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Would an i3 be a Bottleneck for Gaming?

Soldato
Joined
10 Sep 2008
Posts
11,973
Location
Bangor, Northern Ireland
Hey guys,

I just upgraded my old workhorse HP desktop from an old E6300 C2D to an i3 550 Clarkdale complete with DDR3 mobo and 4 gigs of RAM. I really only used it for 3D building modelling for work, so it has been a very worthwhile upgrade as it now performs brilliantly.

However, ive decided i might as well upgrade it a bit further with a new PSU and GFX card (possibly 6870) so that I can get back into the glorious world of PC Gaming. My question for you is would my i3 now be considered a bottleneck compared to say an i5 since its only dual core? Or would the difference not be hugely noticeable?

Thanks :)
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Apr 2003
Posts
13,513
Depends on the game - as more and more games are starting to be produced that will utlise 4 cores.

However, there are far more games (for now) which run on 2 cores and an i3 coupled with a 6870 should munch its way through most of them with ease (depending on screen res and settings etc.) Even the games that use all 4 cores will be playable but you may need to make a few comromises in settings with new releases.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
10 Sep 2008
Posts
11,973
Location
Bangor, Northern Ireland
Depends on the game - as more and more games are starting to be produced that will utlise 4 cores.

However, there are far more games (for now) which run on 2 cores and an i3 coupled with a 6870 should munch its way through most of them with ease (depending on screen res and settings etc.) Even the games that use all 4 cores will be playable but you may need to make a few comromises in settings with new releases.

Thanks Plec, i kinda figured it would be ok for now but not great for future games. For all the difference in price i think i might as well just upgrade then, got a few old bits to sell as well which should help make up the difference :)
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
10 Sep 2008
Posts
11,973
Location
Bangor, Northern Ireland
I have a Core i3 2100 and a HD5850 1GB which runs games fine at 1680X1050. Have you tried overclocking the Core i3 550??

I have it running at 3.9GHz at the minute, though I still havent bought my gfx card yet so i dont know if its much of an improvement over stock speeds as i havent tried any games yet. Ill be playing at 1900x1080 though...
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Feb 2010
Posts
14,591
Yea. An overclocked i3 550 overclock to around 4.0GHz should be fine for majority of the single GPU cards, and it shouldn't really bottleneck a 6870, unless the game is poorly coded.

However, I would suggest you get a 3rd party CPU cooler (if you not already have one) and push the overclock of the i3 higher...4.3-4.5GHz is achievable.
 
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Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2004
Posts
14,081
Location
Between Realities
You guys saying to get a 2500k, Are you kidding me? the guy has just upgraded to an I3 550!?! If anything, he should go with a 750/760. But he may not even need that! Guys that tell people to spend money without the need, thats not advice!! Especially when you're telling the guy to get a new motherboard! The I3 will probably be enough for your needs, but if not, a 750\760 is an easy enough upgrade path.
 
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