AMD or Intel Build?

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Evan Gutierrez

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Jul 5, 2015
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Hello!,
I am new to the forum and I have read alot of it for months, this is my first thread and need help of what build should I go for my next PC. Currently with a Phenom II X4 3.4Ghz, 4GB DDR3 1600 and a Raedon HD 6870. I mostly use my pc for gaming in a 24" monitor 1080p, planing in the future to upgrade it to a higher resolution.
My main doutbs are in CPU-GPU-RAM. I have a 1400$ bucket for this.
Here are my 3 options as far.
AMD: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/BlueFenix24/saved/cwCcCJ
Less CPU Performance but much better GPU
Intel 4790K: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/BlueFenix24/saved/XDmj4D
I have seen this CPU recommended a lot for gaming recently, even more than the next option.
Intel 5820K:http://pcpartpicker.com/user/BlueFenix24/saved/cXhrxr
And the last one, been prepare for DDR4 and a nice hex core.

Want which one would you pick and why.

Thanks for your time and opinion! :) (and sorry for my english)


 
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I would never use a FX9xxx CPU in any build. It is a very highly overclocked FX8xxx an the extra speed comes at the cost of enormous power use, a huge amount of heat, and a relatively short and glorious life.

Modern systems are GPU limited. An i5 is capable of fully driving two of almost all of the best GPUs available today. This year (2015), I would still be building with current tech for the price/performance benefits, for a gaming PC.

This is the sort of high-end system I would be looking at:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($152.04 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1559.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 14:01 EDT-0400

The CPU has 4 cores and Hyperthreading and runs at a decent 3.4Ghz. This will handle games for the forseeable future. The 4790K is a bit faster, and moreso if overclocked, but the system limit will be the GPU, so faster CPU is of limited value.
The motherboard is for overclocking the memory and SLI the GPUs so you can move to great 4k later.
The memory is selected to be overclocked to 2400Mhz to give a 15% speed boost, or so.
The SSD is for speedy OS and application loading, although I might use a 500Gb or even 1Tb if I chose to afford it, and the HDD is for slower storage.
The GPU is the best price/performance/power available for a top-end GPU today and can be SLIed later for even more performance at 4K resolution.
Cases are a personal choice. I might use something smaller, but this is a good case.
The PSU is great and will support a second GTX980ti later.

You an afford this CPU-GPU-RAM combination for your budget.

You might need to get an aftermarket CPU cooler later.

However, all of this advice might be different in another market where the balance of prices is different. Where are you buying?

 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Never ever ever get a FX 9 whatever they are a waist of cash and slower than an I5. The above build seems overkill and I would not recommend it.
If you game this is your BEST bet.

No need for a 980ti gaming at 1080p.
Add a SSD if you would like. No need for a i7 or Xeon 1231 v3 if you are not doing video editing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($60.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($679.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1395.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 14:23 EDT-0400
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1346.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 14:21 EDT-0400

this is probably the best build for the money, unless you are willing to give up overclocking for hyperthreding with the xeon 1231 v3
 
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Solution


The OP did state that they plan to upgrade resolution in the future, so I think that 4K needs to be baked in.
 
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Thanks all for you responses.
So here a couple of facts I have learn from your answers:
-AMD isn't a choice
-16GB DDR3 or DDR4 not needed?
-Core i7 4th or 5th is a overkill

I think I will stick with the Intel i5-4690 and the GTX 980ti, my doubts will be if this can run in a future 4k?
(PD: I will purchase it in newegg, ebay or amazon, which ever provides me better pricing.)
 
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DDR4 is useless for gaming. i7 4th and 5th is overkill for just gaming unless you have cash to burn. i5-4690k is just about right. Unless you want to spring for the i7 but it provides little benefit. Get the 4690 non k if you do not overclock or you can pay a bit more for a Xeon 1231 v3 and it will be the same performance as a i7 just without the overclocking abilities. It offers i7 performance for slightly more than i5 price. If you do go 4k the 980ti is excellent. :)

In full I would actually recommend getting the Gigabyte Z97 Gaming 5 mobo as posted in the first build with the second build parts posted here as it will let you SLI the 980 Ti if you want to do so in the future for 10 dollars more. It is also red to match the rest of the system. If you just game 8GB is fine unless you want to spring for 16GB but that is up to you to decide. The middle build has a 16gb kit. It is only practical to get the 1866 speed kit with the i5 K version as it allows for the higher speed memory on the Z97 board.

Lastly I would like to state an opinion about micro atx mobos; Do not get one unless you need a small computer. They are more likely to have power issues and offer less features over the atx size mobos.

All in all this is likely your best build if you plan to overclock.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($60.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($679.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1395.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 18:24 EDT-0400

Also this is your best build if you plan not to overclock
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($679.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1421.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 18:26 EDT-0400

And this is the budget version of the first build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($679.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1332.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 18:32 EDT-0400
 
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A single GTX 980ti is toward the bottom end of acceptable 4K performance http://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/529725-testing-geforce-gtx-980-ti-4k-benchmarks, but it will play them at usable frame-rates today. The best advice is to wait for a GPU generation.

If you want 4K, I would be waiting until early 2017 at the soonest, for the technology to mature and approach main-stream.

An i5/GTX970/8Gb DDR3 will carry you for a couple of years. Then, you can keep your case, storage, and PSU, but you will be looking to get a new CPU, motherboard, memory, and GPU, and likely OS.

If you want to move faster, then a G-SYNC/GTX 980ti, will get you there now, but you will be planning to SLI fairly soon.

