Differnces between i5 & I5 Sandybridge and other questions

[drich290195]

I understand that the sandy bridge has a built in hd graphics controller but it has less l3 cache does this affect it in anyway also whats the major differnce between the I7 & i5 cant really see it. And the I3 is basically a core2duo with a hd controller am i right. Just trying to get my head around the new generation of cpu as im looking to upgrade from a conroe core2duo and want to get things straight in my head cheers

 

[clocka]

you are best reading reviews of the processors, search on google as there are lots of things different between i5 and i5 2nd gen and i3 and core 2.

 

[drich290195]

cheers mate was just after key feautures really would a i3 be any better for gaming than my core2duo conroe

 

[DragonQ]

Sandy Bridge is ~15% faster (clock-for-clock) than Nehalem/Lynnfield (not including HyperThreading), which is in turn 15% faster than Core 2 (not including HyperThreading). Examples using typical overclocks:

- i5-2500K @ 4.5 GHz is ~66% faster than a Q6600 @ 3.6 GHz
- i7-2600K @ 4.6 GHz is ~33% faster than an i7-920/930/950 @ 4 GHz

i3 = 2 cores, HyperThreading
i5 low-end = 2 cores, HyperThreading, Turbo
i5 high-end = 4 cores, Turbo
i7 = 4-6 cores, HyperThreading, Turbo

Sandy Bridge has a few new limitations though. Firstly, only the "K" series CPUs are overclockable (they have an unlocked multiplier). Secondly, only the P67 and Z68 chipsets allow overclocking (when paired with "K" series CPU). Thirdly, only the H67 and Z68 chipsets allow the use of the integrated graphics processor (IGP).

 

[Orcvader]

As DragonQ said, thanks to the new architecture SB even with the i3 you'll see some improvement.

Personally I would try and save up for a quad core CPU for an upgrade, you'll see a massive improvement in gaming from your current CPU.

Also noticed your RAM in your sig, are you running 32bit Windows? This could be why only 3.2gb is avaliable.

 

[drich290195]

so realistically you would want to buy a z68 chipset too use the graphics and clock the processor, and why have they not enabled the hyperthreading on the newer i5's it seems to seriously limit the processor i would ne inclinde to go for the lower i5 with hyper threading

 

[Orcvader]

so realistically you would want to buy a z68 chipset too use the graphics and clock the processor, and why have they not enabled the hyperthreading on the newer i5's it seems to seriously limit the processor i would ne inclinde to go for the lower i5 with hyper threading

If you're gaming, you would want to use a discrete GPU instead, as the inbuilt Intel GPU is rubbish for gaming. Hence a P67 is a better cheaper alternative as it still allows you to overclock.

Hyperthreading only gives around 50% extra performance, in the lower i5 each core has to deal with two threads, while the higher i5 each thread has a dedicated core working on them, allowing them to work more efficiently, hence 4 cores 4 threads will perform a lot more better compared to 2 cores 4 threads.

 

[drich290195]

oh and no 64bit windows professional orcvader cheers for trying though think its due to the motherboard reserving some for systm probably time for a upgrade

 

[Randall8686]

if your going to buy now it would be silly not to get SB, if your gaming you dont want the intergrated graphics as said also you want a "k" series so you can overclock if you dont like messing aroudn with overcloking get somthing like the MSI GD65 or same family board as they have a "magic button" that you press and it will overclock it for you to about 4-4.5ghz (2500k)

 

[Andrei23]

If you're gaming, you would want to use a discrete GPU instead, as the inbuilt Intel GPU is rubbish for gaming. Hence a P67 is a better cheaper alternative as it still allows you to overclock.

Hyperthreading only gives around 50% extra performance, in the lower i5 each core has to deal with two threads, while the higher i5 each thread has a dedicated core working on them, allowing them to work more efficiently, hence 4 cores 4 threads will perform a lot more better compared to 2 cores 4 threads.

where did you get that information from, or are you just estimating based on your own opinion of how HT works