[CPUs] Inte Core i5-3570, Intel Core i5-3570k, or an AMD FX-8350?

[frank34443]

Hey everyone. I am looking to order the parts for my $800 gaming rig either tonight or tomorrow, and I am having some last minute doubts.

My possible choices are a core i5-3570, a core i5-3570k, or an AMD FX-8350.

Now it seems the i5's have better performance, but which do you think will last the longest? I want to go as long as possible without upgrading.

Also I was wondering, how much of a difference does overclocking make? I was thinking I might just stay away from it altogether and let everything run at stock speed. But if the gains are significant enough that it's worth doing, then I might consider it! So if it does come down to one of the i5 chips, which one should I get? Is overclocking going to add any significant time to my hardware or will I need to upgrade in 3-4 years regardless?

(My goal is to stay away from upgrading for at least 4 years)

 

[bctande1]

3570k is the better choice here

Games rarely use any more than two cores, with four cores being the goal the industry is currently working towards. I don't know if there is a game where the 8350 beats the 3570k(someone correct me if I'm wrong), but games nowadays simply have not caught up to the 8-Core solution. IVB tends to beat FX processors when it comes to lightly threaded apps, such as gaming, but Vishera specifically has been showing some better numbers in more heavily-threaded apps, such as Photo-Editing, Video Rendernig -- beating out even the 3770k that costs more. However, the topic here is gaming, and the 3570k is certainly the better choice in that respect. IVB, despite being a fairly poor overclocker compared to Sandy, still overclock pretty decently, and most importantly, pulls WAY less power than FX processors. A Hyper 212, for example, will afford you much more headroom on an IVB than an FX. As far as the processor lasting long, you can definitely get a lot of time out of either of these processors, as with most. Your looking at probably 4-5 years of pretty stable performance out of an IVB, roughly due to the cooler performance which limits the effects of wear and tear. Overclocking is a pretty optional thing nowadays, you certainly will not bottleneck a 7870(which is the card I assume you are getting based off your build price) at stock. Right now I run a 7870Ghz @1134/1350 and 3570k OCed at 4.2Ghz, and it kills just about everything at 1080p.

And with upgarding possibilites for the future, LGA 1155 will most likely afford you Haswell, whereas AM3+ is looking like a pretty doomed socket at the moment, despite Steamroller coming next year.

 

[sam_p_lay]

+1 to the 3570K. Just to correct a couple of points, Intel has been talking about Socket 1150 for Haswell, and Steamroller is actually due 2014 now.

 

[bctande1]

+1 to the 3570K. Just to correct a couple of points, Intel has been talking about Socket 1150 for Haswell, and Steamroller is actually due 2014 now.

Yes +1 for that correction. I guess it would be reasonable to say LGA 1155 would still yield much better future-proofing benefits by virtue of a 3770k, whearas AM3+ tops out at the 8350 still 2014 with Steamroller.

 

[frank34443]

Thanks for the replies guys. I looked through the various gaming benchmarks out there and decided to go with the facts. I mean I really want to support AMD. They are kind of the underdog. They have an awesome looking 8-core that breaks the 4ghz barrier, is crazily overclockable, and they have it for a cheap price. The issue though is that when it comes to gaming performance, it falls behind in processor-heavy games. The i5-3570k however, seems to match if not best the i7-3770k as far as gaming is concerned in most cases.

So I have indeed gone with the i5-3750k. I would have settled for the i5-3750, as overclocking was not a part of my plan, however, with shipping costs and taxes combined, I was looking at a 5 dollar difference between the two models, and decided to simply go for the better model.

So yes, the i5-3750k is on it's way. I am excited.

In case you guys were wondering here is the full build (it is missing a discrete graphics card. I will be picking up either a Radeon HD 7970 - so AMD will still be getting a large chunk of my money in that case - or an nVidia GTX 670): http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/t8ex

Oh, I am also planning to upgrade the RAM to 8GB + get a Solid State Drive to store the Windows install in the near future. But those are the parts I've actually ordered so far.

 

[bctande1]

Wow just checked out your builds. There are several HUGE problems there man.

First off, you are running a B75 motherboard, which is fairly low end Ivy-Bridge MOBO made for low-costing builds -- the B75 cannot overclock the CPU, you would need Z75 or Z77 for that.

Secondly, you don't have an after-market CPU cooler, meaning you would have to use the stock Intel cooler = no overclocking headroom as it is fairly poor when the CPU is operating at frequencies above base-clock. Try to pick up a Hyper 212 EVO

Third, get a bigger HDD if you wanna store lots of games-- A Seagate Barracuda 1TB is around 60$to 70$

Fourth - Try to get a better case. Like a 200R


I think you needa cut back on the GPU a bit (get a 7870Ghz) and put the rest of the money in your other parts. You will be encounting lots of issues unless you do so.

