Intel Core i3-530 versus AMD Athlon II X3 435

[Verkil]

I would love to see a head-to-head review between the two. I hope Tom's Hardware will review them.

 

[enzo matrix]

Why would tom's do that? They've already done this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i3-gaming,2588-4.html

Tom's review of the 435:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-ii-x3,2452.html

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Anandtech's i3 530 review has both chips in their charts.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2901

They also have a bench tool that lets you directly compare the chips.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/118?vs=112

Just make sure to see if a higher or lower value is better for any given benchmark. You'll notice that the i3 530 wins nearly every benchmark.

 

[shubham1401]

Both chips OC very good and show their true potential when OCed.

Stock clock comparison won't show the true picture.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Overclocking is a variable. The only way to get a decent comparison is to look at stock clocks. The i3 530 is a stronger CPU. No amount of overclocking is going to change that since you can overclock both chips.

 

[shubham1401]

^I Believe the same

 

[unknown_13]

Yep, Intel's best value CPU is the i5-750 ( and somewhat the i3-530 for budget gaming, but the i5-750 is still the best )

From AMD, as said X3 435, plus X4 955

 

[werxen]

i3 > is so much better its not even funny. X3 is only worth it if you have the mobo already. Fresh build, go i3.

 

[daship]

I have both and i3 powns.

 

[Verkil]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm getting a new rig so I guess I'll just stick with i3.

 

[abhishekk89]

the x3 has an extra core... that might be useful for multi-threaded applications..

 

[enzo matrix]

the x3 has an extra core... that might be useful for multi-threaded applications..

Link to proof as opposed to just supposition?

 

[werxen]

Link to proof as opposed to just supposition?

Don't bother. Benchmarks don't mean *** here.

 

[Verkil]

It's just that I was intrigued by the article that shows i3-530 keeping up with other high-end processors. They did not show benchmarks with games that utilizes multiple cores though. I'm just thinking what if these two processors will be compared in games like GTA4? Will the X3 435 have an edge over the i3-530. It is also stated in the article that the HD 5850 is bottlenecking the tested processors that's why their performance is similar. How about X3 435, will it perform similar with those processor with the same setup? If yes, X3 435 seems to be a wiser choice than i3-530. The money I can save from getting x3+785g instead of i3+h55 will allow me to purchase HD 5850 instead of HD 5770.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

If going with the AMD chip will allow you to get a 5850 instead of a 5770 then that is the way to go. The CPU has very little effect on FPS. That's mainly determined by the GPU. An X3 435 + 5850 would be a better gaming combo than an i3 530 + 5770.

 

[Verkil]

I'm just wondering though, will X3 435's other core give an edge over i3-530 in games like GTA4...

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Yes, an X3 + 5850 would give you better performance in GTA IV than an i3 530 + 5770. Like I said, that's mostly determined by the GPU. GTA IV is also a game that is well threaded and takes advantage of triple and quad core chips.

 

[saaiello]

The I3 will still be faster and if you factor in how well the I3 overclocks....

But like shortstuff is saying your GPU will factor into your overall performance more then the CPU choice.

 

[Verkil]

I really want to see the performance of i3-530 and X3 435 both with HD 5850. Like what Tom's did in their Best $100 Gaming CPU article. Stock and overclocked, power consumption, different games especially multi-threaded ones, if the HD 5850 will bottleneck both cards... X3 435 seems like a very potent and interesting CPU.

 

[Verkil]

Finally found the line I've been looking for...

Better news for AMD buyers is that even-cheaper Athlon II X3 processors offer similar gaming performance compared to today’s tested Phenom II X3 720, although using one would have prevented us from price-matching today’s configurations.

From: Is Intel's Core i3-530 Fast Enough For Performance Gaming?

Does this mean that X3 435 will still perform similarly with i3-530 at lower price?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The i3 chip is faster when using the same GPU. The Anandtech review I posted earlier puts the two chips against each other in a number of games using a GTX 280 and 5870. The i3 is clearly faster in nearly every benchmark. I guess I'll post the link again.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2901/12

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2901/13

The article also covers overclocking and power consumption.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2901/14

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2901/15

They didn't use the i3 in the power consumption numbers, though, because they were using a simulated i3 chip.

 

[Verkil]

Some of reviews I read though shows that their performance is quite close. Considering that X3 435 is $45 less, seems bang for the buck. I admit X3 435 is really tempting.

 

[saaiello]

Yes the AMD x4 435 is cheap yes its the best performance to cost ratio but the I3 is faster at stock compared to an x3 435 and the 435 may perform about the same with it unlocked but if you factor in that the I3 530 is a very good overclocker it is faster all around so if you want best bang for the buck get the x3 435 but if you want the best performer then the I3 is the winner.

 

[abhishekk89]

agree... if u want to save that 40-50 bucks get the x3.. else core i3.. i don't say the difference isn't present... i'm just saying it may not be too huge... especially when u want to some some cash...