Intel or AMD Gaming Setup?

Type75 · May 8, 2014

I am going to be building a new gaming desktop but Im not sure which to buy. I have a budget of $900-$950. I will be mainly playing World of Warcraft and may play some FPS, also possibly overclocking later on. Which direction should I go, AMD or Intel?

qwertyDS · May 8, 2014

Short anwser is:
For the best performance:Intel
For the best performance/price ratio:AMD

Nightman · May 8, 2014

I'd get an intel i5 4670k. It's pretty much the best gaming processor you can buy. Although AMD cards look like they're better because the clock speed is higher, an intel at the same price with a lower clock speed will usually crush an AMD because it's just a better card.

enemy1g · May 8, 2014

One thing to take into consideration, WoW is old. WoW absolutely loves Intel CPUs and the performance is huge over AMD in this game.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GjRT

~$970 gets you 8GB of RAM, Z87 board w/ i5-4670k, and a GTX 770.

Type75 · May 8, 2014

If I had the money, would it be wise to upgrade to i7? or there not much of a difference?

ScrewySqrl · May 8, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.94 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $942.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-08 15:59 EDT-0400)

ScrewySqrl · May 8, 2014

Type75 :

there is a slight difference, but it's not worth the $100 price difference

enemy1g · May 8, 2014

From a strictly gaming point of view, as it stands today, there is very little benefit from going with an i7 over an i5.

maddogfargo · May 8, 2014

Type75 :

There is no short answer...

If WoW and other LOW core count games is all you will be playing, go Intel. Better per-core performance has the edge here. i5 non-K will be fine.

If you plan to play a mix of LOW and HIGH core count games, it's a toss up, and just about even performance wise, with the gap being only around 3-5%. 6-8 core AMD or i5-i7 will be so close in well threaded games that it doesn't matter.

Type75 · May 8, 2014

Would this be any better because of the higher GHz? Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)?

Type75 · May 8, 2014

Nevermind, didnt notice socket change.

ScrewySqrl · May 8, 2014

no. the 3570 is slightly slower than the 4670

Type75 · May 8, 2014

How does this look? Anything I could change to make better? I didnt add a DvD Drive because I own one already.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GmFG

ScrewySqrl · May 8, 2014

Coolmax is not the best quality power supply.

you won't need to do SLI on a single screen with a 770, so you should get the XFX 550W in my build.

Type75 · May 8, 2014

Also, does Intel work better with Nividia or does it not matter?

ScrewySqrl · May 9, 2014

doesnt matter

maddogfargo · May 9, 2014

ScrewySqrl posted a solid build above. You won't be disappointed.

Type75 · May 9, 2014

Is 680w enough If i was to add another graphics card? I have 1 monitor atm but I have another I havnt used in awhile.

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