# Core i3-550 or Core i5-650



## newtekie1 (Jun 23, 2010)

A friend of mine is wanting to put together a gaming machine, but funds are limitted right now, so he and I are putting together a good base computer, and he will be upgrading it later as more funds become available.

CPU: i3-550 or i5-650
Motherboard: ASRock P55 Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Mother...
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM...
GPU: DIAMOND 5770PE51G Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5...
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250318AS 250GB 7200 R...
Blu-Ray: SAMSUNG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SAT...
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / E...
Case: Rosewill R218-P-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower ...

Now the question is is the i5 worth the extra $30?  I plan on overclocking this for him, so the turbo mode doesn't really matter to me.  If he saves the $30 on the processor he can move up to 4GB of RAM right away, albeit slightly worse RAM at CAS 9.


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## theonedub (Jun 23, 2010)

The 4gb of RAM is the better improvement, go i3 w/ the OC in my opinion.


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## [Ion] (Jun 23, 2010)

Go for the i3.  Typically one will disable Turbo when OCing, so the i5 had no benefit over the i3.  Keep in mind that even the i3-530 or i3-540 should have no problems hitting 4ghz or more


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## overclocking101 (Jun 24, 2010)

meh dont get the worse ram m8, tell him to skip the bluray get the i3 and get 4gb, just remember the i3's have a eaker imc therefore ram wont oc was well so something like 1600mhz stock speed is necessary otherwise its just not worth the $$ for ddr3 imo and I've done probably 30 reviews between ddr2 and ddr3 maybe he should grab a amd gaming rig?? save cash and get better components


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## GSG-9 (Jun 24, 2010)

How much does he have to spend on ram?


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## DanishDevil (Jun 24, 2010)

The only real-world difference is Turbo, and if that doesn't matter, then no. I find that the 650 at stock with Turbo on is enough to satisfy me without any overclocking.


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## [Ion] (Jun 24, 2010)

All of the recent Intel CPUs (i3, i5, and i7) only use DDR3.  The memory controller is integrated into the CPU and it's a DDR3-only one, no DDR2 support


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## theonedub (Jun 24, 2010)

Depending on the kit, the CAS9 RAM could probably run CAS7 with some tweaking


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## bogmali (Jun 24, 2010)

If he's going to game on it the extra $30 is worth it for the i5-650.


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## newtekie1 (Jun 24, 2010)

overclocking101 said:


> meh dont get the worse ram m8, tell him to skip the bluray get the i3 and get 4gb, just remember the i3's have a eaker imc therefore ram wont oc was well so something like 1600mhz stock speed is necessary otherwise its just not worth the $$ for ddr3 imo and I've done probably 30 reviews between ddr2 and ddr3 maybe he should grab a amd gaming rig?? save cash and get better components



Can't skip Blu-Ray, he is selling his PS3 and games to raise the cash for the rig, so the new computer has to have blu-ray because he is keeping his movies.

Also, I should point out, since I forgot in the first post, that he will be using the stock cooler at first, so the overclock won't be major in any way.

Also, either way we go, it will be DDR3-1333, the only difference is 2GB@CAS7 vs. 4GB@CAS9.

He isn't totally opposed to an AMD rig...I'll have to see how much he could really save.  We've got $745 to spend, this includes shipping, and he doesn't want any mail-in BS.  



theonedub said:


> Depending on the kit, the CAS9 RAM could probably run CAS7 with some tweaking



It will be one of these two kits:

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333...

or 

GeIL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (P...

I'm partial to the G.Skill because I prefer the brand over Geil.



GSG-9 said:


> How much does he have to spend on ram?



About $60 if he goes with the i5-650 or about $90 if he goes with the i3-550.


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## Binge (Jun 24, 2010)

530 plz.  Easy to OC pretty damn high. $89.99  I run mine 4.2-4.5GHz 24/7 depending on if I can keep the load temps under 60C.


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## newtekie1 (Jun 24, 2010)

Binge said:


> 530 plz.  Easy to OC pretty damn high. $89.99  I run mine 4.2-4.5GHz 24/7 depending on if I can keep the load temps under 60C.



Actually, after talking with him tonight, he is even considering going with the Pentium G6950. It seems like it will fill the need and handle games just fine for the time being until he can get something better in the computer.  Who knows, he might even take the $65 he saves by dropping from the I3 to the G6950 and pop a decent cooler on the G6950 and get a decent overclock out of it, and just be happy with it.  I wonder how good of a cooler he would need to get 4GHz on a G6950.


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## TechPowerDown (Jun 25, 2010)

i3 Extra RAM Is Worth It


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## Ainvar (Jun 25, 2010)

That basicly sounds like the system I building for my Nephew.  Soon to be 8 years old.

