Building a new PC to mostly be used for gaming (Dota 2, CS, Skyrim, etc) - I tend to multi-task a lot, multiple monitors and always dozens of tabs, a movie, or something else going on.
For years I've used AMD/ATI. Recently (last year or so) I made the switch to a GTX 560 Ti, and it's been treating me well.
Now it's time for the mobo/cpu/ram upgrade! In my price range my options seem to be FX-6300, FX-8320, Core i3, or possibly a Core i5. The last time I bought an Intel was probably 15 years ago, one of my first, a horribly crappy 733mhz Celeron, and I hated it enough to stick with AMD ever since.
So while 6 or 8 cores and loads of features sound great, I wanted to hear a few opinions before making the plunge. Lower power consumption, 22nm manufacturing, and years of struggling to control my AMD's temperatures all make for a compelling argument that it may be a good time to switch.
I plan to slap a Hyper 212 EVO on it, but I'm still concerned with temperatures. It gets really hot here and I often struggle to keep both myself and my computer from overheating lol. Do the Core processors run at a much lower temperature, or would it even require the aftermarket cooler? I think if I could cool the FX-8320 enough then it could surely be best after OC'ing, but with the heat issues I've had I just can't imagine it being so cool I could OC, so I wonder if Intel would be better for me.
While I also considered possibly being able to upgrade the i5 to i7 in the future a bonus as well, it was 2008 when I did my last mobo/cpu upgrade, so I doubt it'll matter cause who knows what'll come out in the next 7+ years? Surely another new socket lol
Budget-wise I'd like to keep it around $300 for mobo / cpu / ram more or less, but here we go!
---
Was looking at:
FX-8320 ~$140,
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ~$90
$230
---
Then on the intel side:
Intel Core i5-4590 Quad-Core 3.3GHz CPU ~$200
GA-Z97-HD3P ~$95
$295
There's a combo on newegg with the GA-Z97-HD3P and i5-4690 for $305 after discount, too.
---
Lastly, the GA-B85M seems another cheaper consideration mobo-wise, and has a newegg combo w/ ram fitting my budget..
Intel Core i5-4440 $189.99
GIGABYTE GA-B85M-DS3H (rev. 3.0) $68.99
HyperX Fury Black Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (Model:HX316C10FB/8) $66.99
325-ish
Combo-Price: $301.99
---
I haven't as extensively looked at and priced all of my different Intel options, just saw that combo, but I wonder if it'd be worth the switch from AMD to Intel with gaming performance and temperature being my main concerns?
Any suggestions or similar experiences out there? Thanks ahead, and much appreciated.
--- UPDATE ---
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($252.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($80.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB Video Card
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 700W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Total: $499.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-04 22:16 EDT-0400
Prices are listed next to what I just ordered, unlisted prices on PSU/GPU that I'm using for the time being from my old build. Thanks again for helping me make my decision. Gotta love toms!
For years I've used AMD/ATI. Recently (last year or so) I made the switch to a GTX 560 Ti, and it's been treating me well.
Now it's time for the mobo/cpu/ram upgrade! In my price range my options seem to be FX-6300, FX-8320, Core i3, or possibly a Core i5. The last time I bought an Intel was probably 15 years ago, one of my first, a horribly crappy 733mhz Celeron, and I hated it enough to stick with AMD ever since.
So while 6 or 8 cores and loads of features sound great, I wanted to hear a few opinions before making the plunge. Lower power consumption, 22nm manufacturing, and years of struggling to control my AMD's temperatures all make for a compelling argument that it may be a good time to switch.
I plan to slap a Hyper 212 EVO on it, but I'm still concerned with temperatures. It gets really hot here and I often struggle to keep both myself and my computer from overheating lol. Do the Core processors run at a much lower temperature, or would it even require the aftermarket cooler? I think if I could cool the FX-8320 enough then it could surely be best after OC'ing, but with the heat issues I've had I just can't imagine it being so cool I could OC, so I wonder if Intel would be better for me.
While I also considered possibly being able to upgrade the i5 to i7 in the future a bonus as well, it was 2008 when I did my last mobo/cpu upgrade, so I doubt it'll matter cause who knows what'll come out in the next 7+ years? Surely another new socket lol
Budget-wise I'd like to keep it around $300 for mobo / cpu / ram more or less, but here we go!
---
Was looking at:
FX-8320 ~$140,
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ~$90
$230
---
Then on the intel side:
Intel Core i5-4590 Quad-Core 3.3GHz CPU ~$200
GA-Z97-HD3P ~$95
$295
There's a combo on newegg with the GA-Z97-HD3P and i5-4690 for $305 after discount, too.
---
Lastly, the GA-B85M seems another cheaper consideration mobo-wise, and has a newegg combo w/ ram fitting my budget..
Intel Core i5-4440 $189.99
GIGABYTE GA-B85M-DS3H (rev. 3.0) $68.99
HyperX Fury Black Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (Model:HX316C10FB/8) $66.99
325-ish
Combo-Price: $301.99
---
I haven't as extensively looked at and priced all of my different Intel options, just saw that combo, but I wonder if it'd be worth the switch from AMD to Intel with gaming performance and temperature being my main concerns?
Any suggestions or similar experiences out there? Thanks ahead, and much appreciated.
--- UPDATE ---
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($252.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($80.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB Video Card
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 700W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Total: $499.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-04 22:16 EDT-0400
Prices are listed next to what I just ordered, unlisted prices on PSU/GPU that I'm using for the time being from my old build. Thanks again for helping me make my decision. Gotta love toms!