i3 vs I5

[tmab11 0]

I am thinking about building a system with an Intel i3,but cannot make up my mind if it would be worth it to pay the extra 50 bucks and get the extra 2 cores with the i5...From a FSX and FS9 standpoint, what should I do???This is the setup im currently looking at :Motherboard - Asus P7H55-M PRO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131623Processor - Intel Core i3-530 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115222CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835103065Memory - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231193Graphics - EVGA GeForce GTS 250 1GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130514Power Supply - Corsair 450W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139003Hard Drive - Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...%20F3%20HD502HJ

[TechguyMaxC 516]

Just for the sake of clarity, the only i5 models which feature 4 cores are the 7xx series. The rest are dual cores with hyper-threading, just like the i3s. With that in mind, I'd say go with an i5 or i7. Also, you may want to step up the PSU a bit, 450W is certainly adequate for what you're planning on building but if you ever go with a more power hungry graphics card it may struggle. Speaking of the graphics card, you may want to go with something a bit faster than the GTS 250. GTX 260 and 275s are available for about $200 (possibly less depending on your area).

[Guest WarpAir]

If you plan to upgrade to faster cpu's in future , go for i7 for example i7920 D0 is very cheap this days.The socket 1366 mother board the i7 uses is where all intels fastest chips are, and thats the train you wana get on.even the soon to be released 6 core gulftown intels cpu uses socket 1366.