Personally, I'd get a decent, but cheap, GTX 970 system today, and plan to completely replace it in a couple of years when you want to go 4K. this should cost less than $1000 and you can invest/put aside any extra money to grow towards your next system.

Something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX Core Edition 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $952.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 18:38 EDT-0400
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
I see the fanboys are out in force .

AMD can be a very good choice on a restricted budget . In games like BF4 , Metro etc etc the FX 8 cores are more than competitive , and often a better buy because the money you save on the processor can then be spent on the graphics card [ and that will give real performance gains .
The FX is also a better encoding cpu than the intel i5 .
The heat and power is largely a non issue . For a home user in the US it amounts to about $15 a year more in power bills .

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($134.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1483 Frostbourne 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Performance ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung SM951 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($225.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($26.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($659.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1390.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 18:56 EDT-0400

The processor needs to be overclocked into the 4.2 - 4.4 Ghz range . Once you do that its going to game better in those intense titles than any of the other suggestions . Its also going to cold boot in under 3 seconds thanks to the M.2 SSD

 
Upvote 1 Downvote


I wouldnt recommend anyone buy an FX 9590 . And didnt .

As for the expected life of the processor I suspect you are speculating . Decent cooling should give it more than acceptable life span
 
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http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page6.html
The FX 8350 is not in the list but its easy enough to work out where its going to sit in that cpu hierarchy
The cpu is not making a huge difference

As for intels giving 20% more performance . Nonsense . Monitors refresh at 60 Hz . The absolute maximum number of frames that can ever appear in front of the user is 60 since 60 Hz is 60 fps .
Running a game at 90 fps is not better in any way . Its usually worse since it just going to cause screen tearing [ if anything ]

Of course saying "wow I made more fps "is good for the marketing department but for a user it means nothing .

Yes , there are exceptions . 144 Hz monitors and dorky 3D glasses being the main one . But that is not going to happen at 4K resolution .

So what is important is being able to maintain as close to 60 fps consistently and for that the FX is often better than the i5 .
 
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I have always like AMD cause I feel it has more performance per dollar than Intel, for some quality sacrifice (Power consumption isnt a issue and I have planned to purchase a complete water cooling kit, for better cooling and looks awesome). But now I just feel AMD has a good mid range products but lacks of power at high end pcs, also I wont go for a Xenon cause I love to overclock and how it feels like.
I will like to include always a SSD drive, since I already got one from OCZ first vertex generation and has work me very well and I am excited to try some last gen ssd.
And about waiting for new gen DonkeyOatie, it is something I have though about but if I do that, I would stay with my current pc cause it can run most games a medium and some in high. The thing is I will start a project that will consume my incomes and wont be to purchase a new pc like in 4-5 years but I could buy a new monitor or another gpu. I don't think I will handle that time with my current pc, it has given so much last 4 years but is time for a new one.

Also why DDR4 is so bad righ now? cause it is expensive?
 
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It's not bad, it's just mostly not necessary. DDR4 is lower voltage and power use (1.2V vs 1.5V and so lets battery powered devices run longer) You are not doing that. It is also faster, although with greater latencies. As I mentioned above, most gaming machines are GPU limited, so significantly improving the CPU/memory system has limited benefits.

I have been doing some work with memory, overclocking, and configurations and going up from 1600Mhz to 2400Mhz for memory gives a 10 - 15% improvement to numerical calculation and photo-mangling, but only about 5% improvement (or less) in gaming.

5% is 2 FPS in 40, and that might just be worth it for 4K on a GTX980ti, but is not much when 80FPS becomes 84FPS, or 20FPS becomes 21FPS.

You did not mention your desire for overclocking and all that goes with that in your initial post. That would change my CPU recommendation to a 4790K, for the extra clock-speed and future, even though the 4690K will do a great job.

People are still using 5 - 7 year old good, overclocked CPUs today in high-powered systems. This is very far from the case for 5 - 7 year old GPUs.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote


Ill speak about the Xeon CPU's and DDR4

Xeon CPU like the 1231 v3 do not let you overclock. The 1231 v3 is just a i7 without overclocking abilities and without integrated graphics. The built in graphics means nothing if you are gaming because you are going to have a card. I think the Xeon is only a good option if you do not want to overclock and you are going to do editing and streaming. A i5 is a good option for gaming build and the power is not really needed in games to be a i7.

DDR4: Ram is funny in games because it really does not play a big role. I can run games fine with 1600 speed DDR3 and the difference between it and 2400 speed DDR4 is only going to be 3% maybe 5% at the most in some very specific circumstances. It is also twice the cost or more so a 5% difference is not really worth the cost. Also the LGA2011v3 socket provides no benefits over LGA1150 socket Z97 CPUs like the 4690k.

Another word about i7's:
i7's provide little benefit over i5's in gaming alone. It is not worth the cost unless you are going to edit, have cash to dump or are going to stream. The LGA1150 socket CPUs are plenty enough unless you have serious cash to spill and even then I do not recommend gaming on LGA2011 socket i7's as it is too expensive for little to no benefit over an i5. I do recommend LGA2011 if you are going to do some serious editing or CAD.
 
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Thanks all for each responses, I cant really select a answer because there is so much rich information provided in this thread, that I will mark as answer the closest Build I will use. But at the end, each of you contribute explaining me why. To be honest, I was going for the i7 5820k build cause I though it was earliest was better but I wasn't sure.

Thanks Again!
 
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