FX-4170 or i3 3220?

Gandhiswingman · Aug 1, 2013

Hi
I have two CPUs one is an AMD FX-4170 the other an i3 3220. My question is, which is better for gaming and general processing. I already all the equipment needed to run these CPUs so there will be no purchasing of any other equipment.

spentshells · Aug 1, 2013

Avoid both and purchase a fx6300 it is in the same price range as the 3220 and offers better performance overall.

ps3hacker12 · Aug 1, 2013

Haha, didn't realise that i can select the best answer even if im not the OP xD

maddogfargo · Aug 1, 2013

I agree on the FX 6300.

Add in a good cooler and overclock it a bit and it will perform more like an i5.

But...

Since you won't be buying anything...look at the titles you plan to play. If they are 1-2 core heavy, the i3 will be OK. If they are 3-4 core capable, the FX 4100 series will be slightly better.

Rookie_MIB · Aug 1, 2013

The i3 has 2 cores + hyperthreading, while the fx-4170 has 4 cores (2 modules). The i3 runs at 3.3ghz and is locked, the fx-4170 is 4.2ghz(4.3 turbo) and is unlocked.

I would say the fx-4170 has more potential (with proper cooling) while the i3 will be the more efficient of the two processors with half the TDP (55w vs 125w or more). Since this is a general gaming build, I'm assuming you're going with a high end graphics solution anyhow, and as such, TDP doesn't matter all that much, so in that case I would probably give the nod to the fx-4170.

General bench scores -slightly- favor the FX4170 due to the much higher clock speed at stock speeds, so overclocking it with a good air cooler will generally give you better results over the i3-3220.

ps3hacker12 · Aug 1, 2013

I do NOT reccommend the FX41xx, the FX43xx series, the FX64xx series and the FX83xx series are great piledriver processors, but the x1xx bulldozer processors i remember having alot of issues.

If i had to choose, i would choose the i3-3220 but as spentshells said, the FX6300 is the best value processor at that price point.

JefferyD90 · Aug 1, 2013

ps3hacker12 :

Yea, they allowed people to do that like 6 months ago or so... and its the stupidest thing ever.

ps3hacker12 · Aug 1, 2013

JefferyD90 :

Lol, i changed the best solution.

JefferyD90 · Aug 1, 2013

Its STUPID cause people like me that try to help don't get the credit or it. Really makes me look for a new forum home.

spentshells · Aug 1, 2013

It's good because best answers actually get selected.

logainofhades · Aug 1, 2013

Gandhiswingman :

The i3 is a far better chip than that FX. The bulldozer based FX chips were a failure.

ps3hacker12 · Aug 1, 2013

logainofhades :

For gaming the fx piledriver chips are quite a bit better:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/677?vs=699
Where orange is the FX6300 and the blue is the i3-3220

logainofhades · Aug 1, 2013

Yea the Piledriver based Vishera chips are far better than bulldozer. From what I got from the OP's post, was that he already had both and just wanted to know which one was better.

JefferyD90 · Aug 1, 2013

The buldozers wernt a failure like people think. You just had to get the hotfixes for them in Windows, which less than 5% of the ammount sold, actually downloaded the hotfix. If you apply the hotfix, or run Windows 8 the FX-x1xx series are actually quite the contenders with the 2nd gen core series.

thanksforthefish87 · Aug 2, 2013

I have a fx 4100. I regret buying and now I am locked into an amd motherboard. If you get an i3 you'll have an intel motherboard, which would let you get an i5/i7 if you ever felt the need to upgrade. All current AMD cpu's aren't good for gaming due to the fact the most games don't utilize the FX series way of multithreading. A Fx-6100 would be better than an i3, but you wouldn't be able to upgrade as much.

ps3hacker12 · Aug 2, 2013

thanksforthefish87 :

AMD have a great upgrade past historically, people with Athlon II's from 3 years ago could possibly be upgrading all the way up to pile drivers!

but yeah if a processor is good, then why upgrade (like the 2nd,3rd and 4th gen i5/i7 processors).