Intel i3 530 Gigabite motherboard that support Ati crossfire. $180
$30 case was $40 themalmaster 
$45 Power supply Was $85
$99 4gb ram ddr 3 Was $140
Total  $354
Just need a hard drive and dvd drive and windows So give or take total cost $550 to $600


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## DanishDevil (Jun 25, 2010)

Ainvar said:


> That basicly sounds like the system I building for my Nephew.  Soon to be 8 years old.
> 
> Intel i3 530 Gigabite motherboard that support Ati crossfire. $180
> $30 case was $40 themalmaster
> ...



Just be careful with budget PSUs. You could take out an entire system with a bad PSU choice.


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## Deleted member 74752 (Jun 25, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Actually, after talking with him tonight, he is even considering going with the Pentium G6950. It seems like it will fill the need and handle games just fine for the time being until he can get something better in the computer.  Who knows, he might even take the $65 he saves by dropping from the I3 to the G6950 and pop a decent cooler on the G6950 and get a decent overclock out of it, and just be happy with it.  I wonder how good of a cooler he would need to get 4GHz on a G6950.



Talk him out of that one if possible. It won't clock like the 530 on air and will run hotter to boot. (Already tested it)


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## Dark_Webster (Jun 25, 2010)

I'd still prefer the i3 over the Pentium. And I would also prefer the i3 over the i5, the only thing i5 has better is Turbo and AES-NI.


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## Fourstaff (Jun 25, 2010)

i3 530, it has 4 threads which is always useful (2 threads are on their way out). And I have seen what the i3 can do, its an absolute beast when it comes to overclocking (yes, I am partial to that cheap bugger in case you didn't notice).


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## Deleted member 74752 (Jun 25, 2010)

^ Yep...  http://hwbot.org/community/submission/1009940_rickss69_wprime_1024m_core_i3_530_4min_54sec_64ms


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## Ainvar (Jun 25, 2010)

Well The system going to be low end.  Untel the kid gets older then I worry about larger power supplys.  But for now this one 630 watt Raidmax power supply.  It should be good for intergraded or pci e gpu.   Ram is Corsair 4gb and Thermaltake case. The Motherboard cpu have a 3 year warrintee and the rest 1 year warrintee.

It should be better then what is hitwit father thinks of buying a computer.  If it was his way it would be prebuilt celeron with intergraded gpu and no options to upgrade gpu or cpu.


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## newtekie1 (Jun 25, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> Talk him out of that one if possible. It won't clock like the 530 on air and will run hotter to boot. (Already tested it)





Dark_Webster said:


> I'd still prefer the i3 over the Pentium. And I would also prefer the i3 over the i5, the only thing i5 has better is Turbo and AES-NI.





Fourstaff said:


> i3 530, it has 4 threads which is always useful (2 threads are on their way out). And I have seen what the i3 can do, its an absolute beast when it comes to overclocking (yes, I am partial to that cheap bugger in case you didn't notice).



He decided against the Pentium once I told him it didn't have Hyper-Threading.

I think we've decided on the i3-530.  It seems to be the best option, it is cheap enough that he can still afford an aftermarket cooler for overclocking, yet still has Hyper-Threading.

We looked at an AMD system, but everything that fit in the price range, or rather anything that would be cheaper, was also less powerful for what he is using the system for(mainly encoding video and 3D Rendering, gaming is a secondary purpose).


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## Deleted member 74752 (Jun 25, 2010)

An even cheaper alternative for a motherboard is this Gigabyte... GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro...

I have found nothing this board sucks at and it easily overclocks regardless of cooling methods.


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## marvelous211 (Jun 25, 2010)

If you are limited on funds go with i3.  i5 has no real advantage unless you want to keep it at stock.

I have my i3 530 @ 4.2ghz.  I could easily go higher but I felt no need.


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## Deleted member 74752 (Jun 25, 2010)

Take the money saved on the mb and get him this case instead... COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ...


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## newtekie1 (Jun 25, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> An even cheaper alternative for a motherboard is this Gigabyte... GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro...
> 
> I have found nothing this board sucks at and it easily overclocks regardless of cooling methods.



That board only has 2 memory slots, so no chance, definitely not worth saving $20 if it means he has to loose his current memory when he moves to 8GB.  Plus 2x4GB is far more expensive over 4x2GB.   Only having 2 memory slots is very limitting for future upgrades.



rickss69 said:


> Take the money saved on the mb and get him this case instead... COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ...



I really don't see anything that case offers over the one I picked other than worthless toolless drive bays, I can spend the extra minute to screw in the drives.  The two are layed out the same, both have a generic 120mm fan in the back and the option for another 120mm in the front(which I will be using).  One thing I like about the Rosewill case is the open back behind the motherboard, for easily chaning out cooler backplates if needed, or installing an aftermarket cooler later.  Plus the Rosewill looks better, the CoolerMaster case looks tacky thanks to the fake plastic chrome crap.


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