i5 6500 worth the extra $100 over i3 6100?

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dantheman0809

dantheman0809

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Oct 14, 2015
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I am at a bit of a conundrum here, I am building a pc for a friend, and currently i have found a i3 6100 for $100. The cheapest i5 6500 i have found is $200, and while I do love i5 I am really not sure if it's worth the extra $100 to upgrade to it. Is it actually worth the extra $100? I'm really not sure at this point and would like some second opinions. I know the i3 has four threads and really good single core and it holds up in a decent amount of games so I'm really not sure about this.
build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/2sgKBP
 
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Chugalug_


:)
I'm trying to convince you to get the i5, because if you upgrade your graphics card in say 3 years time, your CPU will be obsolete if you have the i3.
The i5 6500 will last you another 3 years AT LEAST.
It's well worth the investment, but if you don't have the budget for it its understandable to go for the i3. Your choice either way! :)
I've altered your build to fit some better components.
$120 more for an i5 6500, 16GB...
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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some of the newer games look for 4 core cpu to run. if you dont they wont run. if your close to a micro center look at there cpu and mb combo deals. also with school of wasted money what do you do with the i3 when he replaces it latter with an i5 whe nhe has the funds??
 
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dantheman0809

dantheman0809

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The i3-6100 has hyperthreading which allows you to play games which would normally only run with 4 core processors... there are only two physical cores but the virtual ones act similarily to physical ones.

I just haven't seen any benchmarks which would lead me to believe that it's worth an extra $100 (double the price) to get a processor which is maybe 10-15% better in most cases (and loses in single core performance).
 
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Chugalug_

Chugalug_

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Jan 28, 2016
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Yes it is worth it.
The i5 6500 has stronger cores with a larger cache, more physical cores and better instructions per cycle (ipc).
This allows you to use a much more powerful graphics card without bottlenecking, and will run faster and smoother in games.
The maximum I would recommend with an i3 6100 is a 970 or RX480.
What is the budget for your build and what is the intended use? I can put together a build for you.
 
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Chugalug_

Chugalug_

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Jan 28, 2016
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Okay, looks mostly good, only thing I would recommend changing is the power supply, as that is not a very good quality model. Try this: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/NYyFf7/xfx-power-supply-p1650gts3x
Just be aware that you will experience a light bottleneck with the RX480, about 10%.
So if you want to get the most out of your parts or plan on upgrading or running crossfire in the future, the i5 6500 will definitely be worth it.
Apart from that it seems you're set.
 
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dantheman0809

dantheman0809

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yeah, it is true that there will be a bottleneck, but my argument is that it's not worth paying double the price for that small of an increase in performance (considering that i'm not pairing the i3 with an extremely high end gpu) either way yeah everything else you've said is true and ill def change the psu
 
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Chugalug_

Chugalug_

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Jan 28, 2016
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:)
I'm trying to convince you to get the i5, because if you upgrade your graphics card in say 3 years time, your CPU will be obsolete if you have the i3.
The i5 6500 will last you another 3 years AT LEAST.
It's well worth the investment, but if you don't have the budget for it its understandable to go for the i3. Your choice either way! :)
I've altered your build to fit some better components.
$120 more for an i5 6500, 16GB of RAM over 8, a better quality PSU, a faster SSD and a nicer case.
I'd say thats well worth it.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/qDgKBP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/qDgKBP/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($57.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($73.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.95 @ Directron)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($85.95 @ Amazon)
Monitor: LG 23MP57HQ-P 23.0" 60Hz Monitor ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Redragon K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Other: RX480 4GB ($200.00)
Total: $1014.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-14 01:09 EDT-0400
 
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GAMER_1

GAMER_1

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Feb 28, 2016
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Chugalug is ABSOLUTELY correct. an i5 will last you longer.

(You may unselect if you want. :3)
 
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Chugalug_

Chugalug_

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Jan 28, 2016
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<3
Thanks for helping get my point across to OP, hopefully he decides to go with the i5. :)
 
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dantheman0809

dantheman0809

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Oct 14, 2015
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ok fine you guys win even though i'm not completely convinced ill do it because yolo
im gonna stick with the same case though. already did a build for a friend that involved a nzxt s340 and I want to try working with something else
 
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Chugalug_

Chugalug_

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Jan 28, 2016
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:)
We just want the best experience for your friend in his games, nothing more. <3
Good luck with the build!
 
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A

Aezehr

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Apr 9, 2016
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Its worth it. the i5 6500 will help you in more CPU-bound games. Paired with a minimum of a GTX 950 you should be able to run most new games at 1080p 60fps. Here are some examples.

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSGWvwbXs8A"][/video]
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqs16fpINH8"][/video]
 
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