Final Post About my Build Upgrade, need serious advice

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Taafe

Taafe

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So I'm upgrading my computer in August.

I've been stuck between an i5 and an AMD FX 8350

So this is the last post I'll make about the upgrade.

I have a budget of a strict £450

What I want/need

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
PSU (Semi-Modular if possible)
Case (Optional)
New HDD (Optional)

And a nice backlit keyboard (also optional)

What my computer will be for:

Gaming (Obviously)
Recording
Photoshop
After Effects
Video Editing (Nothing major)

What games I would like to play:

Watch Dogs
GTA V (When it comes out)
Battlefield 4
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Garry's Mod
Star Citizen

My current specs:

AMD Athlon x4 760k
MSI A78M-E35
4GB Corsair Value 1333Mhz RAM
MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB Gaming Edition
500w EVGA 80+ PSU (Non Modular)
500GB Basic HDD @ 7200RPM
Zalman Z3 Plus MidTower Case
 
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Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£152.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.25 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£65.45 @ More Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.80 @ Kustom PCs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£36.00 @ Aria PC)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case (£53.76 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£59.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £451.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-23 20:54 BST+0100
 
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TheLastof Me

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You actually already have a decent GPU. You could save money and get the 8350 with another 270. AMD mobos have support for dual x16 lanes for great Crossfire setups. Intel mobos have dual x16 pcie lanes also, but you have to spend more than $200 to get one that does. Most of them have dual x8.

Regarding the dead end, how often do you plan on upgrading CPUs anyway? If you build balanced the first time, the CPU should be the last component upgraded due to it already being the fastest component in the system.

If you want to upgrade every year (or every other year), then go with an Intel socket that is still supported. However, if you do not plan on upgrading again for the next 3 years and beyond, the FX-8350 is literally the best performance you can get for the price range.

Even if you went Intel, five years from now I am sure there will be another socket. So you would have to upgrade motherboard with the CPU anyway.

Either way, both are great processors. I personally prefer AMD in that price range. If I were to get an Intel CPU, I would skip the i5 altogether and just get an i7. For price vs. performance you can do much better in the $200 price range with AMD than a 4 core/4 thread i5.
 
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TheLastof Me

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I'm not a part of Intel's or AMD future CPU planning board, so I don't know what they are doing! LOL

I do know that for someone who purchased an i5-3570k back in 2012 with a lga 1155 socket would have to upgrade mobo in order to upgrade to the new i7-4790k (lga 1150). And it has only been two years.

So again, even if you wanted to upgrade every two years with Intel, you would still need a new mobo for their newest, fastest processor. I still stick by the advice I gave because you already have a decent GPU.
 
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TheLastof Me

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So I am not buying the argument about the FX being a dead end, so no one should purchase anymore of the processors. If you plan on using your PC for the next several years it is still a great option.
 
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blue17echo

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on the other hand, the i7-3770k still exists, is Ivy Bridge, and is still faster than every single FX series chip on the market... Buying a haswell right now is more like buying a late gen Sandy Bridge chip, like the i5-2500. You're gonna get a cracking fast chip right now, but in 4 or 5 years, the top end i7 on the lga 1150 platform will totally be a great chip (see: i7-9XX) In 4 or 5 years, the top end FX chip is going to be struggling to keep up, unless AMD pulls a rabbit out of their hats.
 
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TheLastof Me

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Dude, all you are going to get in these forums are guys who like either AMD or Intel. Unless someone has actually owned both processors you are getting and can provide actual, real-life specific examples of the differences they had in performance, then the decision will be left up to your wants and your budget.

P.S. If you do find that person (I have yet), please refer them to me! :)
 
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Taafe

Taafe

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Remember AMD aren't in it for the MASSIVE PERFORMANCE. Unlike Intel they're targeting the Mid-Range and Low-Range Gamers. Their APU line is by far one of their greatest gains over Intel. Not to mention that they actually beat Intel in overclocking which is what I hopefully want to do with this build.
 
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Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

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I still have 2 FX8350 setups and now my last 2 were intel.

Here's my 8350:

jg31ps.png
 
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Taafe

Taafe

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Do you reckon it's worth going for an 8350 if I'm not planning on upgrading the CPU for a few years?
 
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TheLastof Me

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The 8350 still exists also. LOL Don't know where you were going with that. Regarding the FX will be struggling to keep up, you do not know what either companies will produce in the upcoming years. Intel could have another Pentium 4 blunder for all you know.

The i7-3770k is not faster than every single FX chip on the market. I have seen plenty of benchmarks (most of which are Intel biased), that show where the 8350 wins some and the i7-3770k wins. In regards to the 9590, in benchmarks I have seen (again, Intel usually wins these benchmarks), it was on par with the i7-4770k and the i7-4790k. It was even faster than the six cores in some tests.

So this blanket concept that Intel is "super-duper" better across the board is nothing more than a bunch of ill-informed bloggers all reading the exact same material convincing each other on how "awesome" their Intel CPUs are. The reality is quite different.
 
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blue17echo

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If you want a chip that is around as fast as a stock i7 and is drawing 300w of power, feel free to overclock your 8350. you'll be a budgeting wizard. until your power bill comes in. :p

If that's the case, there is an argument to be made for something like an FX-8120 and a nice watercooling (or big dual heatsink dual fan) setup. The 8120's tend to have a similar headroom to the 8350's, from what i've heard, and you can save a little cash that way. But again, overclocked FX series chips are seriously topping out around 300w peak power draw.

we can be real here though, and note that he could probably get really really similar performance out of an i3 or a 6300, and in fact, most gamers are bound by their GPU and not their CPU. (also you could run 3 haswell i7s with the TDP of the 9570.)
 
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Taafe

Taafe

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"Until you power bill comes in" What a £10 increase a year? Don't make me laugh.
 
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blue17echo

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I can confess complete ignorance of UK power rates, but assuming 4 hours of heavy use a day (conservative for me), we're talking about $50-80/yr where I live (assuming http://www.anandtech.com/show/6396/the-vishera-review-amd-fx8350-fx8320-fx6300-and-fx4300-tested/8 holds true)
 
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blue17echo

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What made you switch, blackbird? I'm currently actually running an 8350 as well. I like the chip fine, I just wish there was room to really upgrade on the AM3+ platform (not that I need a CPU upgrade right now)

The 8350 is totally capable of pulling 300w at peak. Read the article I linked.
 
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TheLastof Me

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Was there any particular reason for the switch? Are the Intel's truly "Super-Duper lighting more faster" than the AMDs (LOL I was being satirical)...

But seriously I would like to know from someone who has built both. I have used i5, i3, A6, A10 and 8350. I didn't feel any difference between the A10 and the i5. Both the i3 and A6 were crap. And I am currently loving my 8350.
 
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TheLastof Me

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Nevermind the article...I actually own one! LOL. Mine is OC'd to 4.5GHz and according to H/W Monitor the peak watts is around 47 watts. 300 watts is a total system draw, not just the CPU.
 
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