Intel Upgrade Recommendation from e6300

[Jetpac]

Im currently using a conroe e6300 @1.86 ghz. and looking to upgrade my computer a bit.

I use the PC for a bit of gaming (nowt super high end, CS:GO, TF2, Portal 2 Etc) Work processing some Photoshop and general internet use.

Im looking at the I3-2120 or the G630. coupled with an 8800gt

so a few questions:

1) How much of a difference will i see from my e6300 with either of these processors
2) How much of a difference is there between the 2120 and the G630 (i know the i3 is superior but i can get a G 630 a fair bit cheaper.

As ive said, i dont do anything massively high end! will be running Windows 7 also.

 

[Raiddinn]

The i3 is probably 25 - 50% better in most tasks as compared to the G630.

The i3 is between 50 - 100% better than the e6300. The G630 would be between 25 - 75% better than the e6300 give or take.

If I were you I would not buy the 8800 GT new if you don't already have it. It would be far too expensive to be worth it in relation to the performance it would give. I know the games are old, but new you could probably get a card twice as good or more for the same price or a little more.

 

[Jetpac]

Thanks for the reply!

Yea, i already have the 8800GT so that wil come over from my old system.
I have been offered a Asus p8h61-mx mobo + the G630 for £60.

any good deal wise? ive been out of the building game for so long i dont know what is good any more!

 

[jaguarskx]

Generally speaking, a Core i3 is probably about 10% at most more powerful than a Pentium G CPU assuming the same clockspeed. The primary differences between the two CPUs are:

1. The i3 has Hyper Threading, but only gives performance increase for those apps that can make use of HT.

2. The Pentium G CPUs lacks the AVX intruction set, but it is only useful in financial and scientific modelling.

3. The Core i3 has the faster Intel HD 2000 graphic core, while the Pentium G only has the Intel HD graphic core (Intel HD 1000 for lack of a better name).

4. Pentium G RAM is limited to DDR3 1066 vs. DDR3 1333 for the Core i3; memory bandwidth is 17 GB/s vs. 21GB/s in the Core i3's favor.

 

[Jetpac]

Generally speaking, a Core i3 is probably about 10% at most more powerful than a Pentium G CPU assuming the same clockspeed. The primary differences between the two CPUs are:

1. The i3 has Hyper Threading, but only gives performance increase for those apps that can make use of HT.

2. The Pentium G CPUs lacks the AVX intruction set, but it is only useful in financial and scientific modelling.

3. The Core i3 has the faster Intel HD 2000 graphic core, while the Pentium G only has the Intel HD graphic core (Intel HD 1000 for lack of a better name).

4. Pentium G RAM is limited to DDR3 1066 vs. DDR3 1333 for the Core i3; memory bandwidth is 17 GB/s vs. 21GB/s in the Core i3's favor.

so based on what i want, what do you think? budget is coming into play big time as well.

 

[jaguarskx]

As far as a Core 2 Duo E series and a Sandy Bridge Core i3 series CPUs... Sandy Bridge CPUs are roughly 22% faster given the same clockspeed.

Therefore a Core i3 @ 1.5GHz will offer the same performance as a Core 2 Duo E6300 @1.86GHz. A Core i3-2120 @ 3.3GHz will be roughly equivalent to an E6300 @ 4.0GHz. A Pentium G630 would be about equivalent to an E6300 @ 3.0GHz.

 

[Jetpac]

As far as a Core 2 Duo E series and a Sandy Bridge Core i3 series CPUs... Sandy Bridge CPUs are roughly 22% faster given the same clockspeed.

Therefore a Core i3 @ 1.5GHz will offer the same performance as a Core 2 Duo E6300 @1.86GHz. A Core i3-2120 @ 3.3GHz will be roughly equivalent to an E6300 @ 4.0GHz. A Pentium G630 would be about equivalent to an E6300 @ 3.0GHz.

awesome, ta!
so based on Cost... is an Asus p8h61-mx mobo + the G630 for £60. a decent deal?

 

[jaguarskx]

Normally on a budget I would recommend the Core i3-2100, but since Newegg is currently selling the Core i3-2120 for less than the i3-2100, I recommend the i3-2120.

This is a weekend sale, so I suppose it and at midnight tonight PST.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

The i3-2120 is currently selling for only $40 more the Pentium G630. With a performance advantage of roughly 33% in raw CPU performance, it's a pretty good deal. However, this does not mean you will have 33% better gaming performance. Game performance mostly depends on the graphic card, but a faster CPU can also help give better performance.

Skyrim is a game where both the CPU and GPU are important to overall performance so getting a Core i3-2120 can help increase performance over a Pentium G630. Crysis 2 is a game that doesn't really care about the CPU as long as it does not bottleneck the GPU. Therefore, having a Core i3-2120 will give you no better performance than the G630.

 

[jaguarskx]

awesome, ta!
so based on Cost... is an Asus p8h61-mx mobo + the G630 for £60. a decent deal?

Unfortunately, I am not really familiar with UK prices, but converting that to USD currency, it does sound like a good deal. What's the price difference between a Pentium G630 and a Core i3-2100 / 2120?

 

[Jetpac]

Unfortunately, I am not really familiar with UK prices, but converting that to USD currency, it does sound like a good deal. What's the price difference between a Pentium G630 and a Core i3-2100 / 2120?

well it is a second hand + mobo bundle, but cheapest i could probably get a 2100 second hand (with some looking around and waiting) owuld be around £55-£60 absolute minimum i would have thought.

If the g630 would fit my needs i dont think i would need the i3 unless it offers any sort of other benefits? i knwo it has onboard gfx, but i will be using the dedicated card anyway...

 

[jaguarskx]

I would go for the G630 bundle then since for £60 you are getting a substantial boost in CPU performance. Just remember that it does not directly translate to gaming performance increase with a 1:1 ratio.

 

[Jetpac]

I would go for the G630 bundle then since for £60 you are getting a substantial boost in CPU performance. Just remember that it does not directly translate to gaming performance increase with a 1:1 ratio.

Ta very much!

 

[Raiddinn]

If you can get the G630 + Motherboard for equal in price to just the i3 with no motherboard and cost is a big factor then I would just get the G630 as well. For what you are doing it would probably be good enough.