Gaming PC - AMD FX6300, 8320, 8350 or Intel?

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Samattack

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Oct 26, 2013
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Hi,

So I'm planning on making the switch from console to PC and am trying to figure out which CPU to buy. Despite hours of reading various reviews and specs, I am still unsure.

Now, this will be a PC strictly for gaming as I have a laptop I use for everything else. I'd really like to be able to play games like Skyrim with all the cool texture mods and what-not, but I'd also like to be able to play newer titles like BF4 and possibly Watchdogs and Titanfall when they come out.

I'm quite confused as some people say that multi-core processors are about to be great for games, and others say that the extra cores are only useful for multi-tasking. Someone says AMD sucks and the other says Intel sucks. In general there's just a lot of conflicting opinions.

Also if I could get a recommendation for a GPU to compliment the processor that would be great.

In terms of budget, I can't afford to crazy but am willing to stretch a bit. Also, I live in the UK and the components are quite a lot more expensive. Ideally I'd like to spend in the region of £150 on the CPU and around £200 on the GPU.

Sorry if I've been unclear but I'm completely new to PC gaming. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Solution
JOOK-D
Hey Sam,

Yeah there are a lot of conflicting opinions. In this post I will just copy-paste my draft of my own findings about AMD and intel. In the next I will show you some builds I've come up with for you.

The difference between AMD and intel for gaming.
Firstly, you need to decide what your priorities are, and what you will use the PC for.
Things such as: light gaming, heavy gaming, basic work (e.g. MS Office), heavy work (e.g. video editing, 3d modeling).
For the most part in current games the biggest difference will be made by the selection of the GPU. Get a great GPU + worse CPU rather than worse GPU + great CPU.

The AMD FX CPU's have many cores, which are weaker.
intel i5's have less...
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8350rocks

8350rocks

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Mar 14, 2013
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Skyrim still runs over 60 FPS on AMD hardware, many people forget that. It will only run @ 80 FPS (more than his monitor will display, likely anyway)...where as on Intel it would run A 100 FPS.

For all intents and purposes...most users cannot get more than 60 FPS out of their monitor so performance would be the same...unless they spend $1k on a monitor that runs 1440p @ 120 Hz.
 
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ImperialistMillitant

ImperialistMillitant

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Oct 22, 2012
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i5 4670k sounds like the best option for skyrim, however future games may use more than 4+ cores. Its doubtful you would want an i7 hex in your budget, which would server great in skyrim and slightly future proof. Thee FX 8350 is more than capable of running it, keep that in mind.
 
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JOOK-D

JOOK-D

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Aug 28, 2013
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Hey Sam,

Yeah there are a lot of conflicting opinions. In this post I will just copy-paste my draft of my own findings about AMD and intel. In the next I will show you some builds I've come up with for you.

The difference between AMD and intel for gaming.
Firstly, you need to decide what your priorities are, and what you will use the PC for.
Things such as: light gaming, heavy gaming, basic work (e.g. MS Office), heavy work (e.g. video editing, 3d modeling).
For the most part in current games the biggest difference will be made by the selection of the GPU. Get a great GPU + worse CPU rather than worse GPU + great CPU.

The AMD FX CPU's have many cores, which are weaker.
intel i5's have less cores, which are stronger.

The intel's consequently have better performance per core. In older games, the intels perform much better as those games are optimised for good performance with only a few cores (single-threading).
In newer games, the AMD FX's really shine due to the introduction of games using more cores (multi-threading).

The difference comes in depending on what you want to use the PC for. If you're on a tight budget, save some money and go with the AMD and spend the extra money on a better GPU that will give you better performance than any CPU could.

i5: Good for older games (single-threaded), Good for newer games (multi-threaded), Good for general work, great all-round CPU and probably the best around for current games (may change in future).
AMD: Slightly worse for older games (single-threaded), Great for newer games (multi-threaded e.g. BF4, Crysis 3), Good for light/heavy work, extra cores are great for 3d modeling and video editing or rendering, great CPU whilst costing much less than the intel. Even though it's worse in older games it will run them perfectly well and smoothly.

