I grabbed a MOBO+CPU+RAM combo (G3220+Biostar H81S2+4GB DDR3) for $100 to replace an aging AMD 9550 2.2GHZ, 5GB DDR2 system that I had laying around. I have to say there are some good and bad things to note about this processor and I want to lay them out on the table for anyone who plans on purchasing this for their build.
Lets get started with the pros.
1. Coming from a quad core 2.2ghz Phenom, this 3.0Ghz dual core puts it to shame in the majority of games that I have tested it with. Mind you I am using an aging gtx 260, even still the g3220 allows for a higher and more consistent frame rate than the AMD x4.
2. Faster loading of certain programs, games load faster, and programs open up a lot quicker than the old AMD CPU.
For the average user that's about where the pros end. The cons may not effect everyone but here they are.
1. Multitasking is virtually non existent. Sure its a dual core, and sure that's to be expected but the old AMD x4 was able to handle multiple tabs and programs open at the same time without slowing down.
-The G3220 seems to have trouble with having more than just 2 or 3 things open at a time. For instance I can see a noticeable slow down when Steam, Youtube, Windows media player and a few Chrome tabs are all running. This may not be an issue for some, but I find this to be a huge problem.
-Downloading multiple files at a time causes a huge slow down, the old quad core showed no sign of this.
-Forget doing much else if something is installing. Web pages seem to grind to a halt and stop loading, while programs seem to take forever to open.
-Multiple display users will find that running a game in a borderless window and using the other monitor to watch a video or read will cause terrible performance issues in the game. (depending on the game)
Another personal issue that I am having, which others may not, is the fact that loading certain web pages seems to be slower than it was on the AMD cpu. Not sure what could be causing this as the two cores on the G3220 should be more than sufficient.
Quad cores that came out in 2008-09 will out perform this processor in everything but gaming, and single threaded performance.
People who should buy this:
Budget gamers
HTPC users (movies, videos, youtube)
Anyone who needs an office pc for basic tasks
Anyone who needs a home pc for basic tasks
This processor just struggles a lot when you throw multiple task at it. If you find yourself to be someone who loves to have multiple chrome tabs open with a few programs tossed in the mix, then the G3220 is not the processor for you.
Lets get started with the pros.
1. Coming from a quad core 2.2ghz Phenom, this 3.0Ghz dual core puts it to shame in the majority of games that I have tested it with. Mind you I am using an aging gtx 260, even still the g3220 allows for a higher and more consistent frame rate than the AMD x4.
2. Faster loading of certain programs, games load faster, and programs open up a lot quicker than the old AMD CPU.
For the average user that's about where the pros end. The cons may not effect everyone but here they are.
1. Multitasking is virtually non existent. Sure its a dual core, and sure that's to be expected but the old AMD x4 was able to handle multiple tabs and programs open at the same time without slowing down.
-The G3220 seems to have trouble with having more than just 2 or 3 things open at a time. For instance I can see a noticeable slow down when Steam, Youtube, Windows media player and a few Chrome tabs are all running. This may not be an issue for some, but I find this to be a huge problem.
-Downloading multiple files at a time causes a huge slow down, the old quad core showed no sign of this.
-Forget doing much else if something is installing. Web pages seem to grind to a halt and stop loading, while programs seem to take forever to open.
-Multiple display users will find that running a game in a borderless window and using the other monitor to watch a video or read will cause terrible performance issues in the game. (depending on the game)
Another personal issue that I am having, which others may not, is the fact that loading certain web pages seems to be slower than it was on the AMD cpu. Not sure what could be causing this as the two cores on the G3220 should be more than sufficient.
Quad cores that came out in 2008-09 will out perform this processor in everything but gaming, and single threaded performance.
People who should buy this:
Budget gamers
HTPC users (movies, videos, youtube)
Anyone who needs an office pc for basic tasks
Anyone who needs a home pc for basic tasks
This processor just struggles a lot when you throw multiple task at it. If you find yourself to be someone who loves to have multiple chrome tabs open with a few programs tossed in the mix, then the G3220 is not the processor for you.