Processor for gaming

[nomad1247]

Im planning on getting a new system, which will be used for gaming mostly. I dont want to have to upgrade the processor for another 4 years atleast, so which of these would be better?

-INTEL CORE i3 2100 3.10Ghz
-INTEL CORE i5 2400 3.10Ghz
-INTEL CORE i5 2500 3.30Ghz

I know that the i5 2500 is the best, but is it worth it, since games use more GPU than CPU? But then again, i want to future-proof it, so....

 

[jimmysmitty]

The 2500 is not the best. The best is the 2600k.

But a 2500/2500k would still be enough for gaming anf probably last a few years. Plus you can always upgrade to Ivy Bridge based CPUs next year if you feel the need for more CPU power.

 

[Emperus]

The i3 being a dual core gets easily eliminated from the list.. The i5 2500k is the one i'll recommend you to get as it can be overclocked easily which would come in handy as video cards eventually get faster and faster..

 

[nomad1247]

i meant the 2500 was the best from the 3 mentioned. And as for overclocking, i have never done it since i dont know how. maybe once i get the pc i might look into it, but i dont want to risk damaging any hardware.

 

[proton9]

you cant oc the sb i3s and 2500 isn't ideal for overclocking. get 2500k, oc'ing it is very easy you just need to increase the multiplier

 

[jaguarskx]

The i5 2500K is fine. Spending more money on the i7 2600K for marginal gains is not worth it. See following benchmarks:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

Fallout 3 gets the biggest gain of 6% - 7%. Everything else is 1% - 3%.

Not exactly sure what the Civ 5 "No Render" benchmark is though.

 

[Emperus]

i meant the 2500 was the best from the 3 mentioned. And as for overclocking, i have never done it since i dont know how. maybe once i get the pc i might look into it, but i dont want to risk damaging any hardware.

You would need the i5 2500k for overclocking and as already pointed out by Proton, overclocking is pretty easy.. Also, you won't be damaging any hardware provided you have a decent motherboard and a quality PSU..