Quick cpu question

[LivrLips]

Looking to build a budget pc so I can get back in the game. I'd prefer intel, so was wondering which would be better. I-3 4160 with h97 mobo or the pentium g3258 with a z97 mobo? I've looked at the amd athlon 860k and fx-6300 but I think that intel has the better upgrade path.

[save]

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-G3258-vs-Intel-4160
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2321965/4160-haswell-pentium-g3240.html
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/305/Intel_Core_i3_i3-4160_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_G3258.html

[Bizman]

Save's links pretty much say that there's not much difference in performance, more in pricing. Not to mention that the cheaper one will easily gain 25% by overclocking. Also bear in mind that many programs still only use only one or two cores, although multicore applications will become a majority in the future. So check the features of the programs you're going to use with that computer.

As for the mobo part I wonder your choice of chipset in this case. As you can see in this comparison http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#c=100,99&s=24&sort=a8 H97 motherboards aren't actually any cheaper than the Z97's, at least not in the budget end. Although the difference between the two chipsets is only in overclocking and splitting pci-e, why not choose the more versatile option for the same price.

[LivrLips]

Thanks for the responses. Most likely going to go with the Pentium/ Z97 combo after reading the links provided by Save. I plan to upgrade to the I-5 CPU in the spring and the Pentium looks like a good temporary solution.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Thanks for the responses. Most likely going to go with the Pentium/ Z97 combo after reading the links provided by Save. I plan to upgrade to the I-5 CPU in the spring and the Pentium looks like a good temporary solution.

Be aware that the pentiums suffer greatly in performance in certain types of tasks because they lack the instruction sets of the i-series cpus. Don't be fooled by the clock speeds.