Looking for Recommendation: FX8 or i5

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F34R1355

F34R1355

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I'm looking at purchasing a new motherboard and processor. Seems I'm having a bit of a hard time choosing.
I really like both options that I have available. For my needs I can't seem to find a clear cut winner, and perhaps I'm still going to be stuck after reading what people have to say. However, there maybe some deals out there that I'm missing.
I would like to avoid Realtek NICs, but can't seem to find a really good motherboard in this price range that doesn't use Realtek. There is an ASRock option for AMD which features an Intel NIC, but that gets rid of getting 8GB of RAM with the purchase to cover the additional price. There is also an ASRock option that features a E2200 Killer for Intel in the same price range, if not for the lack of VRM cooling over 4 phases I would have the Fatality hands down. If you can think of other boards that might fit into this category, let me know.
I plan on purchasing the rest of the parts in March, when work kicks back up for me. So consider RAM as just a minimal point until then.
If I was going purely games rig at this point, I would go with Intel. Most of the games that I run aren't triple A titles, meaning they don't take advantage of multithreading to the degree that the FX offers.
The reasons that I'm considering the AMD is that it does handle streaming better, and offers performance for virtual machines. The streaming issues is really back and forth though. There are a large number of people that don't have the capability to watch a 1080p stream, making the Intel strong enough. It doesn't stumble on 720. With X264's support of QuickSync it really gets a bit of an advantage.

I'm not looking for bragging rights. I just want a processor that will handle what I enjoy.
It's not as if I don't understand the strengths and weaknesses of these processors, it's just a hard thing to decide.

For most of my customers, choosing one is usually simple. They don't venture far outside one use. They do gaming, or they do video editing... Even just word processing. Easy options.

Open to suggestions for the use of $350, even though my choices are a bit more than that.

AMD($374.98)

  • ■FX8350
    ■Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
    ■8GB Patriot Viper Xtreme (1600 CL 11)
    ■Cooler Master Hyper212 Plus
Pros

  • ■Streaming (which I enjoy doing)
    ■Virtual Machines
    ■8GB RAM

Intel($369.98)

  • ■i5-3570k
    ■MSI Z77A-G45 (or ASUS P8Z77-V LX)
    ■Cooler Master Hyper212 Plus
    ■4GB Corsair 1333Mhz (Stuff I already own)
Pros

  • ■Several RPGs that I play (single thread heavy)
    ■Lower temperature
    ■QuickSync (this can help even the streaming with OBS)

Thanks for reading.
 
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lazyboy947

lazyboy947

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U get similar performance plus the streaming performance, along with a good board and cooler to OC and more ram so id say the fx. U could save money and get the 8320 and OC to over 4ghz the 8320s r going for like $140 atm i think.

With the single thread performance, my x6 oc with cinebench scores a 1.13 on single thread, my friends i7 3770k stock scores 1.77, and bro in laws 2600k 1.36 all on single thread, so an overclocked fx should be able to keep up no prob as it should be near a stock sandy bridge or haswell on single thread and i do not think at least by the scoring it shouldnt be that bad.

Personally i play more core intense games, but i do also have older games that prefer faster single cores and see no problem, people only really mentioned as amds bulldozer was terrible and the older athlons and phenoms were slower if not overclocked. I also ran a 8150 with cinebench and saw basically same speeds as my x6 overclocked to a stock higher clocked piledriver 8 core surely should be better. Cinebench wise and in actual games the slight difference shouldnt matter that much and noticeable

With the NIC, i cant really find a cheap am3+ board that has a non realtek nic lol, if thats a selling point go for it and lower the cpu, to the 8320. Also if u go gigabyte go with the 970 ud3p/ud3, has a better power design for overclocking
 
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Quakemz

Quakemz

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I think you'll find either of those options a good setup. Both CPUs are quite Overclockable, I'd go with the AMD option as it seems to get you 8GB of RAM instead of the 4GB. Which is generally around a $50+ gap. Also, check out the prices on the 8320, if it is cheap enough, its a better option than the 8350 since you can OC the 8320 to meet or exceed the 8350 stock performance.

