I3 540 with GTX 460 or i5 760 with GTS 450?

daiquiri

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Dec 12, 2010
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Hi,
A friend asked me to help him build a budget gaming pc. He insists on an Intel/Nvidia setup. The PC will mainly be used for gaming, no other resource hungry apps.
The best CPU/VGA combo that fits his budget is either an i3 540 with Geforce GTX 460 or i5 760 with Geforce GTS 450.
Which one should he go with?
Thanks a lot
 
the i3 + 460 will be better in games that only use 2 cores. Games are using more and more cores nowadays,.

I'd sggest that an Athlon II X4 640 + HD 6850 might be a better deal. Note that a good AM3 motherboard is $60-100, so you might be able to save enough for a HD 6870 instead.

If you have to stay intel, I'd get the i3 for now
 

daiquiri

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thanks, I realize that the athlon+radeon setup might be a better choice, unfortunately my friend is extremely stubborn about the intel+nvidia thing.
 

BeCoolBro

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Tough choice.But the way I see it,you could go phenom 2 x4 or phenom 2 x3 740 and gtx 460.Or if gaming is his only concern and he can oc,you could also go with a phenom 2 x2 560 and a 6870.
 

daiquiri

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unfortunately, neither of these are viable options because, as I said, he absolutely insists on intel/nvidia so there's no way in hell I can convince him about an amd and/or ati setup. and he wants to buy it now, not in ~2months (until a new cpu model/matching mobos will be available here)
 

ohiou_grad_06

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Can you get him to compromise with an AMD and nvidia setup? But as you said, he may not do that. Might try explaining that amd is pretty good, and he would have a better gaming experience if he compromises there. If he would, you could even go with like a Phenom 2 955 black edition and the 460. If your friend has to have the intel, I think I'd go with the i5 and 450. Yeah, he'll have to turn a few graphics down, but he'll be set up better for later.
 
^ I agree the i5 760 w/ the 450 is the better option. Mainly because you'll get the 4 cores and that'll allow you run most games nowadays. Games like Black Ops and BC:BF2 are already optimizing to run quad cores. So with that said you'll get less lag going with a 760 and 450. Also tell you friend to OC the 450. He's hot headed if he can't wait for 1 month. Exactly from now, it's one month till SB. He's wasting money.