Intel vs. AMD at $200-250 price range.

frydhamstr

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Jan 8, 2012
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Gearing up for The Witcher 3, I realized that my current processor, the FX-8150, needed an upgrade (I also got a GTX 970 recently which I'm pretty sure will be bottlenecked by an 8150). I was thinking the processor should be around $200-250 for me, and both the FX-8370 and i5-4590 are the same exact price AT $200. My current motherboard is the ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 and I have an 850w power supply.

So, my question is about a comparison between the two. Should I simply upgrade my FX-8150? Or is it time I switched to Intel?
 
Solution
I'd hate to tell you to buy another AMD CPU and have it not be enough, which would be a huge waste of money. I can't imagine that the game will be unplayable with your current CPU. Get the game, and see how it does, before deciding to buy another CPU. If you need only minimal improvement, then getting a newer AMD CPU will be sufficient, but if you need a substantial improvement, you'll need to go Intel.
I'd hate to tell you to buy another AMD CPU and have it not be enough, which would be a huge waste of money. I can't imagine that the game will be unplayable with your current CPU. Get the game, and see how it does, before deciding to buy another CPU. If you need only minimal improvement, then getting a newer AMD CPU will be sufficient, but if you need a substantial improvement, you'll need to go Intel.
 
Solution

OriginalCadaver

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May 24, 2014
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True, you could grab the FX CPU and your current mobo should support it. Either of them are great processors, you're probably going to get better benchmarks on the Intel chip since you're getting better individual core performance, but if you're looking at software that utilizes more than 4 cores (not much out there right now) then the AMD CPU should score better. Patrick47018 is right that you need a new motherboard if you want to switch to Intel though.