Intel Core i3 vs. Core i5 vs. Core i7: What do you get by spending more?

My last 4 processors were i3-2100, i5 3470, i7 3770k, and i7 5820k. The only real differences from the first all the way to the last were in multiplayer Arma3, multiplayer BF4, and encoding. i5 is absolutely the best bang for the buck in my opinion.
 
My last 4 processors were i3-2100, i5 3470, i7 3770k, and i7 5820k. The only real differences from the first all the way to the last were in multiplayer Arma3, multiplayer BF4, and encoding. i5 is absolutely the best bang for the buck in my opinion.

Best bang for the buck? Not really. It's a great bang for sure, but it requires quite a buck, compared to an FX 8300, which is 40% cheaper usually.
 
Best bang for the buck? Not really. It's a great bang for sure, but it requires quite a buck, compared to an FX 8300, which is 40% cheaper usually.

It could be 80% cheaper, doesn't mean you get more bang for your buck and by now it is pretty bloody clear you don't.

Also the FX-8350 is 30% cheaper in the US and AU than the Core i5-4690K.

It does depend on what you are doing but for all round performance the Core i5 is better value and it is considerably better in CPU dependent games. It will also deliver acceptable performance much longer into the future adding to its value, much like the Core i5-2500K has when compared to the Phenom II range for example.
 
Coming back to this article, I find it very interesting how little Adobe has optimized their applications for quad-core CPUs. They really need to work on that.
 
> it would make more sense to invest in a Core i5 with any GPU faster than that.

But your benchmarks with the 980 showed minimal to no improvement. Why prove that the i3 is enough, then recommend the i5 (for gaming) if you have the money?
 
Well, some games with the 980 did have a nice improvement. I should take that back. But I still wonder about a frames-per-dollar comparison.
 
I don't know... in theory and according to those articles the i5 is good enough for gaming, but ... it feels so dirty to cut the 95$ from the heart of your machine ... whereas it's like.... just 95$ ffs ... a good mouse or keyboard costs more... does not feel right. I'd rather go hungry for a week than make this kind of sacrifice from the machine I will live with next 5+ years... seriously.
and who really just singletask games on a computer? seriously? sometimes I have like 2-3 different games (mmos) running at the same time.
 
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