Best CPU for the money

[TehSea Otter]

Right now I have an AMD Athlonx4 750k. I also have an H80i running an overclock of 4.8Ghz. Im looking for a cpu that I can use to game, 3d render, and video render. $150 is about my upper limit price wise right now. I know that i need a new motherboard maybe a power supply, but $150 for just the CPU. I have looked at some older CPUs but about everything i look at is about the same as the one I already have. Anyone have any good suggestions?

 

[TheDankMemer]

At that pricepoint, a FX 8350 is your best option, paired with a 970A-UD3P board and a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, dont OC it though

 

[getochkn]

You're right. $150 isn't going to get you much more than you have now.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

At that price point the FX 8350 is really your only choice. Pair it with a good motherboard and a good aftermarket cooler and after overclocking to ~4.5Ghz it will keep up with a stock Intel i5. Or by not locking yourself into a set CPU budget you can spend roughly the same on an i5 system due to not needing a higher end board to overclock or aftermarket cooling.

 

[lindsay24]

Questions like this will usually result in quite a flame war between Intel and AMD fanboys. But you will likely be well off with a current generation i3, or maybe something in the FX series on the AMD side. I personally urge you to go AMD because the tasks you outlined can be very CPU intensive and you may be limited by a $150 CPU. The FX series is overclockable, so if you invest in a decent cooler, you can get some pretty impressive performace for your dollar. The FX 6300 is a popular choice among gamers. But the FX 4350 and 8320 shouldn't be overlooked either.

 

[Math Geek]

your total budget is really better to look at than your cpu budget.

a locked i5 on a cheap mobo with stock cooling is almost the same cost as an 8350 with a decent mobo and cooling for it once oc'ed. so overall, they i5 cpu may cost more but the rest is less expensive to make up for it. if you give us a total budget i'm sure we can post some ideas to help you with some options.

for example, the 8350 and mobo suggested above by dankmemer

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($159.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.40 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $262.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 15:18 EDT-0400

vs a locked i5 and cheap mobo

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.80 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $244.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 15:19 EDT-0400

the i5 is actually cheaper overall this way and the mobo i picked is the new chipset and a quality one though not for overclocking. the cooler for the 8350 is not going to give you a great oc either. for that another $30 or more is needed for a high end cooler.

 

[TheDankMemer]

your total budget is really better to look at than your cpu budget.

a locked i5 on a cheap mobo with stock cooling is almost the same cost as an 8350 with a decent mobo and cooling for it once oc'ed. so overall, they i5 cpu may cost more but the rest is less expensive to make up for it. if you give us a total budget i'm sure we can post some ideas to help you with some options.

for example, the 8350 and mobo suggested above by dankmemer

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($159.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.40 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $262.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 15:18 EDT-0400

vs a locked i5 and cheap mobo

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.80 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $244.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 15:19 EDT-0400

the i5 is actually cheaper overall this way and the mobo i picked is the new chipset and a quality one though not for overclocking.

But for his needs other than gaming, the AMD is better thanks to its 8 cores, the i5 isnt as good as the AMD when it comes to 8 thread utilisation

 

[glitchmaster0001]

if you want dirt cheap then id say go with the amd APUs they are best bang for buck type of deal

 

[TheDankMemer]

if you want dirt cheap then id say go with the amd APUs they are best bang for buck type of deal

Bare in mind that he needs to do rendering as well... So the 8 cores of the FX may come in handy...

 

[Math Geek]

But for his needs other than gaming, the AMD is better thanks to its 8 cores, the i5 isnt as good as the AMD when it comes to 8 thread utilisation

if the rendering programs use all 8 cores, then the 8350 would be worth the extra cost. he already has a decent cooler on the 750k so he can probably still use that to lower the cost some. i'm not attached to either one, i was just illustrating the costs associated with the various cpu's. if the amd is the right one for the job, then go for it

 

[TehSea Otter]

I have a budget for replacing the motherboard and CPU at about $250. Less would be great and a little more would be fine. The rendering programs will use all the cores they can get too by the way.

 

[glitchmaster0001]

But for his needs other than gaming, the AMD is better thanks to its 8 cores, the i5 isnt as good as the AMD when it comes to 8 thread utilisation

if the rendering programs use all 8 cores, then the 8350 would be worth the extra cost. he already has a decent cooler on the 750k so he can probably still use that to lower the cost some. i'm not attached to either one, i was just illustrating the costs associated with the various cpu's. if the amd is the right one for the job, then go for it

my bad i didnt see the part where he says he does rendering. in that case id recommend the 8350 as its 8 core and its factory clock speed is 4.0 and it costs $150. 8 cores at 4.0 ghz is not bad for $150 true the core performance is not good as intel but since hes doing rendering he would need extra core over singlethread performance

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Clockspeed is meaningless unless comparing two processors of the same manufacturer and generation. An 8xxx series needs to be at 4.5Ghz to equal a stock i5. No fanboyism there just facts. As far as rendering goes it matters more what program he is using than anything else. Some rendering programs are as much better on Intel as other are on AMD.