Which CPU is the best choice to buy?

sebastian869

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Jan 5, 2009
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Was wondering what you guys think is the best CPU to go with thats the best bang for the buck. To day i've always been an intel customer and was wondering if Intel is still the best Co to go with.
P.S. Is it a good time to buy or wait as in is there something about to come out soon thats better than the current crop? Is i7 the best line to go with or i5 ive read that i5-3570k was a good choice but thats an old post

Thanks,
Sebastian
 
Solution
If you're only going to be gaming, go with the i5, if you are video editing/rendering/photoshopping, get an i7

The most recommended i5 right now would probably be the 4670k with a z87 board or the older 3570k with a z77 board if you're into overclocking
If you're only going to be gaming, go with the i5, if you are video editing/rendering/photoshopping, get an i7

The most recommended i5 right now would probably be the 4670k with a z87 board or the older 3570k with a z77 board if you're into overclocking
 
Solution
for the most performance per dollar spent the amd fx 6300 and athlon ii x4 760k are sitting right in that sweet spot... and have been for a while. that said the is a finite limit to the power you'll get out of an amd chip (they're somewhere around Nehelam level performance, maybe a little bit slower)

The result is if you want or NEED more power then an AMD can give you you'll spend more money for smaller gains. A haswell i5-4670k comes in at $230, while the Athlon II x4 760k comes in at $73 and the FX 6300 comes in at $110. Those AMD cpus are 31% and 47% the cost of the haswell. In single core performance they're around 65% the speed of a haswell. the 6 core fx in fully threaded tasks actually closes the performance gap pretty quickly coming in within 10% of that haswell thanks to the 2 core advantage... of course few things are fully threaded so that's a questionable advantage.

That said if you want pure horsepower under your hood, you're not going AMD. Intel has a sizable advantage in single core performance. and most programs are single threaded.

if you're sitting on an old nehelam core i cpu, you'll see an advantage going to an i5-3570k or i5-4670k. you won't see much of an improvement going to an fx processor since they're roughly the same speed. if you're on an old core2 cpu you'll probably see a performance increase going with either. if you're on a phenomII quad or 6 core its doubtful you'll see enough of an improvement to justify going to a fx cpu...
 
It really depends on your budget.
If you can afford $220 on a CPU, then the i5-3570K or i5-4670K is a great choice. I'd look at the 4670K first and only get the 3570K if you find a better motherboard deal.

4670K - 1150 Z87 motherboard recommended
3570K - 1155 Z77 motherboard recommended.

Of course the rest of the parts need to be carefully chosen and balanced within your budget.