Confused: wich cpu for gaming

[noendtogaming]

hey all,

u see Im building a rig for a friend of mine and Im confused wich cpu should i use?

amd 965 / amd 955 / i3-2100 (sorry but these are my only options )

overclocking not an issue..

the other components are :

gtx 560ti
8gb ram

( these are common )

n his uses are only gaming( nd when i say gaming i mean hardcore gaming!!) , seeing videos online that's all

so accordingly wich cpu i should use...?? very confused

thanks all

 

[rolli59]

The I3 has the most performance until you hit multithreaded apps (very few games) or do multitasking. The I3 on a lga1155 board has the best CPU upgrade path, funds allowing an upgrade at a later date.

 

[noendtogaming]

but to play high end games like battlefield 3 / skyrim / mw3 will the i3 cope up...?

 

[rolli59]

Yes it will. BF3 as an example http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-13.html
The only reason to go with the phenoms is if you are going to overclock http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=289

 

[rds1220]

I agree with Rolli, if your not going to overclock than the I3 would be your best choice.

 

[bawchicawawa]

If you can afford like a 212+ for the heatsink (30$), then go with the phenom so you can give it a nice overclock.

If you can't afford, at the least, 212+ as the heat sink on top of the cpu cost, then go with the i3 2100

If you do go the phenom route, get the 960t, it's 110$ and can be overclocked just as high as the 955 BE (because the 955 BE's aren't in stock due to them not even being created anymore).

 

[noendtogaming]

just asking out of the blue : will it be necessary to overclock ?

 

[rds1220]

No it's not necessary but for gaming it helps squeeze out every little bit of performance.

 

[amuffin]

i3-2100, because it uses socket 1155 which is ivybridge compatible. So you can later upgrade to a quad core i5-3xxx or i7-3xxx

 

[noendtogaming]

ok so final answer : for gaming and seeing videos i3-2100 or the 965 be overcocked to lets say 3.8GHz ?

 

[rds1220]

I still say the I3 2100.

 

[lhaskew]

I would always choose an Intel product; however, since you are on a budget, I would go with the 965. You can overclock it safely to 3.8 and sometimes 3.9 Ghz.
This would be my choice, but ONLY if I never planned to upgrade the processor. Like amuffin said, you can always upgrade with the 1155 socket. Plus the core prices will likely drop when Ivy Bridge releases.

 

[noendtogaming]

Best answer selected by noendtogaming.