Is AMD Worth Buying

Kamdead · Sep 19, 2013

Hey guys I'm putting together my first gaming PC. Im currently studying at uni so my budget isnt high about 1400 Australian and Im using Pc Case Gear as my site to buy from. A friend has given my his Corsair Vengeance C70. Im currently deciding on cpu and gpus. I was first told to go for a Intel Core i5 4670K which is $275 here in Aus. I was thinking of going with the AMD FX-8320 because its only $189. I plan to over clock either, but im being told at the uni that amd is ditching the processes and GPUs and it would not be wise to go down that road. Im at the same point with my GPU too the Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 Overclocked 3GB is only $389 and comes with 4 free games where as the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 OC Edition 2GB is $469. Going down the intel road Its push my price to about $1700 where the AMD is about $1444. The games Im mainly playing are WOW and Dota 2 but I want to get into Counter strike and other steam games. Plus I would like to try keep the pc going for about 4 years if possible. My plan was to have it sli/crossfire so if i needed to upgrade it wont be to much of a hassle. So does it sound like im on the right track and is amd a dying brand? also can i get everyone opinion on the http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=67&products_id=23672 which is currently on sale $400 off and comes with 8 free games is it worth it or just is there a reason (bad) why its so cheap?

Thanks in advance guys sorry if the questions are a tad dumb I'm new to the whole pc gaming experience.

Novuake · Sep 19, 2013

How much does a 3570K and Z77 platform go for?

AMD is not dropping anything, at least no confirmation. They MAY drop their FX line of CPUs, but GPUs are still going strong.

I would say go for a 3570K + Z77 board OR FX 8350/8320 + 990FX board (whichever is cheaper) and the HD7970.

If you are looking to OC the chipsets are very important, it HAS to be Z77/Z87 or 990FX for reliable OCing.

Dags · Sep 19, 2013

AMD is fine and in some cases offers better performance/value. Don't compare GHz to GHz nor CPU to CPU. Compare a i.e. $1000 AMD system and a $1000 intel system. There is no point comparing the proformance of 2 equally priced cpus when for one of them you need an extra $100 for the motherboard.
Current and latest generation of Intel's processors have great efficiency but they are not a big performance improvement comparing to previous generation Inte CPUs. So you can either get an Ivy-Bridge system for a bit cheaper or wait a couple months to get new AMDs when they are out. But assuming you gonna need something now for school I would not recommend getting an AMD platform right before the new AMD Steamroller CPUs are out. Given that you need a modern system to last for 4 years getting a socket that will be replaced soon, it is not wise.

MajinCry · Sep 19, 2013

Well, if you're looking to have the computer last for a while, AMD is your safest bet. However, do understand that future proofing is impossible. In four years, there will be cheaper, faster CPUs out there, no matter if you choose AMD or Intel.

My reason for advocating the AMD route, especially with an 8320/8350, is that the next generation of consoles will be using low-clocked, 4 module AMD processors, much like the 8xxx. With that in mind, it's most likely that the next generation of games will be made with multiple cores and weak single threaded performance in mind. So buying multiple cores will be best.

Also, the XBone will make use of a DirectX11.1 derivative (The 360 used a derivative of DirectX 9.0c), so more cores will be the order of the day; DirectX 11 uses multithreaded draw calls, whereas DirectX 9 uses single threaded draw calls.

Novuake · Sep 19, 2013

MajinCry :

Well, if you're looking to have the computer last for a while, AMD is your safest bet. However, do understand that future proofing is impossible. In four years, there will be cheaper, faster CPUs out there, no matter if you choose AMD or Intel.

My reason for advocating the AMD route, especially with an 8320/8350, is that the next generation of consoles will be using low-clocked, 4 module AMD processors, much like the 8xxx. With that in mind, it's most likely that the next generation of games will be made with multiple cores and weak single threaded performance in mind. So buying multiple cores will be best.

Also, the XBone will make use of a DirectX11.1 derivative (The 360 used a derivative of DirectX 9.0c), so more cores will be the order of the day; DirectX 11 uses multithreaded draw calls, whereas DirectX 9 uses single threaded draw calls.

A lot of hearsay and assumption in there. Kinda annoying, but I won't beat a dead pony...

MajinCry · Sep 19, 2013

Novuake :

What?

The next generation of consoles are essentially just PCs with a customized GPU and x86 CPU. They both have 8 cores and their GPUs support DirectX11.1(Xbone) and DirextX11.2(PS4). Granted, the PS4 will be using OpenGL, but the two APIs accomplish the same thing.

We also know for a fact that DirectX11 uses multithreaded draw calls; that's how your FPS go sky-high in comparison to using DirectX 9.0c, supposing that there are many objects to be drawn on screen.

Kamdead · Sep 19, 2013

Novuake :

Yer I was told upgrading every few years on pcs would be best. But I thought that the AMD build for it price was much cheaper then the intel. I was assuming the for the games i was wanting to play I wouldn't need such a strong intel and a amd would be better bang for buck since it was a $90 difference. The motherboard for the amd i was thinking was a Asrock 990fx Extreme 3 and with intel a ASUS Gryphon Z87 Motherboard which is $50 more. I also saw that amd has slowly been dropping in price so i thought know would be a good time to buy one. If i can pick up a second 7970 would that be able to last 4 years on games liek the ones i was wanting to play? i dont dont need anythign that will run games like bf3 max just good enough to handle games like SC and WOW on decent graphics.

Kamdead · Sep 19, 2013

Dags :

Yer value for money i think AMD is much cheaper and im not running anything to graphic and cpu heavy i believe. With the new AMD steamroller when is that due to be released? Also is AMD prices on release reasonable and worth the wait?

