How much longer is i3 viable for?

[zex95966]

First, I'd like to say I've never built my own computer yet and have never used anything past what my current laptop is running which is a pentium r dual core cpu. with integrated graphics...

Now I plan to build my own gaming comp soon, and am wondering how much better the I3 vs what I'm using now is, as I understand it, they both use dual cores but the i3 has hyperthreading which makes a big difference.
When haswell comes out, will the i3 be demoted to what the pentium is now? The last thing I want to do is get myself an i3 only to realize a year later that it's junk and can't play any newer games now that haswell is out.
I will either be buying the i5 ivybridge K series and using the integrated 4000 graphics, or getting the i3 and using a gtx 550.

I personally don't feel my pentium atm is viable anymore. It can't even play minecraft without severe lag. I wouldn't be surprised if notepad took an hour to open (yes that is bitter sarcasm).
I've watched some videos of the i3 on minecraft... and I still notice occasional lag. I know the cpu isn't the only thing that minecraft runs off, but when I see videos of an i5 or better running it, I see zero lag.

now let me tell ya, I'm only using minecraft here as an example... I plan to play all the newest games for a couple years. It's just that minecraft seems to be the most cpu intensive game I know at the moment. (I watch skyrim videos on an i3 and see no lag for example.) The sims 3 might be the next most CPU intensive game I know (perhaps even more than minecraft)

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Out of those choices, the i3 with a 550 Ti is the best option. To your question, I suspect that a Sandy i3 will do you for around two-three years. It's plenty good for now (especially with just Minecraft), but it'll struggle in time with newer games, I imagine, when an i5 won't. The best thing to do is get an i5 and the 550 Ti. The HD 4000 Graphics is OK, but it's still much worse than a 550 Ti.

 

[InvalidError]

Hyperthreading gives only ~30% performance boost in applications that are sufficiently threaded to actually benefit from that. Few games leverage a 2nd core to a significant extent, even fewer can make effective use of three. If you are really worried about medium/long-term readiness of whatever you buy today, i5 would currently be the best bet for the foreseeable future.

i3 is fine for now and near future.

 

[rolli59]

Yep I3 is not getting outdated soon but in a couple of years you probably can grab an used I5 or I7 for cheap since the constant upgraders will be moving on to bigger and better things. Go for the I3 and GTX550 or HD6770.

 

[jaguarskx]

CPUs becomes outdated when you decide it's performance is no longer good enough for you. It can be tomorrow or 3 years from now.

 

[InvalidError]

CPUs becomes outdated when you decide it's performance is no longer good enough for you. It can be tomorrow or 3 years from now.

Or even 5+ years when the computer is used mostly for browsing or experiments such as occasional messing around with Linux that may not be particularly CPU-intensive.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Or even 5+ years when the computer is used mostly for browsing or experiments such as occasional messing around with Linux that may not be particularly CPU-intensive.

It'll definitely last 5+ years for that, no question. Gaming, on the other hand, no.

 

[zex95966]

Best answer selected by zex95966.