best cpu under $250 for programming and gaming

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Ben Xie

Ben Xie

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right now I am looking for a cpu that is going to be used for gaming, coding/programming mostly, and multitasking in general. I have seen 3 cpus that have caught my eye:

i5 4670k:
I think this is the most popular for gaming, but still, I will also be programming.

Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3:
as I understand it, this is workstation or server grade, so its more reliable and cool

and finally,
AMD FX-9370:
It uses a lot more power, 220 watts vs less than 100 watts, but has more cores so its better for multitasking, and it is almost a gigahertz faster than the others AND it is overclockable...


so which one do you think is best? Thanks in advance for all answers, feel free to post other cpus below
 
Solution
bradsctt
Had you looked at the FX 8350? It costs less than the i5 4670K and all the other options, and still provides good performance in gaming. In compiling and video editing, the FX 8350 can match the i7 4770K sometimes, while providing similar multitasking performance.
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bradsctt

bradsctt

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Had you looked at the FX 8350? It costs less than the i5 4670K and all the other options, and still provides good performance in gaming. In compiling and video editing, the FX 8350 can match the i7 4770K sometimes, while providing similar multitasking performance.
 
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marshal11

marshal11

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The only reason to ever get a 83xx CPU is if you plan on overclocking it with some decent cooling. Otherwise, getting a Devil's Canyon CPU would be best. You're going to want the single core performance. I'm sure you'll be able to hit 4.4GHz with a tiny voltage bump on the stock cooler too which would wipe out a 8350 at stock in just about everything except for very well threaded software.
 
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O

oxiide

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Every socket is dead. Who, with a Haswell platform today, is going to spend hundreds to upgrade to Broadwell in less than a year's time? Someone with more money than brains. Any i5 or i7 bought today will be good to go for at least 2-3 years, at which point you will have skipped a whole new socket and be on to the next.

That being said, OP, my recommendation is the Core i5-4690 if overclocking is not desired. Skip the i5-4670K in favor of the i5-4690K if you want to go that route. Its pretty rare for an FX-8350 to even achieve parity with the i5, let alone the i7.

The Xeon is a great value, but I don't think yours is a workload that really demands an 8-thread processor, unless you have a specific software package that you already know is heavily multi-threaded.
 
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