Headed to Microcenter, best budget cpu? i3? FX 6300?

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mjohnson22

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Jul 25, 2013
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Hey everybody, I'm new to the forum and trying to decide on a new cpu to buy. I'm out of town and luckily there's a Microcenter which is a nice change considering there's nothing where I live (Florida). I do have a couple of concerns though, which budget cpu will best fit my needs? I have no bias to any company and am simply looking for something to get me through the next couple of years.

It'll be strictly for gaming but I have a couple of questions. For starters, I see they've got the fx 6300 for $120, i3 3240 for $110, perhaps I could splurge on an i5 if their bundles are decent. My concerns with the amd fx series are that they are around the same speed if not a hair slower (from what I've seen) than the i3, but would the benefit of more cores make up for that in gaming performance? (Games like bf3, crysis 3, etc) or should I stick with the amd? Another concern is that if I buy the i3 it seems like socket 1155 is basically finished and how much sense would it make for me to buy a dual core when bf4 and other large titles are right around the corner?

Any and all help would be appreciated, thanks.
 
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Maxime506
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ElMoIsEviL

ElMoIsEviL

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Jan 10, 2006
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It would seem to me that the FX-6300 is indeed faster than the i3 3220 as you can see here.

In games, it depends on the titles but the trend going forward is more multi-threading aware games with the arrival of the new Sony and Microsoft gaming consoles. So my suggestion would be the FX-6300... hands down.
 
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Maxime506

Maxime506

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Apr 22, 2013
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hello, I would like to tell u that FX-6300 will do better than i3 at the $110 price level.

With a good gfx, FX-6300 should be enough for the gaming.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kGwJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kGwJ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kGwJ/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Total: $742.65
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-25 20:22 EDT-0400)


And if your budget is better, then this i5 rig should be enthusiast:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kGBB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kGBB/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kGBB/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI B85-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($78.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Total: $946.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-25 20:24 EDT-0400)
 
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mjohnson22

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Jul 25, 2013
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Judging by the responses, I am more than convinced to stay away from the i3. Right now it seems like the fx 6300 is the best bang for my buck. The only other question I'm facing if I were to go with an i5, would it be worth the extra $30 to spend on the 3570k over the 4570 (non overclockable, but turbo)?
 
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mjohnson22

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Jul 25, 2013
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I wasn't aware they all had turbo (let the facepalms roll in) but a decent overclock could end up saving me some extra cash in the long run, and that's always a nice thing. It'll be strictly a gaming rig so I'm questioning whether I'll need the extra two cores in the 6300 but at $130 I really can't complain, I guess I'll have to see what Microcenter has tomorrow, but considering this is the last part of my rig that I need to upgrade, I don't want to have to worry about upgrading it year later. We'll see.
 
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jaguarskx

jaguarskx

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Apr 19, 2006
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Similar to how it is worth spending the extra $10 to buy the FX-6300 over the i3-3220, spending money for an Core i5 CPU. For most people I would say that it is worth spending the extra $30 n the i5-3570k over the i5-4570. It gives you the opportunity to overclock (OC) the CPU for better performance. That extra performance may allow you to postpone your next PC build for a year or two; depending on how much performance you demand. Therefore, spending the extra $30 now can help save money in the future by postponing your next build.

For those who are on a strict budget or have no desire to OC the CPU, then I would recommend that you simply buy the i5-4570. You will also need a Z77 or Z87 chipset mobo to OC the i5-3570k which can cost a little more than a H77 / H87 chipset mobo.
 
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Sn1992-1361850

Sn1992-1361850

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Jul 13, 2013
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The best u can have it is i5 3570k for 189$
 
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Maxime506

Maxime506

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Apr 22, 2013
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You may forget sth. H87/Z87 only compatible w/ i5-4xxx CPUs. So it's impossible that i5-3570k pair w/ H87/Z87 mobo.

And if u wanna overclock, I'm not sure if the guy who needs help is a savvy 'cause OC'ing isn't easy for some beginner, besides OC a 3570K needs a good Z77 mobo support, which may cost a $50-100 extra than a B75/H77 mobo to endure the overclockability.
 
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mjohnson22

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Jul 25, 2013
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10,510
Yeah, I did. I got to microcenter intending to buy the 4570, but with their limited range of z87 mobos I ended up buying the 3570k and a z77 mobo for around $250, thanks for all of the suggestions.
 
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