I3-3225 vs. FX-6300 for Gaming?

[MTSe7en]

I'm looking at two bundles at microcenter, and I'm looking at either the i3-3225 with a MSI Z77A-G41 1155 ATX motherboard for $155, or an FX-6300 with an ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 AM3+ ATX motherboard for $140.

I'll be playing games like Planetside 2, and Battlefield 3 with an MSI AMD Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB GDDR5 graphics card.

All I know is that the intel option offers a great upgrade path in the future, but I'm not too hip on the fact that the i3-3225 is only a dual core, and you can't overclock it. If I were to get the FX-6300, I would probably OC it to at least 4.0GHz on stock cooling and heatsink.

So, which CPU is better for gaming in your opinion?

 

[computernewb]

for bf3 and planetside 2 i would get the 6300. they utilize the extra cores.

and since its also cheaper, you can put the extra $15 towards a better graphics card like a 7850. the 7770 is kind of weak for those games

 

[ohyouknow]

Out of those two choices I would go with the FX 6300 as well. However, having both AMD and FX rigs I can tell you that Planetside 2 favors intel procs more than AMD. My AMD rig has some stutter online compared to the i5.

 

[MTSe7en]

Out of those two choices I would go with the FX 6300 as well. However, having both AMD and FX rigs I can tell you that Planetside 2 favors intel procs more than AMD. My AMD rig has some stutter online compared to the i5.

Well I know that Game Update 02 that was released yesterday basically broke the game for Intel and AMD users alike. Studdering, and FPS drops are the main culprit. But yeah, the 6300 looks pretty promising.

 

[Rammy]

An i3-3225 over an i3-3220 is a waste of money (assume it's more expensive, it usually is). They are identical processors but the 3225 has better internal graphics, which you won't be using if you have a bespoke card. Also, why do you need a Z77 chipset motherboard for that CPU? It's a very cheap Z77 motherboard, but it's unnecessary and skewing value.

If you are happy overclocking, then the FX6300 is a really good option but I'd suggest you invest in a cheap cooler like the Hyper 212 Evo. Overclocking on stock hsf tends to get pretty messy pretty quickly.

 

[MTSe7en]

microcenter buys large quantities of just a few specific CPUs and offer them at low prices. So if they have the i3-3225 in stock, its doubtful they also have the i3-3220. most likely have the former at a better walk in only price then the latter online at places like newegg and amazon.

Yeah, they're offering the i3-3225 with motherboard bundle options, but not the i3-3220.

 

[iceclock]

both would be similar. except games are gonna require 4cores soon and the 6300 will be more future pr00f

 

[jaguarskx]

Since you are playing BF3 and PS2, I would recommend the FX-6300 since the games can take advantage of the extra cores. Socket AM3+ should be viable until at least 2015 so that should mean AMD's Steamroller is a possible upgrade. That's assuming the mobo manufacturer releases a BIOS update for it.

 

[iceclock]

yea good point mang.

 

[MTSe7en]

Best answer selected by Mtse7en.