@Steve Another great review. You nailed the colors this time (the brown is kind of weird, but I can manage xD)!
Very impressive performance by the Pentium despite being like $50 less than an i3. This seems to be a very nice budget oriented option. I think this will make a nice fit in the "Budget Box Build" in the TS Buying Guide.
Ah, I see. Makes sense.Thanks glad you liked it. The brown as you call it is just dark orange, all we are doing here is making the data we want to show you bolder, in this case darken the orange that was already there (the orange from the TS logo).
Until we get motherboards that costs the same as this Pentium or less, it's futile to even mention the word "budget". And not to mention, in 2014, non HT dual-core is too late to the party (even the anniversary of a first pentium was more than a year ago). Except for some older games, i3 and a cheap mobo would cost the same and more sensible in every way (especially power reqs). Not to mention $100 cooling we are seeing in this review... the magic is gone
A $60 motherboard will either not provide the same overclocking capabilities as a $100 one or, more likely, not even allow overclocking to begin with, since at that price range we're most likely talking about H81 motherboards, or H87 at best.You can use a $60 motherboard if you want...
A $60 motherboard will either not provide the same overclocking capabilities as a $100 one or, more likely, not even allow overclocking to begin with, since at that price range we're most likely talking about H81 motherboards, or H87 at best.
A $120 Core i3 plus a $50 H81 motherboard total $170, and that's it. Stock cooler is enough and no overclocking is needed (or possible). For the Pentium, you're looking at $70 for the processor, $90+ for a Z-series motherboard and $30+ for an aftermarket cooler, so it's at least $190. And then you have to overclock, which for me as a hassle.
The way I see it, it's not worth it. It will not be cheaper than a Core i3 if you want to overclock, and due to the four threads the Core i3 will be doing much better in the long run.
I would rather buy FX-6300 for the same money.
I am debating what should take the ~$75 category: the Athlon 750K or this unlocked Pentium.Until we get motherboards that costs the same as this Pentium or less, it's futile to even mention the word "budget". And not to mention, in 2014, non HT dual-core is too late to the party (even the anniversary of a first pentium was more than a year ago). Except for some older games, i3 and a cheap mobo would cost the same and more sensible in every way (especially power reqs). Not to mention $100 cooling we are seeing in this review... the magic is gone
You can use a $60 motherboard if you want and as we demonstrated in the review you can hit 4.4GHz fine with a $30 cooler.
Still I agree its not an ideal processor. What we want is an unlocked Core i3 for $150 or less Of course that is never going to happen.
I wouldn't say that. For the large majority of PC owners I have known in my life, special motherboard features bring no actual value, primarily because they don't bother with it and most go unused. From my experience, the only features that people (and I'm talking about PC gamers who built their own systems) concern themselves with when it comes to motherboards is SATA ports, USB ports and expansion slots. In that regard, the H81 chipset alone, which offers SATA 6 Gbps, USB 3.0 and runs one graphics card with no issues, is already enough for the huge majority of people. Besides that, those people only care about advanced overclocking support/features and integrated Wi-Fi, but for either of that you're already looking way past the $100 range.(...) buying a more expensive processor with a featureless motherboard is not better value then buying a cheaper processor with a better quality motherboard with many more features.
I wouldn't say that. For the large majority of PC owners I have known in my life, special motherboard features bring no actual value, primarily because they don't bother with it and most go unused. From my experience, the only features that people (and I'm talking about PC gamers who built their own systems) concern themselves with when it comes to motherboards is SATA ports, USB ports and expansion slots. In that regard, the H81 chipset alone, which offers SATA 6 Gbps, USB 3.0 and runs one graphics card with no issues, is already enough for the huge majority of people. Besides that, those people only care about advanced overclocking support/features and integrated Wi-Fi, but for either of that you're already looking way past the $100 range.(...) buying a more expensive processor with a featureless motherboard is not better value then buying a cheaper processor with a better quality motherboard with many more features.
So no, buying a slower processor with a motherboard full of features you will never need and/or concern yourself with is not better value than buying a cheaper motherboard that fullfills your needs and a faster processor to go in it. Having more features just for the sake of having is not an indicative of value.
I did get it wrong on the H-series overclocking though, I didn't know OEMs were making overclocking available on them. That does change things a bit, but personally I still consider the Core i3 + stock cooler a better option.
I am debating what should take the ~$75 category: the Athlon 750K or this unlocked Pentium.