Regardless, both will perform well.
For an i5, I would recommend an i5 3570k or a 4670k. Why? They are king for gaming performance at the moment and since they are the k version they are unlocked and can be overclocked in future for a performance boost.

For an AMD, I would recommend a FX 6300/8320/8350 [Do NOT go with a bulldozer CPU, only piledriver. List here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piledriver_(microarchitecture) <-- That should all be one link, not sure why it splits.]. Why? Great multi-threaded performance for newer games and heavy work, are just fine in older games (not overkill, can deliver smooth frame rates maxed with a good GPU), and are great for productivity with a tame pricetag.

In conclusion, budget gaming/work: AMD. Not on a budget gaming/work: i5. The i5 currently delivers better performance but don't get the impression that the AMD is lagging behind. They are great for gaming and work with a really great pricetag, just not currently up there with intel. In newer games though such as BF4 the AMD's have caught up in performance and in some cases deliver better performance than the intel's for much less money. You will get great, smooth FPS with either.
Either solution will game just fine with a nice GPU, focus mainly on that.
 
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Solution
JOOK-D

JOOK-D

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Aug 28, 2013
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Alright so here's 1 AMD Build I've come up with:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1XRXD
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1XRXD/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1XRXD/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£115.12 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£100.84 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.99 @ Novatech)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.70 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£203.75 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£38.65 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£55.68 @ Dabs)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer (£12.74 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£65.99 @ Aria PC)
Total: £723.44
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-05 20:01 GMT+0000)

If you don't need the other parts just forget about them and look at the prices of the parts you need. That site is great for comparing lots of prices and seeing which parts are compatible BTW.
 
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JOOK-D

JOOK-D

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Aug 28, 2013
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As for Skyrim, it runs very well on either platform, although it is better on intel. However, as 8350rocks said, if you have a 60hz monitor (normal) and it runs at above 60 FPS does the extra FPS really count for anything other than bragging rights? Anyway here's some benchmarks for skyrim:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2013/06/12/intel-core-i5-4670k-haswell-cpu-review/5

That's on ultra settings at HD res with the custom high def textures. BTW, the 8350 there is basically the same as the 8320 I showed on the build, but it's just clocked higher (higher Ghz) as stock. You can change that yourself in the BIOS later down the road.
 
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Samattack

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Oct 26, 2013
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Hi,

Thanks everybody for your responses especially JOOK-D for the detailed posts. Since posting that question I have done a lot of reading on a lot of different components and now have a much better understanding of what I need, although still haven't decided EXACTLY which parts I'll buy.

For the GPU I'm going with a 7950, however not the XFX model (even though it's only £177 on Amazon!) as I read quite a few negative reviews regarding overheating and other problems. I'm probably gonna go ASUS or Gigabyte.

For the CPU I'm going to try and stretch for the 3570k. If my wallets really feeling the strain I'll go for the FX-6300, possibly with a AM cooler in case I fancy having a go at overclocking. This PC will be purely for gaming so I've ruled out the FX-8320/50 as I don't intend to multitask, and price wise it's only just below the i5, which I would choose over it.

As for the mobo, PSU, RAM etc. I've narrowed these down too, so I'm good there.

Also J-DOOK, props for pointing out the FPS issue, as when reading advice to new PC gamers, a lot of people forget to talk about this. This was something that frustrated me when looking at benchmarks as you rarely see the "real world performance". I'll be playing on a single 60hz monitor at 1080p, so I'm not going to benefit from super high FPS.

So yeah, thanks for all your help guys, I'll look forward to getting destroyed by you all in multiplayer as I try and figure out how to play with a keyboard and mouse.:)

Sorry 8350 ROCKS, I just realised you posted the FPS point first so props to you too.
 
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JOOK-D

JOOK-D

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No problem. :)

You'll have a good PC no matter which of those parts you choose. Enjoy!
 
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sora

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Oct 30, 2013
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The 7950 is a pretty good graphics card! Good choice, but I honestly think you should get the 3570k no matter what. I honestly love the i5 :D
sig.jpg
 
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