 at us.ncix.com) and the 7850 2GB. I don't really see the point in going with the 7870, as its quite a bit more money and you can easily reach the performance of a 7870 with the 7850 from what I've read.

A good one seems to be the MSI R7850 Twin Frozr III. Amazon had it for $179.99 and $15 rebate, but it's currently sold out. Next best is Newegg at $209.99 with a $10 rebate, I believe.

Oh and if you have a Microcenter near you, they have a deal on the i3-3225 at $119.99 and $40 off any compatible motherboard. So you could pick up a solid Z77 board and upgrade to a i5-3570k down the road when the i3 doesn't cut it anymore. And BTW, the 3570k is $169.99 there as well and the $40 motherboard bundle applies to it as well.

Otherwise, I'd a recommend a good H77 board. The ASRock H77 pro4/MVP has some good features and was used in Tomshardware.com's budget build. Also, you might already know this, but a good site for price comparison is www.pcpartpicker.com. Hope this helped - good luck.