 
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FALC0N

FALC0N

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You could definitely make a quality argument for both setups.

I would go with the FX. When its a close decision like this, I prefer to support the little guy. AMD's competition keeps prices down and drives innovation. Giving money to intel makes shareholders happy, but doesn't really help the end user much. Not at this point at least.
 
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Quakemz

Quakemz

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+1 That is a really good point you bring up.

 
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F34R1355

F34R1355

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You're using a Phenom II X6, that isn't very comparable to Vishera. they're completely different architectures. Phenom II still holds and IPC advantage over Vishera if I recall correctly. If I recall correctly the 3570k and 3770k are very close in single threaded performance, which is why it makes more sense to go i5 if you're not planning on doing things that benefit greatly from multiple threads (i.e Games).
1.13 vs 1.77 is a pretty large margin, not more than I would expect though.


AMD Backing Out of CPU Speed Wars Against Intel
AMD's 2014 Roadmap
Just a couple things that come to mind when I hear about AMD's competition and innovation. I do like what AMD is doing with their APUs. From my understanding, Kaveri is supposed to go back to real cores, not this module-thread non-sense.
Don't take it the wrong way, I have in the past kept an Intel based, and AMD based system around. I just don't have the finances to do that. As much as I miss my Phenom, I still regret buying into the hype that Bulldozer was going to be a killer processor. For my purposes, Bulldozer turned out to be worse.

Because of current specials, it's only about $5 different to go from a 8320 to an 8350.
With that in mind, I also have to say that I would prefer the 8350, as it uses less voltage for the same clocks as an 8320. This would equate to the same amount of draw on the VRMs bringing more performance.
It would also be hard to go with a lower processor, and not have a really good motherboard in exchange for the issue listed above. Along with that issue, I think that it's also worth considering the cost of changing to an 8350 in the future to overclock.
If I go with the 8350 now, and a lesser motherboard, I can change the motherboard in the future to something nicer. But if both are on the lower end, then I would have to replace both.

As far as RAM goes, I would like to get the 8GB now, but I think that I can live off the 4GB until March. I maybe able to get that sooner anyways. RAM is a small purchase.

My plans are to replace the Hyper 212 with a Noctua NH-D14, if not custom loop (depends on what I have to work with)
The RAM will go to 16GB.
I also plan on doing a new case, currently between the NZXT Phantom 820 and Corsair Air 540. I just like the roomy motherboard compartment on the 540, don't judge >.<
GTX 770
250GB SSD (at least)

The ASRock board that I have in mind for the AMD would be the 990FX Extreme9. The issue that I have with this is I can only find it as open box.

As a finishing thought, I don't think that I'll be able to do the 8GB regardless now. My current power supply will handle the new system regardless of what I go with, if I can find the 8 pin CPU cable (or if the one the 8pins that I have from a HIVE will fit it).

I'm going to be both happy and sad to see this temporary machine go. It was a real interesting return to my past computer. As a point of reference on this jump:
Processor:Core 2 Quad Q9400 OC'ed @ 3.4Ghz
RAM: 6GB DDR2 @ 1200ish (I'm not sure exact right off)
Video:9800GTX+
Hard Drive:Western Digital 1TB Green (in fairness this is already a black as of last month)

What I miss:
Processor:Phenom II X4 965 OC'ed 4.0Ghz
RAM: 32 GB G.Skill DDR3 1600
Video:GTX480
Hard Drive:120GB OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS, 1TB Western Digital Black, 2TB Western Digital Green, 1TB Western Digital Green
Audio:Creative X-Fi Titanium Professional

Obviously the Phenom was getting on in age, but it still managed to run everything that I wanted at frame rates that were perfectly fine.
Maybe, one day, that computer will find it's way back... Semi-doubtful.

Edit: I would be able to have 12GB on the AMD, as I already have 4GB. It came from my Phenom when I bought it for temporary use. Something slightly OCD, but I don't know that I can stand just seeing one slot populated, or three populated... MUST BE BALANCED, ALL HAIL THE OCD.... and maybe a slight want for dual channel...
 
