- Mar 1, 2015
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AMD AM3+ FX-4300 QUAD CORE vs intel i3 4160
- Thread starter Mike Atin Godlike
- Start date
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LucoTF
Splendid
- Sep 6, 2013
- 6,414
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Yeah here in the UK AM3+ motherboards are so pricey that it almost never makes sense to go AMD
Like, an FX-6300+ cheap cooler + not-terrible mobo would set you back £140, but an i3 and Z97 mobo can be had for the same price with a much stronger upgrade path to boot
- Oct 17, 2011
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http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1192?vs=700
(Anandtech doesn't list the 4160. The 4330 is slightly slower [3.5 vs. 3.6GHz], but has more L3 cache [4 vs. 3 MB] & slightly better integrated graphics [4600 vs. 4400]).
For non-gaming benchmarks, yes, the i3 provides better performance. However, as the benchmarks also show, at 1080p with a GTX 770 the i3's performance is only about 5-8% better than the FX-4300 (the only one showing higher performance being F1 2013, & even then limited to about 18%). Currenlty, pcpartpicker.com shows the i3-4160 at $110 USD, with the FX-4300 at $94 USD. In other words, the i3-4160 provides on average maybe 10% better gaming performance, for 17% more cost. Nor will a board necessarily help that, as the cheapest LGA 1150 boards ($39 mATX, $48 ATX) are only $6 USD cheaper than the cheapest AM3+ boards ($45 mATX, $54 ATX). That still leaves the price point comparison in AMD's corner ($159-168 Intel vs. $139-$148 AMD).
As for upgrade paths....yes, you can replace the i3 with a more capable i5 or i7. You can also replace the FX-4300 with a more capable FX-6300 (currently the same price on pcpartpicker.com) or FX-8320/8350/8370. And since the Broadwell LGA 1150s apparently haven't even been announced yet, so the only Broadwell chips are all BGA 1168 (i.e. not compatible). Not to mention that, after Broadwell, the next set (Skylake) will not use LGA 1150, but a new socket (LGA 1151). So until & unless they actually announce some LGA 1150 Broadwell chips, I'd be hesitant to say just how much "future" there is in an LGA 1150 board.
In summary... the listed i3 is better than the FX-4300, but the FX-4300 isn't the best AMD chip available at that price (the FX-6300 being identical in price but matching/beating the i3 in performance). And while the selection of chips available as potential replacements for the i3 is broader than in the FX family, both are looking at the end of their lines in the near future (i.e. 12 months or less).
(Anandtech doesn't list the 4160. The 4330 is slightly slower [3.5 vs. 3.6GHz], but has more L3 cache [4 vs. 3 MB] & slightly better integrated graphics [4600 vs. 4400]).
For non-gaming benchmarks, yes, the i3 provides better performance. However, as the benchmarks also show, at 1080p with a GTX 770 the i3's performance is only about 5-8% better than the FX-4300 (the only one showing higher performance being F1 2013, & even then limited to about 18%). Currenlty, pcpartpicker.com shows the i3-4160 at $110 USD, with the FX-4300 at $94 USD. In other words, the i3-4160 provides on average maybe 10% better gaming performance, for 17% more cost. Nor will a board necessarily help that, as the cheapest LGA 1150 boards ($39 mATX, $48 ATX) are only $6 USD cheaper than the cheapest AM3+ boards ($45 mATX, $54 ATX). That still leaves the price point comparison in AMD's corner ($159-168 Intel vs. $139-$148 AMD).
As for upgrade paths....yes, you can replace the i3 with a more capable i5 or i7. You can also replace the FX-4300 with a more capable FX-6300 (currently the same price on pcpartpicker.com) or FX-8320/8350/8370. And since the Broadwell LGA 1150s apparently haven't even been announced yet, so the only Broadwell chips are all BGA 1168 (i.e. not compatible). Not to mention that, after Broadwell, the next set (Skylake) will not use LGA 1150, but a new socket (LGA 1151). So until & unless they actually announce some LGA 1150 Broadwell chips, I'd be hesitant to say just how much "future" there is in an LGA 1150 board.
In summary... the listed i3 is better than the FX-4300, but the FX-4300 isn't the best AMD chip available at that price (the FX-6300 being identical in price but matching/beating the i3 in performance). And while the selection of chips available as potential replacements for the i3 is broader than in the FX family, both are looking at the end of their lines in the near future (i.e. 12 months or less).
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