Novuake · Sep 19, 2013

An HD7970 can max pretty much any game at 1080p...

So your fine there.

RobCrezz · Sep 19, 2013

MajinCry :

Yeah, but the 8 core CPUs in the consoles are pretty low end Jaguar cores. A quad core Sandybridge/Ivybridge/Halswell would still be much higher performance overall.

I dont disagree that more cores will be the future, but a strong single thread performance is still important.

8350rocks · Sep 19, 2013

Kamdead :

The APUs will be out Q1 2014, however, the FX class stuff won't be out for a while after that. APUs first from AMD, then the heavy hitters later.

The FX 8320 overclocked to something like 4.4 GHz would suit you just fine, and a HD 7970 will run anything under the sun at good settings for a while to come still. So that would be a fine gaming rig. In fact, with your 990FX board, your 8320 would be running the same as my 8350 on a 970 MB. Your GPU would be better than mine, as I have a HD 7870XT and it plays anything I throw at it pretty well...so the 7970 would be more of a good thing.

That combo should last for years to come. Additionally, after the summer price drops on the AMD components, I wouldn't expect them to get too much cheaper. So, now is a good time to buy.

As for Intel, well haswell wasn't that great really, and their platforms are going to be one and done from here on out. They just said they're breaking tick/tock and only doing a refresh on haswell, which will likely require a new socket. So, while the AMD platform is not yet dead, the Intel platforms are already obsolete based on what Intel is saying.

Good luck with your build, if you go AMD, I think you'll be surprised. It performs very well for the money, and they multitask like crazy. I can run a game with my monitoring software up, like 20 tabs on Chrome open, and be encoding in the background and it never takes a hit.

Dags · Sep 20, 2013

As 8350rocks said you will be surprised with what you will get for your money. I bought an 870 mobo and a Phenom II x2 555 three and a half years ago for around 80 euros each and I unlocked all 4 cores and from 3.2GHz it is running at 4.2GHz using my old watercool kit from my K7 since AMD doesn't change socket every year like intel and bracket fittings match. So with 80 euros after 3.5 years and I play my favorite games on 2560x1440 monitor. That was one hell of a burgain my friend. Let alone that my budget 870 mobo can overclock the shit out of my phenom and I dodn't even have to buy new heatsinks or waterblocks if I upgrade to an FX cpu.
BUT. I believe that this socket will be replaced until early 2014 so I wouldn't invest on a 4 year good old socket. my $0.02

Novuake · Sep 20, 2013

Dags :

As 8350rocks said you will be surprised with what you will get for your money. I bought an 870 mobo and a Phenom II x2 555 three and a half years ago for around 80 euros each and I unlocked all 4 cores and from 3.2GHz it is running at 4.2GHz using my old watercool kit from my K7 since AMD doesn't change socket every year like intel and bracket fittings match. So with 80 euros after 3.5 years and I play my favorite games on 2560x1440 monitor. That was one hell of a burgain my friend. Let alone that my budget 870 mobo can overclock the shit out of my phenom and I dodn't even have to buy new heatsinks or waterblocks if I upgrade to an FX cpu.
BUT. I believe that this socket will be replaced until early 2014 so I wouldn't invest on a 4 year good old socket. my $0.02

I actually think its TIME for AMD to change their socket. Its horribly outdated...

Dags · Sep 20, 2013

Novuake :

Dags :

I actually think its TIME for AMD to change their socket. Its horribly outdated...

Same here. 4 years are enough for me. And I am not even sure since when AM3+ is out.

Kamdead · Sep 20, 2013

8350rocks :

Dags :

So now wouldn't be a good time to get a AMD? My current laptop is broken so I was hopping not to wait till 2104 to get a new one.

Dags · Sep 20, 2013

For laptop I would either wait for new kabini AMD mobile chips or get an Intel Haswell now. But atm AMD doesn't have a competitively efficient product for laptops

logainofhades · Sep 20, 2013

FX 8320 would be my pic as well. Allows for more to be spent on GPU. Laptop wise, an i5 with a discrete GPU would be my choice. I have a Sandy Bridged based Asus with a GT 540m. It has been a good laptop. It switches to the Intel IGP when I am on battery and not running a program that needs more GPU like a game.

8350rocks · Sep 20, 2013

Dags :

The A10-5750M is a good quad core laptop product...that's with the Richland core stepping as well.

Dags · Sep 20, 2013

8350rocks :

Well, maybe it is because I have my laptops for business use only (programming and IT) and I only care about raw cpu performance and battery life. So a Haswell is a one way product for me. But if you don't mind much about battery life and you want to be able to play some games or you will use CAD/CAM software, then AMD APUs are great chips. But I would still wait till end of 2013 where we hope to see first steamroller APUs that will be so much better and efficient.

8350rocks · Sep 20, 2013

Dags :

8350rocks :

Well, maybe it is because I have my laptops for business use only (programming and IT) and I only care about raw cpu performance and battery life. So a Haswell is a one way product for me. But if you don't mind much about battery life and you want to be able to play some games or you will use CAD/CAM software, then AMD APUs are great chips. But I would still wait till end of 2013 where we hope to see first steamroller APUs that will be so much better and efficient.

The Richland core stepping massively improved power consumption...you have A10-5750M laptops with 8 hours of battery life...they also got a slight efficiency core tweak that netted about 8-10% better performance.

Kamdead · Sep 21, 2013

Im not getting a laptop, i used to have a laptop but it died on me so Im going to build my own pc now. Amd just fit into the budget better so needed to make sure its will a worthy buy. By the sounds I should be safe using a Amd and just crossfire in a few years time to keep some nice FPS on newer games.

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