i3 vs i5 vs i7 gaming benchmark

[1kiwi]

Quick one all - does anyone know of a good gaming benchmark for the new crop of intel chips. I had previously thought that my QX @ 4Ghz would be compeitive to the new i* series but would like to confirm.

The following bundle looks like a nice deal:

Asus Maximus III Formula Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £192.99
Corsair Dominator 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMD4GX3M2A1600C8) £132.99
Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £113.99

Or:

Intel Core i5 670 3.46GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail + Intel Portable Speaker Bundle £236.99
Asus Maximus III Formula Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £192.99
Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-16000 2000MHz Dual Channel + 3D Mark Vantage (PVV34G2000LLKB) £121.99

 

[easyrider]

i3 530 is the only chip in the i3 range worth getting

and in the i5 range the only chip worth getting is the 750

The 6XXX i5 offer nothing extra over the Quad 750 and yet cost nearly the same. The 670 cost's even more.

If you have the money for that second rig I suggest you go i7 it will be cheaper

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The OP already has a Core2 quad at 4GHZ it maybe better for them to wait until next year as new architecture AMD and Intel chips will be out by then IIRC.

A Core2 quad at 4GHZ is still a very fast processor IMHO!

I would go with a Core i7 860 if the OP wants to upgrade now. AFAIK it is faster than a Core i7 920 in gaming when both are at stock speeds and has HT too.

I would get the following components:

Core i7 860 ~ £232

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-298-IN

Asus P7P55D Deluxe ~ £174

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-362-AS

Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB ~ £83

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

OTH,the socket 1366 based motherboards have full speed Crossfire and SLI capability as the socket 1156 motherboards are limited to PCI-E 2.0 8X in Crossfire and SLI.

 

[mmj_uk]

Most current multithreaded games show little to no benefit over about 3.4ghz on quads (rough guess).

Your Q9xxx @4ghz is more than enough for gaming.

 

[setter]

Most current multithreaded games show little to no benefit over about 3.4ghz on quads (rough guess).

Your Q9xxx @4ghz is more than enough for gaming.

Can agree on this, ive had 3 intel quads, q6600@ 3.8ghz, q9550@ 3.8ghz and now an i7 @4ghz, havent seen major gains in games ive played above 3.4ghz.

 

[Nocky24]

I've upgraded to an i7 at 4GHZ from a q9550 and i can honestly say that for gaming you wont see the difference against an equivalently clocked quad.

 

[1kiwi]

Ok cool thanks guys. Guess I will save for a SSD to get rid of the itch.