Core i5 or Core i3?

[naroth]

Hi, Im building a new PC, but I can´t decide between this two.

Intel Core i3 540
Intel Core i5 661

Planing to OC to 3.5 both, which one will perform better on dolphin?

Also, should I use a MicroATX board or ATX? thanks!

[naoan]

if you got the money go for i5, both will run most games fine at that speed though.

[kernel64]

If you want to use Dolphin with it and you can afford it, go for the core i5 750 which is a quad procesor. I've recently upgraded my cpu from a 650 to 750, huge difference in Dolphin even when its a dual core emulator, specially in graphically heavy games like smg.

I've never tried a i5 661 but from the specs I can see it's a dual core only. Save some more $$ and aim for a quad.

BTW: The i5-661 has a turbo freq of 3.6 Ghz so you really don't need to overclock it. I'll go for the i5-661 if I had to decide between those two.

[naroth]

wow thanks for the fast response, but I wanted to save some money so I can buy better parts, its not going to be the ultimate gaming machine, so ... I think im gonna go with the i5 thanks guys ...

but i really dont dont the difference between microATX or ATX. what should I buy?

[Drag0nflamez]

wow thanks for the fast response, but I wanted to save some money so I can buy better parts, its not going to be the ultimate gaming machine, so ... I think im gonna go with the i5 thanks guys ...

but i really dont dont the difference between microATX or ATX. what should I buy?

microATX is a little smaller then ATX, but I prefer to use ATX - because more hardware will fit in

[GundamQuatro]

same as Drag0nflamez here, and yeah core i5 is better

[achaw]

Of course, i5 is better technologie. I have an i3 540, and works amazing!

[boogerlad]

the only difference between i5 and i3 is the useless turbo mode. If he's overclocking (both will reach 4ghz+ considering the fact that they're the exact same chips!) then get i3 because it's cheaper. Don't recommend something to this guy if you don't understand.

[slipk487]

the i3 will have no problem competing with the i5 when u overclock it. as seen here the i3 530 can reach 4.4 but preforms best at 4.2.

Code:

A 4.2 or 4.4 GHz clock delivers vast performance improvements that set the Core i3-530 at performance levels beyond the Core i5-600-series and into performance levels typically reached by quad-core products.

[naroth]

wow thank you very much boogerlad, yeah im looking for a cheap but decent rig, im not planning to add many things just the necesary for "normal" gaming, 1 GPU and 1 DVDdrive ... its just to replace my old e2180, its kinda old and like dying XD