Similar conclusions were drawn in this article:
http://techreport.com/review/23246/inside-the-second-gaming-performance-with-today-cpus/1
They didn't actually test any i3s, but here are some useful takeaways:
- Don't bother putting an AMD CPU into your gaming machine.
- You don't really want the highest FPS, you want the most consistent FPS.
- Faster CPUs will actually still improve the number and consistency of FPS (i.e., it's not just about GPUs these days).
- i7s really aren't worth the extra money for gaming purposes. Even the higher-end i5s don't yield much improvement. Most important is getting the latest class of architecture.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
