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How much better is i3 than Core 2 Duo?

jamor

jamor

Android Expert
I'm looking into buying or building my own PC. Right now I just have an HP laptop that I purchased 3 years ago with Core 2 Duo.

I used to be on the up-and-up with processors. I knew what was good, what was better, and how much better.

I've been slacking in the PC news past 2 years and now I know very little.

I remember Dual Core came out, then Core 2 Duo surpassed it - which is what I have.

Now I see i3, i5, i7 - how much better are these.. and respectively, how much better is i7 than i3?

Are the primary processors Core 2 Duo and the i Series? Or am I missing more? A list of what from worst to best would be helpful.

Just trying to learn more so I spend the right money when buying or building a new PC.

I would like it to be strong enough to run SC2 like a knife through warm butter.
 
AFAIK, the i3s are the 'budget' line, i7s are the top of the line, and i5s are meant to fit comfortably in the middle. As for how much better each step is, I'm sure there are smarter people than me out there who have tested each, but I think an i3 would be at least on par with a similar speed core 2 duo, if not a little ahead.
 
The_Gnome_ said:
AFAIK, the i3s are the 'budget' line, i7s are the top of the line, and i5s are meant to fit comfortably in the middle. As for how much better each step is, I'm sure there are smarter people than me out there who have tested each, but I think an i3 would be at least on par with a similar speed core 2 duo, if not a little ahead.
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Yes, the i3 will perform better than a similarly clocked C2D. I don't think it's enough to justify a purchase when you have a C2D system though. That's why I would go with the i5.
 
SC2? You'll be fine with a Core 2 Duo. It's your GPU that's more important.

SC2 runs well on my 13" MBP with 2.4 Ghz, 4 GB RAM, and a 320M.

As far as the difference between them, I lost track when it came to the "is."
 
Ninja Monkey said:
Yes, the i3 will perform better than a similarly clocked C2D. I don't think it's enough to justify a purchase when you have a C2D system though. That's why I would go with the i5.
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Agreed. I recently built a new PC for my wife, and couldn't justify the price of the i5s. I ended up with a nice C2Duo, and performance has been incredible on Windows 7.
 
I built a decent rig last year w/ a C2D running Vista Ultimate and I've had zero problems running SC2. All my settings on Ultra and it runs as smooth as whipped butter.
 
Thanks guys. Think I could build a sweet rig for under $1000? Or better yet under $700? (US).. I was thinking about getting a laptop but they are so expensive, battery gets hot, hard to upgrade, can't upgrade GPU.. Would love the portability but the Desktop just seems to make more sense money wise - now and in the future (upgradeable).

I already have a monitor and mouse (lol).

What GPU are you guys using?
 
My laptop is an HP dv6000 on Windows 7, Core 2 Duo, 1.83 ghz, 2 gigs of ram (2 1 gigs), crappy unupgradeable GPU.

It may sound pretty good, but it can barely run Counter Strike without lagging on low graphic settings. That's not good.

I guess that proves Smacky's GPU point. Did you guys get 1 gb GPUs? Nvidia or Radeon?

Is newegg my best bet?
 
jamor said:
My laptop is an HP dv6000 on Windows 7, Core 2 Duo, 1.83 ghz, 2 gigs of ram (2 1 gigs), crappy unupgradeable GPU.

It may sound pretty good, but it can barely run Counter Strike without lagging on low graphic settings. That's not good.

I guess that proves Smacky's GPU point. Did you guys get 1 gb GPUs? Nvidia or Radeon?

Is newegg my best bet?
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I set up a wishlist on Newegg for a rig I wanted to build which is a little over $1000 but the rig I currently have only cost me $650. I could email you that wish list if you want. Just PM me your email address and I'll send it to you ASAP.

GPU = Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 (GDDR3 512 MB)
 
jamor said:
My laptop is an HP dv6000 on Windows 7, Core 2 Duo, 1.83 ghz, 2 gigs of ram (2 1 gigs), crappy unupgradeable GPU.

It may sound pretty good, but it can barely run Counter Strike without lagging on low graphic settings. That's not good.

I guess that proves Smacky's GPU point. Did you guys get 1 gb GPUs? Nvidia or Radeon?

Is newegg my best bet?
Click to expand...


I made the switch from a dv6500. I hated the thing. Bum dc charger jack.....worst computers I ever owned and the first that truly set itself out of commission. And that's out of about ten PCs we've owned the past 15 years.

Laptop parts are usually integrated into the Mobo. If they aren't, then it's probably a $2000 laptop with parts like that. All you can really change is RAM and HDD.

