quicky: what cpu is faster

[happy medium]

q9550 @ 4ghz or i3 4120 @ 3.4?

Will the i3 (with a gtx960) be as fast for games as my q9550 (with a gtx960) or even close?
I might use the i3 as a CHEAP stopgap and give the q9550 system
to my parents until something much faster comes out. I want the features of a new motherboard, that's the only reason for the side/up grade.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Not entirely the same, but close enough:

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/50?vs=1192

Half the power consumption as well.

Note: The Pov-Ray number seems very broken. Since an i3 2100 scores ~2200.

Gaming wise the i3 4120 is significantly faster than the Q9550.

 

[PliotronX]

The 4120 I'd imagine would edge it out unless in a heavily MT game while consuming much less power.

 

[happy medium]

ok so it will be at least a sidegrade....good, seems worth it. Better motherboard , more memory, usb 3.0, new video card,and finally a ssd drive. Sounds like a plan, Thanks guys.

 

[ultimatebob]

Can you really get a Q9550 to 4 GHz? That's impressive.

 

[Idontcare]

Can you really get a Q9550 to 4 GHz? That's impressive.

I had my QX6700 at 4GHz for years. That 65nm (and then 45nm) silicon could really push the clocks provided you were willing to push the volts.

 

[happy medium]

Can you really get a Q9550 to 4 GHz? That's impressive.

Been clocked that way for years and still serves me well. The guy who had the combo before me had it over 4.1ghz. Best money I've ever spent on a motherboard/cpu/ram, combo.
Yea, IDC is right, once you get above 3.6 you have to push the voltage quite higher. A good cooler and a case with good airflow helps.

 

[Smoblikat]

Used to run my schools QX9770 at 4.0 all the time............at 1.55v

Its not like I paid the $1000 price for it, wutevs.........

 

[Headfoot]

Speaking of the QX9770 I knew a guy who went whole hog and bought one of those for the full $1000..... 2 weeks before Nehalem came out. One of those computer science types that likes computers but never dug into the hardware so he didn't check beyond Newegg...

 

[Gikaseixas]

Can you really get a Q9550 to 4 GHz? That's impressive.

Yes you can
I had mine @ that speed too, beast of a CPU with all that cache

OP get the i3

 

[Termie]

Just to be clear, there has never been a Core i3-4120.

The current i3 is the 4160, which replaced the 4150/4130 released previously.

And yes, the 4160 will blow away a 4GHz q9550 in gaming.

 

[el etro]

Get the i3.

 

[Enigmoid]

Good review here

Uses Ivybridge and a Q9550 at 3.4

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487.html

Summary

About the same in games, the 9550 is a little faster in applications.

This is really a sidegrade.

 

[Termie]

^ A few clarifications on the above post.

First of all, the i3-4160 is 20% faster than a 3225. So that matches the 4GHz 9550's advantage over a 3.4GHz 9550. Thus, the delta remains - about 10% faster. But you also have to consider the game selection in that May 2013 article.

If you focus on cutting-edge games, like Crysis 3, the delta is far more than 10%:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-10.html

Overall, it's not really a sidegrade when one CPU is faster in every single game that isn't GPU-limited (i.e., Tomb Raider).

Not to mention that a 4160 will draw about 70W versus the 250W or so his Q9550@4GHz is likely drawing.

 

[soccerballtux]

I had my QX6700 at 4GHz for years. That 65nm (and then 45nm) silicon could really push the clocks provided you were willing to push the volts.

and THAT is impressive. They couldn't all do that

my e2180 couldn't go past 3.4ghz on 1.48v. I was thermally limited by my Thermal-something Ultra120 non-extreme. Hit either 74C or >1.5v and I'd immediately start erroring in stress test.

That was when I realized exactly how precisely engineered Intel chips are. The spec is 73.2C and 1.5v.

Although, this was before my 130CFM fan :hmm:

 

[soccerballtux]

Speaking of the QX9770 I knew a guy who went whole hog and bought one of those for the full $1000..... 2 weeks before Nehalem came out. One of those computer science types that likes computers but never dug into the hardware so he didn't check beyond Newegg...

the common language runtime handles that!

those people really bug me

 

[soccerballtux]

^ A few clarifications on the above post.

