Which is better? i3 2120 or Phenom II overclocked

[Guest]

I am building a gaming computer and cannot decide which processor to use. My first choice is the i3 2120@3.3 GHz. It is obvious that I can't overclock this. My second choice is a Phenom II that I could overclock to around 4GHz. Which is better? Pros and cons?

 

[amuffin]

Depends on which phenom, though i3 will have a much better upgrade path as you can upgrade to a higher end sandybridge or a higher end ivybridge cpu with a z68 board. It also depends on your entire budget and what you want to use this system for. Here is a comparison of the i3-2100 and the phenom 965: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=102

 

[esrever]

the phenom OC will be faster but draw more power and also have less of an upgrade path.

 

[WR2]

Any particular games in mind?
What GPU and monitor resolution will you be using with the your new CPU?

 

[Ohmybad]

Toms did a great write up about sub 200$ gaming chips http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120.html

 

[Guest]

Any particular games in mind?
What GPU and monitor resolution will you be using with the your new CPU?

1600 x 900 Radeon 6570 1gb ddr3,dx 11

 

[WR2]

You're going to find yourself GPU limited before you reach the limits of either CPU.
I think you'd get, overall, about the same performance out of either CPU.

You might also think about which option gives you the best upgrade path.

 

[esrever]

buy a better gpu.

 

[loneninja]

1600 x 900 Radeon 6570 1gb ddr3,dx 11

You'll be GPU limited in basically any game with that, overclocking a Phenom II wouldn't give you better FPS, I'd grab whatever you can get cheaper and try to invest more into the GPU.