Should I choose an Intel 4670 or an AMD AM3+ FX SERIES 9370?

[Griffore]

So, right now, is any of those strictly better than the other?
I have a GTX 750 Ti nvidia GPU and a 600W Thermaltake PSU.

I would get the 9370 with an AM3+ ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0
or the Intel 4670 with a ASUS Z97M-PLUS or ASUS Z97-A or similar.

They are very similar in price range here. Intel being slightly more expensive.
I have been reading online and found that people say Intel is better for single core applications and AMD is better for multi-core ones and multitasking. But im not sure about the magnitude of the performance difference and reviews are not so consistent.

My plans for the machine are principally playing games in the monitor and watching movies in the TV or browsing possibly at the same time. I am not planning on doing any video rendering.

I also need to get RAM, for which i'm thinking GSKILL RipJaws-X DDR3 1 x 8GB 1866 Mhz
Should i be concerned with the speed? That Intel processor does not support 1866?

Another concern i have is if they come with competent heat sinks and fans, should i have to upgrade in any of them? I don't plan on overclocking, but is it doable with factory heatsinks?

And does the amd having more cores factor into the longevity of the processor? Can i expect more applications to use the multiple cores more efficiently?

Thanks!

 

[DubbleClick]

Not rendering? Then it's definitely the I5 4690. You also won't need an aftermarket cooler, whereas a $100 AiO water cooling solution is recommended for the fx 9370. It also consumes less power while providing noticeably stronger performance in the tasks you listed.

1866 mhz is fine, even the 'sweet spot' for haswell. Up to 1866 you get a nice performance increase, after that, not so much. 1866 mhz may not be rated as supported, but it will be running nevertheless. You can even run 3000mhz memory on it, if the motherboard supports it. All you need to do is going into the Bios and enabling XMP.

 

[Mouldread]

Hello,

I wouldn't recommend you buying the AMD at all. It runs really hot and it's on a dead slot with no upgrade potential. The 4670 would be much better suited for your needs and the Z97 chipset motherboard should give you some upgradability. Also if you are really really sure you are never going to even attempt overclocking your CPU then you don't need a "Z97" motherboard; you can go for "H97" for example to save some money.

You will be fine with the stock cooler as you said you weren't planing to overclock your CPU but it could be a bit noisy so you might want to buy some aftermarket CPU cooler - but this is down to your personal preference.

About the RAM speeds, it's better to buy slower RAM (1600 MHz for example) but with lower CAS latency then faster RAM 2133, 2400 MHz etc but with higher CAS latency. Also it's advisable to but 2 sticks of RAM so they can work in Dual Channel. If 2x8 GB is too much for you price-wise then you can get 2x4 GB and eventually add another 2x4 GB later on. Just make sure you are buying a "matched pair" or a "dual RAM kit" and not some mix and match RAM from different brand and speed erc.