 

[sam_p_lay]

bctande1 makes some good points there - nothing wrong with B75 but you may aswell have taken a 3450 if you're not overclocking - same speed (not same clocks but same performance). As for the stock cooler, you actually can overclock on it, you just won't get as high as with the Coolermaster. SSD is a good call (really good actually!) and I'd hugely recommend a Samsung 830 for that. Samsung 840 Pro if you're feeling spendy and want the absolute best.

GTX660 is an awesome card if you want to max almost everything at 1080p AA (Far Cry 3 being the one exception). For a really top end card that will even handle Far Cry 3 maxed, I can't recommend the GTX670 highly enough. Really exceptional card.

 

[frank34443]

Wow just checked out your builds. There are several HUGE problems there man.

First off, you are running a B75 motherboard, which is fairly low end Ivy-Bridge MOBO made for low-costing builds -- the B75 cannot overclock the CPU, you would need Z75 or Z77 for that.

Secondly, you don't have an after-market CPU cooler, meaning you would have to use the stock Intel cooler = no overclocking headroom as it is fairly poor when the CPU is operating at frequencies above base-clock. Try to pick up a Hyper 212 EVO

Third, get a bigger HDD if you wanna store lots of games-- A Seagate Barracuda 1TB is around 60$to 70$

Fourth - Try to get a better case. Like a 200R


I think you needa cut back on the GPU a bit (get a 7870Ghz) and put the rest of the money in your other parts. You will be encounting lots of issues unless you do so.

Thanks for the reply!

I have heard lots of people mention that the B75 chipset is a bad a idea. But to be totally honest, I don't mind. If I ever do overclock the CPU I don't think I'll ever add more than 200-300 Mhz to it. With gaming being my main goal, and with the CPU being able to hit 3.8 Ghz I don't think I will need to worry about it much. And when I do I will simply pick up a cooler, overclock to something like 4.0-4.1Ghz, and leave it at that. So I am not too worried.

I also don't mind using the stock cooler seeing as how overclocking is not in my immediate plans. The reason I got the 3750k as opposed to the 3750, to be honest, is because there was a $5 difference between the two models, and I decided that those $5 are well worth opening up the opportunity for future overclocking should I ever need it. So I went for it.

As for storage, my plan at the moment is to use the 320GB drive for now, and then pick up an SSD and do a clean OS install onto it, and then get a 1-2TB HDD for general storage. I also plan to upgrade the RAM to 16GB.

So it is mostly a work in progress. My immediate goals were to set up a machine that is functional, and can also run games. I believe it should do just that once I get a graphics card (in a week or two), and afterwards I can upgrade all the other parts piece by piece.

 

[bctande1]

Thanks for the reply!

I have heard lots of people mention that the B75 chipset is a bad a idea. But to be totally honest, I don't mind. If I ever do overclock the CPU I don't think I'll ever add more than 200-300 Mhz to it. With gaming being my main goal, and with the CPU being able to hit 3.8 Ghz I don't think I will need to worry about it much. And when I do I will simply pick up a cooler, overclock to something like 4.0-4.1Ghz, and leave it at that. So I am not too worried.

I also don't mind using the stock cooler seeing as how overclocking is not in me immediate plans. The reason I got the 3750k as opposed to the 3750, to be honest, is because there was a $5 difference between the two models, and I decided that those $5 are well worth opening up the opportunity for future overclocking should I ever need it. So I went for it.

As for storage, my plan at the moment is to use the 320GB drive for now, and then pick up an SSD and do a clean OS install onto it, and then get a 1-2TB HDD for general storage. I also plan to upgrade the RAM to 16GB.

So it is mostly a work in progress. My immediate goals were to set up a machine that is functional, and can also run games. I believe it should do just that once I get a graphics card (in a week or two), and afterwards I can upgrade all the other parts piece by piece.

Concerning my B75 comment, I never said it was a bad board, I simply said it was meant for the lower-end of the consumer spectrum. I advised a Z77-Z75 MOBO only because I saw you had an un-clockable Ivy Bridge Processor. The B75 will run you fine if you don't OC your processor. I tend to be pro-OC because I have witnessed far to many times people buying non-OC parts then regretting a few years down the line when they are sparked with a sudden curiosity in overclocking -- and the K-processors as well as Z-7x MOBOs aren't that much more expensive. The MSI-G45 is an example of a cheap Z77 MOBO with great OCing capabilities. And it is 3570K not 3750K haha.

Your storage seems fine, but I would question upgrading to 16GB of RAM if you are tight on money whenever you plan to upgrade. 8GB is pretty good for most people, and for gaming it is definitely the sweet spot. You can definitely upgrade to 16GB if you want, I am only saying I wouldn't recommend it if you are tight on money.

Your build seems very solid! I would like to ask what case you have? Because I was always a huge advocate for a tidy cable management job. Other than that you're golden!