First of all, the i3-4160 is 20% faster than a 3225. So that matches the 4GHz 9550's advantage over a 3.4GHz 9550. Thus, the delta remains - about 10% faster. But you also have to consider the game selection in that May 2013 article.

If you focus on cutting-edge games, like Crysis 3, the delta is far more than 10%:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-10.html

Overall, it's not really a sidegrade when one CPU is faster in every single game that isn't GPU-limited (i.e., Tomb Raider).

Not to mention that a 4160 will draw about 70W versus the 250W or so his Q9550@4GHz is likely drawing.

IMO a 4ghz Penryn is plenty fast for anything. the reason to upgrade would be RAM.

when DDR4 comes out I'm going to buy the largest, fastest single module of DDR4 I can afford on a motherboard that can handle the most, since the module size goes up to 128GB.

 

[Diogenes2]

" when DDR4 comes out " ??

 

[Denithor]

Just don't forget to turn back to stock before giving to your parents. They REALLY don't need to burn all that power/energy with the machine idling at 4GHz for hours at a time and likely seeing minimal duty even during use. They would likely be far better off with a speedy Pentium setup that will sip power and still be plenty fast for light duties (email, Facebook, YouTube, etc).

 

[sm625]

Dont forget, 14nm i3 is due in just a few months.

 

[jji7skyline]

Just to be clear, there has never been a Core i3-4120.

The current i3 is the 4160, which replaced the 4150/4130 released previously.

And yes, the 4160 will blow away a 4GHz q9550 in gaming.

I think you are confused. The i3-4130 was the original Haswell base i3, while the i3-4150 replaced it later on as the Haswell-Refresh version (Devil's Canyon). Afaik all the other chips are just higher clocked versions.

Intel's website says that the i3-4150 and i3-4160 were released at the same time.

 

[Termie]

I think you are confused. The i3-4130 was the original Haswell base i3, while the i3-4150 replaced it later on as the Haswell-Refresh version (Devil's Canyon). Afaik all the other chips are just higher clocked versions.

Intel's website says that the i3-4150 and i3-4160 were released at the same time.

No, I'm not confused. The 4160 was released much later. And the Intel website makes that very clear, actually:

4150: http://ark.intel.com/products/77486/Intel-Core-i3-4150-Processor-3M-Cache-3_50-GHz
4160: http://ark.intel.com/products/77488/Intel-Core-i3-4160-Processor-3M-Cache-3_60-GHz

Also, Devil's Canyon only refers to the 4690K/4790K, not the 4150, 4160, or any other chip.

BTW, to be clear, when Intel releases subsequent chips at the same pricepoint, it's essentially EOL'ing the previous chips. Therefore, buying a 4130 or 4150 doesn't make sense today unless they're on clearance.

 

[schmuckley]

i3 4120
have fun.

 

[happy medium]

my bad ,it was a i3 4130 ,not 4120.

http://ark.intel.com/products/77480/Intel-Core-i3-4130-Processor-3M-Cache-3_40-GHz

Edit , well it seems the used motherboard, cpu, and 8gb ram combo was sold ,I missed the boat .
Now I'm back to square one. Mabe I'll just wait to see what socket 1151 brings new to the table.
I'm just sick of this setup , I want to upgrade. I have a brand new case and 850 watt psu just sitting in my basement collecting dust.

 

[jji7skyline]

No, I'm not confused. The 4160 was released much later. And the Intel website makes that very clear, actually:

4150: http://ark.intel.com/products/77486/Intel-Core-i3-4150-Processor-3M-Cache-3_50-GHz
4160: http://ark.intel.com/products/77488/Intel-Core-i3-4160-Processor-3M-Cache-3_60-GHz

Also, Devil's Canyon only refers to the 4690K/4790K, not the 4150, 4160, or any other chip.

BTW, to be clear, when Intel releases subsequent chips at the same pricepoint, it's essentially EOL'ing the previous chips. Therefore, buying a 4130 or 4150 doesn't make sense today unless they're on clearance.

Oh I didn't see that sorry. Is it worth paying more for a high-clocked i3 though? I'd just choose the cheapest one.