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F34R1355

F34R1355

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Opinions that aren't super biased. I'm honestly stuck on this one. I'm ordering it next Friday, and usually I would have my choice by now.
Is there some key factor I'm overlooking?
I know people with both processors, and both say they wouldn't look back.
With no plan to change AM3+ lineup, the relevance of my processor stays current. This is good for possible driver related issues for the chipset, and also encourages improvements to thread management.
Where as with the Intel I'm arguably already of date. I just don't see the point of jumping to Haswell, real world performance is rather marginal. The 8350 fits my need for Virtual Machines and Streaming. The Intel meets my want to game.
My point of this thread is it's really hard to choose. Seeing that my Intel friends are the ones that I talk to most, I get to hear Intel fanboying. I understand that it's most likely not intentional fanboyism, just cognitive dissonance.
The real issue keeping me from the FX8350, with it's price advantage ($299 Motherboard + CPU combo) is going with a 970 is rough for me. Even if I know I can't push hard, I still like to tinker. 970 kind of limits that. Replacing the motherboard is a real option, but then I have to count that against the price and weight what it's worth.
I need to make this decision though. If I had the opportunity, I would wait it out. However, I'm re-purposing this C2Q in January. I recently got a job that should be consistent pay, I have to bring my own machine. I tried running a 5000+ BE on a 780G, but it was too slow for what I want. It's rather light work, and I don't think that the C2Q with a lesser video card will have an issue with it. Hope to keep my current power supply for the new rig (650W OCZ Modular) and go with a 350(Antec) for the C2Q.
Honestly had planned to hold of until March and do the whole thing then, but there isn't much point to that if I can't keep the job :p

Sorry if I come across short, or stuck up. It's not intentional. Tad bit stressed, tad bit annoyed with fanboyism.
 
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Quakemz

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I meant no disrespect. It just seemed like you knew your options and already had them laid out rather well. I'm by no means a fanboy to any company. My current build is comprised of many different manufacturers, and my next upcoming build will probably be no different. I look at things based on performance/price ratio, along with quality control. I don't know how much I can help here, other than be a wall to bounce ideas off of. I'm a semi-serious gamer and I occasionally stream as well. It seems like you don't really need help or guidance, but rather to decide which factors best suits YOUR needs. Only you can really decide that.

 
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lazyboy947

lazyboy947

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Quakemz has a point, in that you know what you need to know but cant make the decision lol. Being limited to 970 is really only sli, and more gpus added later at least what i know. Gigabyte 970 ud3p/ud3 is a good 970 OC board and where can u find a open box extreme 9 from for around $100-$120? What i really meant by the comparisons with the single thread was more or less that in normal use with games and other programs, the performance shouldnt be too noticeable.

Now to ur uses, i have found out that even though my pc is built for gaming and the main reason i moved from my xfire 6770s to a 7970 was to increase performance, have found out that i rarely use my pc to play games, and if so maybe 2 -3days a week for maybe an hour or two. I got bf4 on release and only so far at level 10 lol So I would consider how much you will actually use the pc for gaming or even streaming or VMs. If u game more and stream often, maybe the i5 would be best, and vms or multitasking the fx. If u want a solid even build i would go for the fx as i know it will game fine, do vms, and stream whether it be multi core friendly or single thread friendly, at least for me the amount of time i put into gaming id go for the do all. But again the i5 can do all those just fine so i kind of see where ur at a crossroads in picking.

I run as a said my oc'd x6 and a 7970, my friend has a stock 3770k and a gtx670, fps wise i see similar results for battlefield/cod/crysis/nfs/ etc, and not just the newer ones, so if u want to make a decision if it helps or not, think about the real world performance and what u can actually notice over benchmarks, as if the games that are designed around dual cores and faster single thread, at this point i think even a poor performing bulldozer could keep up to some extent as for the age at least for the triple a games.
 
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