I decided to resurrect this thread since you're just a tad to harsh on Intel's new graphics.I believe it has some dedicated hardware for HD decoding. But indeed for gaming it will be quite insufficient unless we're talking Solitaire & such games.
[STRIKE]Yes[/STRIKE]but graphics really works?
I would be interested in hearing the kinds of scores that the low end Nvidia cards, (8400GT to 9500GT) turn in with the Win 7 "experience index"
This actually makes a great deal of sense, since I recall reading specs about these cards. Basically the next lower number 9xxx series cards would equal, (or surpass by a smidge), the next higher number 8xxx series card.HD 3650 rates a 4.8
9500GT rates a 5.5
8600GT rates a 5.6
I perused these 2 threads and something jumped out at me. "WEI" apparently takes into account whether a CPU is quad core without fail. Even the aging Q6600 scores over 7! I'm reasonably confident that a Core i3--530 (at stock speed) would perform a fair amount better on many, many tasks in the real world, I think I'm reading a WEI of 6.8 or 6.9 @ stock with my i3-530. (Machine not hooked up ATM).There a few threads around dealing with the scores/vagaries of the W7 "Experience"
So, basically what we're saying here, is that the i3-530 would have to beat the Q6600 of one hand tied behind its back. Overclocked Q6600 vs the i3-530 at stock speed. Where's the doctrine of fairness in that? "The Tech Report" website reports the 530 stable up to 4.4Ghz on air...! http://techreport.com/articles.x/18448 BTW, this is is great CPU test article, I think DBZ was the first to come up with it.I just did a quick google, and I think the results show they are quite similar, with the expected variances between quad and dual core.
I'd still stick with the Q6600 due to its overclockability though... the results I found were for stock CPUs.
The Q6600 actually benchmarks above the i3-530 in a few tests that specifically favor the true quad core. However, in the real world, the i3-530 wins handily, and does so with about half the energy consumption. In the comparison that can't be made honestly, (Q6600 out of production), you could buy an i3-530, and a good deal of the computer to put it in, for what the Q6600 would have cost you not so many months ago.The q6600 is pathetically old now, its not really a good comparison.
Agreed, there's a good deal of life left in anything from Conroe on. In the case of going from a Q6600 to an i3-530, the principal difference might be an electric bill cheaper by a few pennies a month. In the case of a gamer, just upgrade the video card and blast away!However, if one were to question an upgrade from Q6600 to an i3, I'd question if it was worth it.