Why do people underestimate Ivy bridge i3s?

+1 ^ i3 3220 is really a good budget cpu for games.

The 650 and 670 are both dual cores with HT just like the i3. Obviously they would be slower. You're comparing the 3rd generation to the first.

How does it compare to the i5 750?
- I don't use them as they lack, or lacked, AES acceleration in the CPU. (Which makes the Core i5 the lowest I can consider, unless AMD have something decent to over).

Just in case no one knows what AES is it is Advanced Encryption Standard. It is basically used to encrypt data like MS's Bitlocker or TrueCrypt. The only program I use that can gain some benefit from AES is 7-Zip that I am aware of.

The current version is called AES-NI or AES New Instructions.

The likely bias against Pentium and Core i3 CPUs is that they are "merely" dual core CPUs. The general impression is more is better like:

1. More cores.
2. Higher clockspeeds.
3. More IPC (instructions per clock)
4. More gasoline to drive 2 blocks... Well... that one is actually a bad "more" scenario.

Most programs only use one or two cores so getting a quad core (or more) CPU is sorta like future proof your PC just in case there's a program or game out there that can give you better performance with a quad core CPU. I have a quad core CPU because it is useful for video encoding.

I am happy with the performance of my dual core Sandy Bridge Core i5-2410m in my laptop. Then again, a mobile quad core i7 CPU would have significantly increased the price of my Lenovo IdeaPad Y470 by $200 - $250.