Overclocked i3 bundle, or stock i5?

Izi

Izi

Izi

Soldato
Joined
9 Dec 2007
Posts
2,718
Just interested in getting peoples opinion on what will be fastest for a web development platform (compiling programs)

An over clocked i3 system like so:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-042-OE&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=

OR

Getting a stock i5 @ 2.66

Sorry for the noob-esk question, I have no idea how processors work. I understand the clock speed on the i3 at 4ghz is higher, but will this simply translate in to better performance than the i5?
 
Clock speeds are still clock speeds and since both a quad core CPUs, the i3 wins hand down here in both perfromance over price.. Crikky a 4GHz quad core, 4GB bundle for <£315..!!!

The main difference between the two CPUs you mention is that the i3 has an integrated GPU and doesn't have Turbo Boost. If you are installing your own graphics card the integrated GPU is irrelevant. Also Turbo boost is irrelevant if the chip is overclocked anyway..
 
Last edited:
If the i5 you a referring to is this one then it is a quad core (compared to the hyperthreaded dual core that is the i3).

Therefore, if the programs that you are using are multithreaded - then the true quad core i5 will perform quite a bit better than the i3 at stock speeds.

As for i3@4Ghz vs [email protected] - the winner is less clear. However, please bear in mind that overclocking an i5 is a reasonably simple affair - you just want to spend £20 on a decent, compatible cooler and read an overclocking guide for 20minutes.
 
While the overclock i3 530 at 4GHz would pretty much keep up with a single 5870, and upgrading to any card faster than 5870 level in the future would get bottlenecked by it.

And the upgrade path is certain not the best, because if he does decide to upgrade to i5 750 in the future, the Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H with the i3 530 bundle is not that great for overclocking it. So it is fine if he only use the i3 530 overclock bundle for now, but the chances are he would need to change motherboard if he's gonna upgrade the CPU, may it be switch to i5 750, or to the next generation platform.

A i5 750 set up can be acquired at £362:
i5750.jpg


Pretty much the price difference is mainly in the CPU, but a i5 750 overclocked to 4.0GHz would be able to keep up with graphic card as fast as two 5870 and still have some breathing room left. So in theory the overclocked i5 750 would last quite a long time for gaming...until the graphic demands for average games get to the point of requiring graphic cards faster than two 5870.
 
Marine-RX179 said:
Pretty much the price difference is mainly in the CPU, but a i5 750 overclocked to 4.0GHz would be able to keep up with graphic card as fast as two 5870 and still have some breathing room left. So in theory the overclocked i5 750 would last quite a long time for gaming...until the graphic demands for average games get to the point of requiring graphic cards faster than two 5870.
Click to expand...

Agreed on the graphics point, but your not going to buy a graphic card as expensive as your whole setup, you would buy a suitbale graphics card to match the platform you are utilising (i3).

Also you would be lucky to get a nice stable i5 4GHz clock on a freezer 7 Pro, the heat dump is considerably more, on a suitbale cooler (akasa nero) you are looking at 60C on load, you going to get around 80C+ on the Freezer 7 Pro, I wouldn't skip on the cooling.

More cores at a larger die size (45nm for i5, 32nm for i3) with the same overclock = more heat which = better required cooling no matter which way you look at it.
 
Marine-RX179 said:
While the overclock i3 530 at 4GHz would pretty much keep up with a single 5870, and upgrading to any card faster than 5870 level in the future would get bottlenecked by it.

And the upgrade path is certain not the best, because if he does decide to upgrade to i5 750 in the future, the Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H with the i3 530 bundle is not that great for overclocking it. So it is fine if he only use the i3 530 overclock bundle for now, but the chances are he would need to change motherboard if he's gonna upgrade the CPU, may it be switch to i5 750, or to the next generation platform.

A i5 750 set up can be acquired at £362:


Pretty much the price difference is mainly in the CPU, but a i5 750 overclocked to 4.0GHz would be able to keep up with graphic card as fast as two 5870 and still have some breathing room left. So in theory the overclocked i5 750 would last quite a long time for gaming...until the graphic demands for average games get to the point of requiring graphic cards faster than two 5870.
Click to expand...

Agreed but the OP had no desire to overclock the i5 as he is comparing the i3 bundle with a stock i5 .
 
NathWraith said:
Agreed on the graphics point, but your not going to buy a graphic card as expensive as your whole wetup, you would buy a suitbale graphics card to match the platform you are utilising (i3).

Also you would be lucky to get a nice stable i5 4GHz clock on a freezer 7 Pro, the heat dump is considerably more, on a suitbale cooler (akasa nero) you are looking at 60C on load, you going to get around 80C+ on the Freezer 7 Pro, I wouldn't skip on the cooling.

More cores at a larger die size (45nm for i5, 32nm for i3) with the same overclock = more heat which = better required cooling no matter which way you look at it.
Click to expand...
Fair points, I completely agree. I guess it's totally down to the what the OP's expectation of how long the set up is gonna last him. For the CPU cooler, I was just quoting the same as the i3 530 bundle for comparison sake; can always pay like £10 extra to get a better CPU cooler.

In my opinion, for people that are thinking on upgrading to the next gen CPU/platform sometime in the future, the overclocked i3 530 bundle is absolute great for use until then. But if thinking of skipping next gen platform, then the i5 750 would be a better choice. Just my two cents.

And i5 750 overclock bundle price has dropped. It was overpriced at the £470+ range in the pass, but now at just £427 is actually worth considering:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-023-OB&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom