i3 3220 vs Pentium G860

purpleninja · Jun 13, 2013

I am looking into building a budget gaming PC/editing machine. I have about 400, give or take. I can wait a little bit to save up a little more money. I eventually want to get an i5 3570. For starting out, should I get a Pentium G860 for $70 or an i3 3220 for $130? I know both use socket 1155. I do 720p renders and play games such as PlanetSide 2 and Skyrim. Also, should I get a Radeon 7770 to start graphic wise, or go straight for a 650 Ti? Or is there not that much difference between the cards? I play at 1920 by 1080, hoping to play at pretty high settings.

Thanks in advance!

firo40 · Jun 13, 2013

The i3 will give you alot better performance get the I3. With those graphics cards 1080p will not be at the highest settings at all unless you like low frame rates

smeezekitty · Jun 13, 2013

There won't be a massive difference between the 7770 and the 650 ti.
But I would spring for the I3. Those games need as much CPU and GPU as possible.

daswilhelm · Jun 13, 2013

go for the g2120 instead of the g860. not much difference between that and the 3220.

purpleninja · Jun 13, 2013

There is a 50-60 dollar difference between the i3 and the Pentium. Is that worth it? I've heard that the only difference is the Hyper Thereading and a higher cook speed.

firo40 · Jun 13, 2013

Which helps alot in games google some benchmarks and take alook

daswilhelm · Jun 13, 2013

i would save the 50-60 bucks and spend that on a better gpu.

firo40 · Jun 13, 2013

But youd be more bottlenecked making it unworth it in the end. Why have a bigger gpu if you cant even use its full potential

daswilhelm · Jun 13, 2013

because id rather have a g2120 with a 7850 than a 3220 and a 7770.

purpleninja · Jun 13, 2013

So, would a Pentium and a 650 Ti be good until I can get my hands on an i5?

daswilhelm · Jun 13, 2013

or save the 60 bucks and buy an i5 down the road.

Onus · Jun 13, 2013

At the settings ranges supported by these cards, the incremental improvement from the HD7770 to the GTX650Ti will be very visible. I own both cards. For 1080p gaming, I think the GTX650Ti Boost would be a more comfortable target card, although if you're willing to accept lowered settings, the GTX650Ti will do.
Get the i3 if you can though. A lot of newer games, including Skyrim, may not be smooth on a Pentium.

purpleninja · Jun 13, 2013

What's the difference between the 650 Ti, the 650 Ti SSC, and the 650 Ti Boost?

purpleninja · Jun 13, 2013

Is the 3220 and the 650 Ti a good combo?

firo40 · Jun 13, 2013

Its not bad for a budget build at all

purpleninja · Jun 13, 2013

firo40 :

So a G860 wouldn't cut it?

Onus · Jun 13, 2013

The 650Ti SSC is an overclocked version of the 650Ti. You may or may not be able to manually reach those same clocks with a more generic card; the SSC is guaranteed to work and be stable on those settings.
The 650Ti Boost has a 192bit data path (vs. 128 for the 650Ti), has a "Boost" setting that runs at higher clocks, and it supports SLI, which the 650Ti does not. IMHO, it is what the 650Ti should have been from the beginning.

purpleninja · Jun 14, 2013

So, is that okay on a Pentium G860 and a 650 Ti (basic)? Then the i5 3570K upgrade?

Onus · Jun 14, 2013

If you're planning on an upgrade soon, a Pentium+650Ti might be tolerable for a while. If the upgrade won't be for months, I'd get at least the i3 to go with the 650Ti.

purpleninja · Jun 14, 2013

Onus :

I plan on adding 4 GB of ram first (probably starting with 4, so it'll make 8), then I'll get an i5 ASAP. Unless it's worth the extra $30 to have 8 GB right off the bat.

i3 3220 vs Pentium G860

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