JefferyD90 · Aug 2, 2013

thanksforthefish87 :

If you would send Microsoft a email asking for the hotfix, you wouldn't be saying that. The hotfixes are NOT automatically downloaded, nor are they posted on their website. You will HAVE to email Microsoft to get the 2 hotfixes you need. The bulldozers aren't a bad CPU, as a matter of fact, they are very nice.

thanksforthefish87 · Aug 2, 2013

JefferyD90 :

Not for gaming. A hotfix won't help gaming performance. A FX-6100 only has three real cores and 3 logical cores. The physical cores on fx processors are weaker than intels. And in programs like games don't take advantage of of the fx series logical processors.

iam2thecrowe · Aug 2, 2013

thanksforthefish87 :

JefferyD90 :

Not for gaming. A hotfix won't help gaming performance. A FX-6100 only has three real cores and 3 logical cores. The physical cores on fx processors are weaker than intels. And in programs like games don't take advantage of of the fx series logical processors.

no fx 6xxx have 6 physical Integer Cores, each pair of integer cores shares an FPU to create 3 modules, which is more important for games, something intels CPU's are much stronger in. There are no "logical" cores.

thanksforthefish87 · Aug 2, 2013

iam2thecrowe :

thanksforthefish87 :

no fx 6xxx have 6 physical Integer Cores, each pair of integer cores shares an FPU to create 3 modules, which is more important for games, something intels CPU's are much stronger in. There are no "logical" cores.

Well, I meant that FX series cores are weaker and half of the cores are physical cores. But it's called 6 because each of those cores can run two threads at the same time. so it acts like it has "6 core"s. But it doesn't really. Bottom line is Intel CPU's are much better for games.

Edit: I'm done with this whole intel vs amd thing. But to answer the original quest a 4100 and a i3 will have about the same overall performance.

spentshells · Aug 3, 2013

Yes they will but the intel does it with half of the power draw.

JefferyD90 · Aug 3, 2013

thanksforthefish87 :

JefferyD90 :

Not for gaming. A hotfix won't help gaming performance. A FX-6100 only has three real cores and 3 logical cores. The physical cores on fx processors are weaker than intels. And in programs like games don't take advantage of of the fx series logical processors.

-.- you just answered your own thing... "And in programs like games dont take advantage of the fx series" THUS getting a hotfix, from microsoft FOR WINDOWS (which manages what processes go to which cores) solves the performance issues that you may be having.

thanksforthefish87 · Aug 3, 2013

JefferyD90 :

thanksforthefish87 :

-.- you just answered your own thing... "And in programs like games dont take advantage of the fx series" THUS getting a hotfix, from microsoft FOR WINDOWS (which manages what processes go to which cores) solves the performance issues that you may be having.

It has performance issues's with games the way the architecture is. Games run mostly on single threads. The fx series relies on multithreading a lot for it performance. I'm not saying it's a bad processor in general everyday use. Just is games intel is a better choice.

JefferyD90 · Aug 3, 2013

thanksforthefish87 :

JefferyD90 :

It has performance issues's with games the way the architecture is. Games run mostly on single threads. The fx series relies on multithreading a lot for it performance. I'm not saying it's a bad processor in general everyday use. Just is games intel is a better choice.

And Im just saying if you get the hotfixes you wont be just using 2, 3, or 4 of your cores. It will finally allow you to use 4, 6, and 8 of them. Then the 2nd patch you have to get allocates the cache appropratly so the cores will work together better. Trust me, you add those patches and you can look twords a 20% improvement in games.

thanksforthefish87 · Aug 3, 2013

JefferyD90 :

thanksforthefish87 :

And Im just saying if you get the hotfixes you wont be just using 2, 3, or 4 of your cores. It will finally allow you to use 4, 6, and 8 of them. Then the 2nd patch you have to get allocates the cache appropratly so the cores will work together better. Trust me, you add those patches and you can look twords a 20% improvement in games.

They don't make hotfixes for games. Games aren't written in code that way. Game aren't designed to work like that. And they're isn't a need for a hotfix anyways. The bottom line is games work better on intel. And I'm not being biased here. I have an AMD cpu. I'm just giving you the facts.

FX-4170 or i3 3220?

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