AMD to Intel

[chub]

Hello,

I am currently using an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T in my rig, it's running at 3.8GHz and it is cooled with a Corsair H80, none of that is relevant I doubt but just some extra info. The processor I suppose is starting to get on a little and in terms of an upgrade I am thinking of moving from AMD as I no longer see AMD as being better than Intel. Piledriver is just around the corner and from looking at it it would appear that it is better in some places in multithreaded applications but is absolutely rubbish in some singlethreaded programs.

Of course chaning to Intel will mean a new motherboard but I think it is time for me to change sides. I have been looking at both the 3570K and the 3770K as I am a keen overclocker. Normally I use my computer for gaming, editing videos for YouTube and doing html/css and some lightweight coding. I quite like the look of the price point for the i5 and from reviews I can see that it is quite a good overclocker but at the same time would it be worth looking at the i7? My main concern is that is the extra £100 for an i7 justifiable for the gain in performance?

 

[socialfox]

Well now this is one of those questions without a straight answer. In gaming the i7 has no advantage or is better than the i5. The i7's price increase is because it is better at applications that are heavily threaded or CPU limited like photo/video editing. If I were you I would go with the 3570k, 100 pounds (hope thats what the fancy e stands for) is not really justifiable for that gain in performance.

- Socialfox

 

[chub]

Well now this is one of those questions without a straight answer. In gaming the i7 has no advantage or is better than the i5. The i7's price increase is because it is better at applications that are heavily threaded or CPU limited like photo/video editing. If I were you I would go with the 3570k, 100 pounds (hope thats what the fancy e stands for) is not really justifiable for that gain in performance.

- Socialfox

Thanks for the quick reply I was steering more towards the i5 as I suppose overclocked it would be just as fast as an i7 at stock anyway. So I think i'll save the £100.

 

[socialfox]

If you want, I suggest you invest in a really good CPU cooler. You can overclock that 3570k and gain big performance changes with it, obviously you don't need all 100 pounds for that. A hyper 212 plus/evo is a good start to a cooler only costing 25 pounds. If you do not plan on overclocking disregard this post, the stock intel cooler is more than enough for stock speeds.

- Socialfox

 

[chub]

I am currently using a H80 on my 1055T and that seems to work pretty well temps are usually around 30 degrees or something when gaming. Although that is only running at 3.8GHz. But yes I do definitely plan on overclocking my next CPU.

 

[socialfox]

Well if you are not going to use the 1055T anymore you could just transfer the H80 to your new build? The H80 is better than the Hyper 212.

 

[nekulturny]

My main concern is that is the extra £100 for an i7 justifiable for the gain in performance?

i5s are pretty much up to the task of doing anything you could ask of it. The performance of the i7s in the heavy threaded stuff, really even then its only justifiable if you were doing it as a profession. As a hobby, occasionally, etc, not really no. If you need heavy number crunching because its the way you make a living, then you might want to consider the i7.

As far as PD, it already is out, no longer merely, around the corner. I dare say that if you already have a decent motherboard for the AMD, the FX-8350 is at least worth a look, there are benches out there, its not a bad CPU. But if you have a putzy cheap AMD motherboard, then go Intel if you wish. If you had a Sabertooth like I do, eh, screw buying a new one :lol:

 

[mohit9206]

am not sure how the 3570k is an upgrade over the 1055t especially in gaming ? i suggest rather than getting the 3570 you rather wait for either steamroller or haswell and then decide. dont be in a hurry to upgrade

 

[chub]

That's what I plan on doing, and I will probably sell the 1055T along with the motherboard and pick up some new ram.

 

[chub]

I suppose Piledriver is not yet a no go, as it looks as though AMD have done quite a lot to improve the architecture of the FX line. But as mohit said I suppose I wouldn't get much of a performance gain from upgrading the processor at this moment in time.

 

[nekulturny]

I suppose Piledriver is not yet a no go, as it looks as though AMD have done quite a lot to improve the architecture of the FX line. But as mohit said I suppose I wouldn't get much of a performance gain from upgrading the processor at this moment in time.

Probably not honestly. Yes the i5-3570K will outperform the 1055T in pretty much anything, the real question is, "is what I'm paying for justified by the performance gain I will get?".. Not really... 3.8GHZ is a pretty decent overclock on that non-Black Edition CPU, even so, like I said, if you want a little more umph and you have a halfway decent motherboard for AMD already, the PileDriver might be a more justifiable investment if any investment is to be made at all.

 

[chub]

Probably not honestly. Yes the i5-3570K will outperform the 1055T in pretty much anything, the real question is, "is what I'm paying for justified by the performance gain I will get?".. Not really... 3.8GHZ is a pretty decent overclock on that non-Black Edition CPU, even so, like I said, if you want a little more umph and you have a halfway decent motherboard for AMD already, the PileDriver might be a more justifiable investment if any investment is to be made at all.

It is probably more of me wanting a new CPU rather than needing one, so maybe I should rethink overthis and see whether it would be a worth while investment. I suppose waiting for Haswell and possibly Steamroller would be a better option.

 

[nekulturny]

Fair nuff. I'm torn on what to go with myself. Mind you, my Phenom II absolutely satisfies my every need in day to day computing just fine. I game, and multitask, but very rarely do I get into anything heavily threaded like video editing. I run virtual machine occasionally (I'm a 2nd year tech student so I often have to run Op systems other than Win7- mainly XP this semster). I also have an Ubuntu partition on one of my secondary drives.

But I was looking at PD just as a "because I can" thing. Although if steamroller stays AM3+ I might hold off. Make no bones about it, I'm an AMD guy, but I'll still give you objective advice on Intel as best as I can.