I'm not a Mac fanboy, but I don't I could go back to Windows as a daily user. If I need to, I run VMWare to get to my stuff from my Boot Camp drive. Very rarely do I run Boot Camp unless I use a program that is Windows-only but also very memory-intensive. Otherwise I can just boot Windows within OSX to complete simple tasks.

I paid about $1000, a tad over, with a student discount. I think you'll like it, but try it first. The switch isn't hard to make and you'll truly love OSX once you fiddle around with it.

Apple doesn't sell the i3s. Make what you will of that. The 15" MBP has the i5s and I think that runs about $1799, base. I would say stick with the 13" low-end model. The 2.66 ghz is $300 more. Unjustified, in my opinion.
 
Some laptops do have swappable GPU's but they are pretty rare. I don't thinking bulding a good gaming computer for under $1000 should be that hard. I had one built back when Half-Life 2 and Quake 3 where the top games and my computer could run HL2 at max, (never tried Q3) and I spent just a tad over $1000 and that was with shipping. This was the actually computer it self, not monitor or anything like that.
 
I want to just use my 32 bit W7 since I own a copy. I realize 64 bit isn't compatible with some programs and that 32 bit is only capable of 3.5 gigs of RAM.

So if I get a CPU with 4 Gigs of RAM, would I be foolish to stick with the 32 bit I have instead of purchasing a 64 bit W7?
 
jamor said:
I want to just use my 32 bit W7 since I own a copy. I realize 64 bit isn't compatible with some programs and that 32 bit is only capable of 3.5 gigs of RAM.

So if I get a CPU with 4 Gigs of RAM, would I be foolish to stick with the 32 bit I have instead of purchasing a 64 bit W7?
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Pretty much.
 
jamor said:
I want to just use my 32 bit W7 since I own a copy. I realize 64 bit isn't compatible with some programs and that 32 bit is only capable of 3.5 gigs of RAM.

So if I get a CPU with 4 Gigs of RAM, would I be foolish to stick with the 32 bit I have instead of purchasing a 64 bit W7?
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Having Win7 32 bit, in general, is foolish. You need to get on board with 64 bit computing as it is the future. If the "Future" isn't now, already.

I have 32 bit Win7 on Boot Camp and I regret ever doing it in the first place. Backing everything up and reinstalling Ultimate 64 would be a pain. Plus, I don't need Windows more than once a month.

So get a 64 bit OS (with a 64 bit CPU, of course) and 4+GB of RAM. Because most computers ship with at least 4GB of RAM with a 64 bit OS, it is merely the standard set up. Go for 6 or 8, especially for gaming in the future. It may be tough and expensive in a laptop, though.

If we're talking desktops now, it may not be so bad. Definitely cheaper than a laptop and definitely more powerful.
 
Ninja Monkey said:
I would get the i5 if you can. Here's a link to help you see the differences between the i3, i5, and i7.
<snip>
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I can thoroughly recommend the i5's..

My department at work (Software Development) has just upgraded our machines to Core i5s with 8gb RAM running Win7 64bit.

To give you a real world comparison, we were running Core2Duo 2.26 ghz + 3gb RAM with Win XP SP3 32bit. To start up (ie boot to desktop) one of my windows development virtual machines used to take 20 minutes.

With the new machine, the same vm takes 75 seconds to boot to desktop. :D
 
i3 is basically Nehalem with 2 cores and 1 thread per core, reduced cache, and I want to say no l3 cache but I could be wrong on the last one. i3 isn't bad, but not much of an upgrade from a Core 2 duo. Maybe the ones with 2 threads per core would be, but still at that price you can get a quad core i5, or even a Phenom II x4 or x6.
 
NYCHitman1 said:
Well yeah because that's the process that allows a more fluid multitasking experience. i5 is the way to go imo.
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+1

If you can afford it go with an i5. Here is a solid setup from Newegg.

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB &#40;2 x 2GB&#41; 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 &#40;PC3 12800&#41; Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM

Newegg.com - MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V &#47; EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

I'm assuming you can use your current case, HD, and DVD drive. I put a PSU in there because you really want to make sure you have a solid PSU or will have soooooo many headaches. Never skimp on the PSU! I really like Corsair. I've also used G.Skill RAM in many of my overclocked rigs with great results. Gigabyte makes great motherboards in my opinion.

All of this would cost $696 delivered to my door. If you need a case and a 1TB HD you are probably looking at another $175-$200. So about $900 total.

Hope this helps the OP! :cool:
 
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