AMD 8350 Black Edition vs Intel i5 4790k

[Charles Pollard Iii]

I have my whole setup ready on Newegg, but i really can't make a good decision with all of the Intel FANBOYS on here lol.....but i really want an honest opinion.....besides all of the specs, can the average gamer really tell the difference between the two during gaming. I mean i can afford an i7 or i5, but the 8350 black edition seems pretty decent with the appropriate GPU (plus the price)......so please give me an honest opinion. Would the 8350 be efficient enough for future AAA game titles or not?.......This is my first build so any help is much appreciated.

MOTHERBOARD: MSI z97 Gaming 5
CPU: ????
CPU COOLER: ????
GPU: MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4G GeForce GTX 970
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866
HD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200
Case: Crosair Air 540 ATX CUBE

 

[Zygor91]

Hi,

I used to own AMD phenom x6 1055T and FX 6300 + 8350. From my perspective all I can say, if you have the money I'd recommend Intel due to its stronger core, its technology is very dated compared to AMD CPUS.

FX chips are from 2012 so that's very outdated. I'd recommend an I7 4790k due to its hyperthreading instead of FX 8350, of course you can choose Intel I5 4690k which has 4 physical cores but no hyperthreading, most games use 4 cores anyway, I7 is efficient than I5 when it comes to rendering, streaming etc due to its hyperthreading.

Some games already use hyperthreading so it's more "future proof". I play games that are CPU intensive and I noticed a HUGE difference when I changed to 4790k from 8350 (in CPU intensive games).

So it's your choice if you are willing to spend more money on an CPU that has stronger cores VS 8 cores but weak.

edited typo

 

[atomicWAR]

as an AMD fan (not fan boy) with a current intel build i can give some advice without strongly biased opinion. If your gaming at 1080p or less i would get the intel setup as the FX CPU will bottle neck any GPU you choose...should you go to 1440p-4k....then the AMD build becomes far more attractive. check this out:

http://www.tweaktown.com/tweakipedia/58/core-i7-4770k-vs-amd-fx-8350-with-gtx-980-vs-gtx-780-sli-at-4k/index.html

If money is an issue i would go with the AMD FX build regardless and put more money into your GPU or your want to go 4k/multi-monitor again i may consider the AMD FX build strongly. If not i would consider an intel i7 build especially if our gaming at 1080P.

 

[Zygor91]

Yeah FX CPU are good for gaming paired with good GPU but on some games (depends) you might not play that smooth or stay steady at 60 fps due to its weaker cores.

Only time I'd recommend someone to buy an FX CPU; if you're tight on budget and do not plan for any upgrade for about a year or more.

 

[synphul]

If you can afford intel, either i5 or i7 would be better. Not just higher max fps, but also higher min fps than amd in a lot of games. That can make a huge difference in how smooth a game does or doesn't play. Two cpu's side by side, say they're both reaching 60fps at max. One may drop to 50 where the other may drop to 30-40fps which will make the games 'jerky'.

There are other benchmarks, but this gives an idea. The charts show the various cpu's with a given resolution/quality settings and the max fps and min fps. For example in skyrim, min fps is 90 for the i5 (stock) and the fx 8350 drops to 45fps at stock. Shogun 2 total war, i5 min fps is 30fps, the fx 8350 is 20fps.
The max frames don't always tell the whole story, higher more consistent min frame rates will make it smoother. Do a search for "fx 8350 frame drop" and there are many posts across several forums about it.

 

[Intel999]

Currently, there are a handful of games that are CPU bound and an Intel build will perform superior to any AMD CPU. However, even in the current DX11 environment the GPU quality means more to gaming performance. When DX12 becomes the "go to" API for game developers the CPU will essentially be an afterthought. The GPU will become the driving force behind all performance in gaming. So an investment now in the most capable GPU will go alot further in making your system future proof as opposed to putting money towards a CPU that will be rendered inconsequential once DX12 goes mainstream in a years time. A 980ti or 390X would be a better place to allocate your budget. Assuming you can wait a couple of months for one of the two to be released.

 

[Charles Pollard Iii]

So i guess AMD isn't as futureproof as i thought.........so now i guess 4790k the way to go then......what about my gpu tho???

 

[palladin9479]

the FX8350 isn't really a "gaming" CPU, it's more like a poor mans workstation processor. This is due to how AMD segregated the CPU resources. The FX6300/6350 is the highest I'd go for budget gaming, after that it jumps to the i5 with the i7 being better in some scenarios.

So the real question is how much money do you want to spend and what kind of quality are you expecting from the end product?

 

[DubbleClick]

So you chose a $150+ z97 board and now ask if you can cheap out on the cpu? That's not the way it works.
If you're on a budget or want to spend as little as possible, an I5 4590 + b85 board will be cheaper than the fx and give better framerates. But as you already got a z97 board, you should get a K cpu. Sure, you're paying extra but it pays off. For gaming, the I7 won't really benefit you over the I5, except for frame times.

 

[Charles Pollard Iii]

So you chose a $150+ z97 board and now ask if you can cheap out on the cpu? That's not the way it works.
If you're on a budget or want to spend as little as possible, an I5 4590 + b85 board will be cheaper than the fx and give better framerates. But as you already got a z97 board, you should get a K cpu. Sure, you're paying extra but it pays off. For gaming, the I7 won't really benefit you over the I5, except for frame times.

Lol right ......so a i5-4690k maybe?......what about the gpu though should i keep it

 

[Charles Pollard Iii]

Currently, there are a handful of games that are CPU bound and an Intel build will perform superior to any AMD CPU. However, even in the current DX11 environment the GPU quality means more to gaming performance. When DX12 becomes the "go to" API for game developers the CPU will essentially be an afterthought. The GPU will become the driving force behind all performance in gaming. So an investment now in the most capable GPU will go alot further in making your system future proof as opposed to putting money towards a CPU that will be rendered inconsequential once DX12 goes mainstream in a years time. A 980ti or 390X would be a better place to allocate your budget. Assuming you can wait a couple of months for one of the two to be released.

very useful info thanks man

 

[DubbleClick]

So you chose a $150+ z97 board and now ask if you can cheap out on the cpu? That's not the way it works.
If you're on a budget or want to spend as little as possible, an I5 4590 + b85 board will be cheaper than the fx and give better framerates. But as you already got a z97 board, you should get a K cpu. Sure, you're paying extra but it pays off. For gaming, the I7 won't really benefit you over the I5, except for frame times.

Lol right ......so a i5-4690k maybe?......what about the gpu though should i keep it

Yup, the gtx 970 is great. Since you have the z97 mobo already the i5 4690k is your best price/performance bet.