I3-3220 + GTX 660?

The reason they use a very powerful CPU is because they don't want to obscure the results by introducing a CPU bottleneck. They're trying to test the video card performance, not the CPU.



As far as how your system will perform with an i3, it depends on the game. There are indeed some games that will prefer a quad core, especially @ higher resolutions like 1080p, and you will lose some FPS as a result. To name a couple, Skyrim and Battlefield 3 in multiplayer mode. Most games will be fine however, and not suffer any substantial FPS loss, there may be small ones only as indirect effect as a quad core like an i5 can handle the workload of background programs that may be running.

As far as getting specific, your mileage may vary, there are so many factors that go into it.

I understand that they don't want a CPU bottleneck, but a stock clocked i5-2500k would suffice. Also, the i3 has hyper-threading which makes it a quad-core, even though it doesn't have four physical cores. And by "lose some FPS", how many? I know that my CPU isn't an i7, but I want to know what kind of frame rate drops to expect in games like BF3, Crysis, etc. (FPS), and MMO games like GW2 and WoW. You could sort of break it down into cpu intensive games, and non-cpu intensive games. I guess I'm looking for someone with a little more experience. I appreciate the reply though.

I suggest you shift your focus to CPU benchmarks then, for which they use a mega-powerful GPU to see where the CPU limitations are.

Try here

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/processors,6.html

Or here:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2

Best way is just to play the game and tweak the settings until you are happy.

It would, I've thought they go a little extreme with it myself, especially if they want to demonstrate what people building a budget system should expect. Obviously an i7 Extreme is not a budget minded CPU.



Not for gaming. Games are not coded in programming languages modern enough to know what a HyperThread is, much less how to use one. Also a single HyperThread, so someone told me (I don't know how accurate it is, but it does seem about right) equates to about 30% performance vs having another physical core. (Again this is for non-gaming performance- OS level controlled programs)
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Again, depends on the game, the settings, etc. There are a lot of factors that go into it.. I can mention games that I specifically have experience with.




BF3 @ 1080 will have a hard time with an i3. This game is known to give even i5s in multiplayer at high resolution a workout.. I've played Crysis 2, you shouldn't have a problem with that one. MMOs are not that system intensive, GW2 and WoW you won't have an issue with.

LOL, I don't know how much more experience you can get, theres just a lot of factors that goes into gaming performance. Unless someone has an identical system to the one you're proposing, it will still be what I originally said "your mileage may vary".

^Agreed. No one can tell you what the performance will be unless they have exactly the same system and run the game at the same settings. There are too many factors involved.

One other thing I forgot to mention earlier: Google some reviews of the game and look for benchmark tests with a system similar to yours. That may give you at least a ballpark figure.

Hey, I appreciate your organized an in-depth reply. I didn't mean the "more experience" thing in an insulting manner. But, the system is not all that uncommon, or at least, a similar system. I mean, I saw a YouTube video with an i3-2100 and a 7770, getting between 20-35 fps on ultra settings, 4x MSAA @ 1080p. My CPU is slightly faster, and my GPU is probably 2-3x the performance, especially in Battlefield. I just kinda want to know if it'll be a true bottleneck. I saw a GTX 670 running with a Core 2 Duo Extreme, and it bottlenecked it to about 35 fps on Ultra, when it's capable of getting 60+ with an adequate CPU. Is it uncommon knowledge to know the difference between an i3 and an i7 in games? Well, I've already ordered the system, so I guess we'll see in about 3-5 days. Thanks for the help guys.

 

No problem. No the system isn't all that uncommon. The problem is, the circumstances can change so much.

I assume you mean BF3 the guy on youtube was getting 20-35 FPS.. To be honest, thats pretty horrible. But was he playing a huge 64 man map or a tiny one? Was he playing Single Player or Multi? Thats another factor that goes into it. Single player BF3 will play on pretty much anything, but multiplayer really ramps up the system usage.

You'll be hard pressed to find Multiplayer benchmarks though. The reason tech sites don't use them, is because again they vary greatly. The big factor which influences the variance is the internet connection (both at your end and the hosting server).

Yea, the new i3 is slightly faster, the problem is, a stronger video card can't make the CPU perform better and vice versa, a stronger CPU can't make a weaker video card perform better. Thats one reason some accuse me of being an AMD fanboy, I laugh at knuckleheads running around bragging how they got the i5-2500K and its "the best CPU for gaming on the market".. That may very well be, but if its paired with a 6850 or 6870 video card in their sig, I let out a giggle.

You want to find a good balance between the CPU and video card. And yes, some of it unfortunately is guess work. In your case, you might want to look at a 660 TI if that can get you the budget to step up to something like an i5-3450. Or you could go to a 7870 as they're a little cheaper than the 660 TIs.

You said you already ordered the system, if you ordered from a reputable site, you can probably return anything unopened if need be. But its up to you.

Hey OP, just wondering if you got your system built and how it runs BF3 on multiplayer since I chose the same specs. If it's not very good I'll opt for the i5-3300

Sorry man, this is really late, but the game plays flawlessly in multiplayer. I would still recommend the i5-3330 for multi-tasking, extra FPS, and future-proofing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4PDoy-mi0A

factually speaking any sandy bridge or ivy bridge i5 would blow away any i3 or fx cpu in gaming performance. so if you can get an i5-3450 or i5-3570k for gaming and a little extra future proofing