Help me to buy a PC. Need advice.

For PoE (other games too but specifically PoE) having SSD is a massive advantage. Idk if you can with your budget but make it something to think about.

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Sarno wrote:

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ChanBalam wrote:

I like the ratings by Logical Increments (linked above) which rates the 4560 as an "entry level" item and the i3 as a better "good" item with "modest" and "fair" as the in between tiers.

Those terms are incredibly arbitrary, and I've never even heard of that website before.

I'm sure that it's created with the best of intentions, but it seems to share the flaws observed in score in games reviews - if two different people from the same website score two similar games, the scores can be wildly different. At least with game reviews you can ignore the score and read what the reviewer experienced; what they liked and disliked, and why.

This LogicalIncrements site looks worse because it's 100% conclusion, 0% rationale. I've found some generic descriptions for each tier, but what I'd like to know is why a specific product is in a specific tier. Unless their mobile site is garbage, they don't appear to supply that information.

If you can't reproduce someone's steps to reaching a conclusion, that conclusion is meaningless. The website seems to be intended primarily for people who aren't knowledgeable on hardware, don't care to be, and are looking for an accessible rule of thumb. And I'm sure it's great for that. However what you are doing is asking us prioritise a stranger's vague tiers over benchmarks and specifications. I don't like that. Use LogicalInstruments as one tool in your toolkit if you must, but don't entirely depend on them - especially if all available evidence suggests that they're wrong.

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FedeS wrote:

This is so confusing :(

If you aren't sure why you're spending extra, don't spend extra.

I'm open to someone explaining why the i3 is worth the difference in price, but thus far, nobody has.

I went to the Intel site and compared the two line by line over about 50 specs. They are the same except for the following. BTW, both are 14nm lithography and were introduced in Q1 2017.
The i3 is a 7th generation i3 processor and the 4560 is an Intel Pentium. Below the i3 spec is first and the 4560 second.
Power use: 51 w vs 54 w
Processor Frequency: 390 GHz vs 350 GHz
Graphics Base Frequency: Intel HD 630MHz vs 610MHZ
Graphics Max Dynamics Frequency: 1.1GHz vs 1.05GHz
Recommended customer price: $115 vs $64

How much difference? That is hard to say in actual game terms, but I’m in favor of the newer, more expensive I series technology over the older Pentium class.

Links:
https://ark.intel.com/products/97455/Intel-Core-i3-7100-Processor-3M-Cache-3_90-GHz
https://ark.intel.com/products/97143/Intel-Pentium-Processor-G4560-3M-Cache-3_50-GHz

Buying hardwnre is not like buying a game. Its performance and customer experience is more easily measured that with a game. Most people are pretty ignorant of hardware and what to expect until they have used something. I am not an expert, but bought a pretty nice rig ($2300) last year based on conversations and recommendations and websites. I do not get the impression that you are a hardware expert either. Just because you do not understand how Logical Increments ranks their items doesn't mean they do not have a system or are not experts.

Perhaps you do know more than they do. I haven't seen your resume. I posted the differences between the two processors above. I would be be hesitant to judge the difference in user experience, but would rather err on the side better specs than worse specs.

And I like their About page. It is open and mission based.

http://www.logicalincrements.com/about

:)

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ChanBalam wrote:

Power use: 51 w vs 54 w

A marginal difference, I think you'd agree.

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ChanBalam wrote:

Processor Frequency: 390 GHz vs 350 GHz

This is the most significant difference between the two, imo.

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ChanBalam wrote:

Graphics Base Frequency: Intel HD 630MHz vs 610MHZ
Graphics Max Dynamics Frequency: 1.1GHz vs 1.05GHz

Irrelevant; FedeS is buying a video card. The integrated graphics will not be used.

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ChanBalam wrote:

Recommended customer price: $115 vs $64

That's not far off twice the price.

For the modest improvement offered by the i3, I find paying double the price to be difficult to justify. FedeS said in the OP that they're borrowing money to pay for the computer. I'm loathe to burden them with higher prices when the value proposition is questionable.

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ChanBalam wrote:

I’m in favor of the newer, more expensive I series technology over the older Pentium class.

"As of 2017, Pentium processors have little more than their name in common with earlier Pentiums, and are based on both the architecture used in Atom and that of Intel Core processors."

-Wikipedia

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ChanBalam wrote:

Just because you do not understand how Logical Increments ranks their items doesn't mean they do not have a system or are not experts.

It's difficult to understand something which hasn't been said.

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ChanBalam wrote:

Perhaps you do know more than they do.

I've never claimed to.

People don't ask for transparency and explanations because we think we're experts on every subject under the sun. We do it so that both ourselves and others can offer critique. So that potential mistakes - and we all make mistakes - can be uncovered and corrected.

I've no reason to believe LogicalIncrements are incompetent, nor do I have reason to suspect that they receive financial assistance from one company or another. But when they choose to withhold the rationale behind their decisions, neither I have no reason to believe otherwise.

AnandTech, Computerbase, Gamer's Nexus... there's a ton of resources online which go into great detail about their methods and their rationale. Not only is this interesting to read, but it allows readers to learn more about the hardware. LogicalIncrements have made the decision to supply drastically less information than other websites. That's their decision, and I respect it - however it leads to me having difficulty being confident in their conclusions.

@Sarno
I don't disagree with anything you said above comparing the two processors, but I do not know how each will actually perform. That's why I posted what I consider an expert opinion. You favor cost as a deciding factor in the comparison because you see little difference in the two processors. You listed three other sites. Do they offer any comparison between the two processors?

It would be interesting to ask Intel about the in game performance differences.

FedeS is trying to make a decision he will have to live with. Neither you nor I will be playing games on his computer. My goal has been to help him make an informed decision. If cost is his most important consideration, then by all means he should go with the G4560.

BTW, I did go to AnandTech which you listed. It's a pretty good site for tech info. In their January post about all the new Intel chips (including the release of the i3 7100), they had nothing to say about the G4560 which was part of that release. The only mention I could find was in 2 discussion threads where posters mentioned it being a less expensive alternative to the i3, but no more detail than that.



@FedeS: the final call is yours and I sure that all this chatter about what's best is confusing you more. If saving money on the CPU lets you afford a SSD, then go that route. SSDs are a great choice.

I do not favour cost; merely value. By every metric, the two CPUs are effectively identical.

The difference is marketing; one has a more prestigious brand name.

^^^ You may have the last word. [bows out of the discussion]

Go and buy computer from bazaar. Its cheaper and you will get guarantee for some time too.

Get 10 core intel CPU and 2 Tb Evo 960 M2 SSD.

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ChanBalam wrote:

Processor Frequency: 390 GHz vs 350 GHz [you meant 3.9 vs 3.5 GHz]

Recommended customer price: $115 vs $64

How much difference? That is hard to say in actual game terms, but I’m in favor of the newer, more expensive I series technology over the older Pentium class.

Most of that comparison is pointless. Because the two are so similar, the speed compared to the price is what the OP should be considering. Is 0.4 GHz worth almost doubling the already low price?

The result...

If you're buying at this low-end, you're buying on a budget, so the Pentium is a better deal. If you're spending $115 on a CPU that's this low-end, you might as well jump up to a 6th gen Core i5 for another $70. Otherwise, stick with the Pentium for budget, or even an AMD.