FX-8120 or i5-3570k?

[Ihazleetskillz]

My question to you guys is this: Should i get the AMD FX-8120 Bulldozer or should i go for the extra cost of the i5-3570k?
Ive read some reviews saying that the bulldozer isnt very good at all or that its decent in certain areas. Whereas with the i5 all i read is good things about it. Im having trouble deciding because the bulldozer is so much cheaper than the i5 even though i know the i5 is probably better.

So what do you guys think? Bulldozer or i5? Which ones better and why?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[sarinaide]

Well for starters, synthetics notably singlethreaded synthetics the Zambezi's are not strong, how that corralates in real life is rather non-existent, not even the most ardent gamer can tell you the difference between similarly priced chips.

On a budget the FX 8120 makes a solid all round system, apart from the said failings you can still get well above accepted FPS while it also packs a lot of multithreaded love if loading cores is a thing you like doing.

The smart answer is to say you must spend the extra cash on a Intel setup you will have peace of mind that what you get is the best at least on synthetics while that is rather hard to determine in real world application. But money is a difficult thing to get hold, the FX allows you to save some of that well earned money. Honest here it depends on you, can you accept the FX as enough, I will tell you that it is very capable at a lot of things but it largely comes down to you.


My suggestion:

If you are not concerned about droping some cash on a build then Intel is the way to go. If you are looking to get good value with some budgeting then the FX is the way to go. FX + 990FX motherboard will net you a health profit to allocate towards a Graphics Card which still holds the biggest FPS influence.

 

[Ihazleetskillz]

Best answer selected by Ihazleetskillz.

 

[Ihazleetskillz]

Thanks man, very informative. Im ordering off of digitalstorm so theres not much i can do about customizing the setup. Heres the fx8120 i was looking at http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadc70.asp?id=676725. One big problem with this is that the graphics card isnt too great. Heres the two i5's ive been thinking about http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadc70.asp?id=676728 or this one http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadode.asp?id=676207 but with a gtx 670. As you can see the AMD build is way cheaper but i would prefer a more future proof and current build. The bulldozer in the marauder has been out for quite some time whereas the ODE has the newest Ivy bridge i5 processors.

 

[aicom]

The CPU isn't the biggest factor in gaming performance which differs between those builds, you need to look at the GPU. The 7770 gets a thrashing by the 7870, not to mention the 670 which performs with the 7970 in benchmarks. The differences between those builds are monumental. We're talking at least a 100% improvement in frame rates if you go with either of the Intel builds (not due to the CPU though).

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=536 - 670 vs 7770
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=536 - 7870 vs 7770

 

[sarinaide]

If you are able to customize them and give the FX 8120 a GTX 670 and still maintain a significant price difference then it is a option. Like I say, Intel is probably your smart choice and you have the peace of mind that what you have is through and through a good setup. If you want to keep some cash in the pocket for the missus and stuff then the FX will give you everything you need at a good price point.

Intel: 3570K

+ Best bang for buck
+ New IB technology
+ Best all round performance
+ Efficiency

- Price
- A lot of features are redundant
- Lower overclocking than SB.

FX

+ Multithreaded performance is really good.
+ Generally balanced
+ Cheaper

- Lower IPC and Performance/Watt
- 8 Cores is not really used in gaming.

 

[sarinaide]

While the FX with a GTX 670 would be a nice option, while I would like to say its a good option, at this point in time buying a FX will not be in your best interest;

Piledriver is out in September and it is likely to be significantly better, you will then be left with a chip that will be very difficult to sell off in order to upgrade, while the FX will still deliver enough performance, it makes no sense buying into something that is soon to be replaced. On that note Intel will be the best option.

 

[Ihazleetskillz]

Okay thanks again for all of the advice.