Of all the i3 processors, which one best suits me?

[Thinkcat]

Hello

Currently there are two kinds of Haswell i3 CPUs. 41x0 and 43x0. The former have HD4400 graphics and the latter have HD4600.

Is there any difference in how they are supported? I mean, if I intend to run something else than Mavericks, how far back can I go? Mountain Lion or even plain Lion? Do both work out of the box, or are there situations when one would work and the other one would require tuning?

Then. What would I gain or lose by going with an Ivy Bridge i3 and HD4000? AFAIK HD2500 either is not supported or had some serious problems.

Some info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i3_microprocessors (all i3 processors)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i3_microprocessors#.22Ivy_Bridge.22_.2822_nm.29 (direct link to IB)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i3_microprocessors#.22Haswell-DT.22_.2822_nm.29 (direct link to Haswell)

There are 4130 and 4150 available here right away, but every 43x0 model costs more and must be ordered.

 

[trs96]

If you will run your system with integrated graphics then get the I3 43x0 cpu
it's worth the extra money. The HD4400 isn't fully supported on the desktop
cpus and you would need a separate gfx card to have acceptable gfx performance.

If you have a separate gfx card get the 41x0 I3 and save some money.

With a Haswell system you can only go as far back as ML 10.8.5

Ivy Bridge would work with 10.7.5 ML or Mavericks.