 

[bctande1]

I meant UNLOCKED not UN-CLOCKABLE lol idk whats getting into me today

 

[sam_p_lay]

bctande1 is right about the RAM. Loads of people seem to be going for 16GB now, and I get that RAM is cheap, but it's not really necessary.

bctande1 - that's a nice avatar :-D Awesome film.

 

[frank34443]

Concerning my B75 comment, I never said it was a bad board, I simply said it was meant for the lower-end of the consumer spectrum. I advised a Z77-Z75 MOBO only because I saw you had an un-clockable Ivy Bridge Processor. The B75 will run you fine if you don't OC your processor. I tend to be pro-OC because I have witnessed far to many times people buying non-OC parts then regretting a few years down the line when they are sparked with a sudden curiosity in overclocking -- and the K-processors as well as Z-7x MOBOs aren't that much more expensive. The MSI-G45 is an example of a cheap Z77 MOBO with great OCing capabilities. And it is 3570K not 3750K haha.

Your storage seems fine, but I would question upgrading to 16GB of RAM if you are tight on money whenever you plan to upgrade. 8GB is pretty good for most people, and for gaming it is definitely the sweet spot. You can definitely upgrade to 16GB if you want, I am only saying I wouldn't recommend it if you are tight on money.

Your build seems very solid! I would like to ask what case you have? Because I was always a huge advocate for a tidy cable management job. Other than that you're golden!

Indeed, nor did I infer from your comment that you meant it was bad!

Basically I never planned to OC. But when I noticed that I would only be paying $5 more if I got the unlocked CPU, I just went for it. And I definitely know what you mean about regretting a purchase because of certain limitations like that. But I suppose I can always pick up a better motherboard, if I really need to, or really am interested in OCing. Luckily it isn't as big of an investment as a CPU or GPU would be.

In regards to the RAM I am thinking of upgrading in 4GB modules (of the same model). So I'd go from 4-8-12-16 as I need it. But you are absolutely right, 8GB should be just about right. In fact I think even 4 GB would be okay, although it might slow me down just a tad bit.

Hey, but since we're talking about the mobo, I was wondering if you knew whether it will allow me to change the CPU multiplier? I would never touch the voltages, personally, nor would I attempt to OC RAM or a GPU (unless I really didn't want to upgrade or had the attention span to read through all the OCing guides out there). But I definitely wouldn't mind messing around with the multiplier a little bit. Is that possible on the B75?

 

[frank34443]

Hmm, according to this page, my chipset can be used to OC the CPU and also the GPU. That's really all I would ever need.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155

 

[bctande1]

@Sam -- Yeah I used to be so acute on getting 16GB of RAM too, then I just stepped back and asked myself exactly why it was such a big deal, and I couldn't get answer so I got 8 -- very happy with that decision ! and thanks hahaha one of my favorite movies definitely =P

@Frank - Regarding the RAM comment, going from 8-12 is somewhat technical, because you always wanna go for an even amount of RAM stick so you can take advantage of the Dual Channel memory. Buying 8GB is fine -- ideal for me -- but 12GB would mean one 4GB stick would be offset(there are no 3GB RAM sticks as far as I'm aware of), therefore disabling Dual-Channel for that particular stick. 4-8-16 would be better.
Right now, I would recommend 2x4GB sticks, allowing you a max upgrade of 16GB of RAM, which is more than enough for gaming, and sufficient for some slightly heavy multi-tasking.

You misread the Wikipedia page. It says (Bclk) next to the B75 CPU portion, meaning you can only overclock the base clock, which cannot get you very far when overclocking a CPU. Increasing the multiplier is the most effective way of overclocking, and is only possible with Z75-Z77 boards. I guess I shouldn't say you can't OC with B75, but the OC will garner such little results it will be pointless to void your warantee over such an insignificant increase in CPU speed via Base clock. Additionally, when you increase the base clock, you have to OC your RAM as well, making the entire process kind of a pain.

The CPU multiplier is the key to OCing, as you can tell, as it only affects the CPU, and is only available on Z-Series boards

 

[frank34443]

Oh I see.

Would you mind pointing me in the direction of some information on overclocking in that manner (manipulating the base clock)? I am not very knowledgeable about such things and just wanted to get a rough idea of what exactly this means.

In any case, OCing was not in my original plans. I suppose if I ever change my mind, I could pick up a new motherboard. I just feel like the set up I have at the moment will likely last me at least 3 years without needing any major changes. And in three years time, I could probably get a cheap motherboard with overclocking capabilities, switch it out, add in a new graphics card and I would be good to go!

Although the actual process would be rather painstaking. I would need to strip down the entire system. :/

Also, if it's worth anything, the mobo says that it has a "1 second overclock" feature, which results in at least a 36% 3D gaming performance. Is this just some kind of gimmick or is it something worth looking into?