Bottleneck/Performance Build Help?

[Mikeboiiii]

Hi Fellas, its my first time posting here and just from reading around a bunch of other posts I'm still unsure of what components to use in my new rig. I'm planning to sort of have a hybrid machine for both gaming, video editing, rendering, and productivity needs. After further research I'm unsure whether I should switch platforms and build off an Intel CPU or just upgrade to an FX. Performance is a big issue here as I'm planning on having a sli/crossfire config in the future and don't want to bottleneck. Also, I hope to keep a budget of under $230 for the CPU, and I'm sure I can pick up an Intel Mobo for around $150-$180 if Intel would suit my needs. I also plan to overclock the CPU.

My current specs are:
AMD PHENOM X4 II 840 Black OC'D 3.78ghz (I know its pretty old and not worth overclocking but I did it anyways)
ASUS M5A97
AMD RADEON 7850
8GB Mushkin DDR3 RAM
This is working great for me now, but I really want to get better performance and build a higher end PC from the mobo. I would really Like to build a pc that averages 60+FPS in DX11 games and ultimate settings.

While I was looking at CPUs with my budget here are the ones that caught my eyes:
AMD FX-8350 $190-210
Intel i5 3570k $200-215

Intel 1155 Motherboards:
ASROCK Extreme4 $120-$140
ASUS P8Z77 $120-$200 (Probably aiming for a pro or deluxe for oc ability)

The reason I'm posting this is because I'm really quite unsure which way to go with it because I want to build off a budget but I have a little bit of cash to spare (not to much) for performance. So I was wondering if anyone else had some better ideas or builds to throw at me with the budget and mindset that I'm aiming for.

 

[DeusAres]

I would suggest you go with the i5 3570k and the ASRock Z77 Extreme4. The ASRock motherboard is currently on sale on Newegg for $120. Grab it while you can. This board typically costs $135 or more.

 

[Mikeboiiii]

Is the new build really necessary though? I mean could I get the same performance out of the FX 8350? I know some games are optimized for AMD and some for Intel. But with the FX 8350 wouldn't I have overall better performance with 8 cores than the quad core i5?

And that board is on Amazon for the same price, with free shipping I think I will pick it up if I do go with the Intel build although I've had better experience with Asus in the past.

 

[DeusAres]

No.

For starters, the FX processors aren't true 8 core CPUs. They're more like quad cores with hyperthreading. The i5 3570k performs better than the FX 8350 in single threaded applications and nearly muti threaded. The FX narrowly edges out in multi threaded applications, but not significantly enough for it to justify its purchase. Also, in the review, the FX 8350 was overclocked; whereas, the i5 was at stock speeds. Now, imagine if you overclocked that i5 to 4.5GHz. Which is very possible with a cheap aftermarket cooler such as the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.

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As for ASRock, they're an excellent company. You can't go wrong with either. Personally, I'd rather save money and get more for my money. Asus overprices their products.

 

[Mikeboiiii]

Hmm... Okay, I'm going to be using AutoCad and alot of AutoDesk programs, as well as Sony Vegas and Adobe Photoshop all in 64 bit. And I'll probably be playing all the newest DX11 games like FC3, BF3, etc, and be adding another 7850 or 7870 to cf. Do you think its justified to spend the extra 320 bucks and creating a whole new intel build rather than just spending 200 for the 8350?

BTW, I have a Corsair H60 (I used to have the 212 Evo, but it wouldn't allow my 200mm fan to fit inside my case) so if I do overclock the i5 maybe I could get it to 4.7-4.8ghz?

 

[DeusAres]

I'm thinking 4.8GHz may be possible on the H60. You'll have to do some voltage tweaking though. Be careful; and start small. There's plenty of overclocking guides out there if you need 'em.

And for adobe, I'd recommend you try and get yourself an Nvidia GPU. Adobe loves CUDA.

 

[Kamen_BG]

To be completely honest the FX CPU will be the better choice in my opinion.Not only do you save a lot of money, you will also get superior performance in the applications you use and the same performance in games.
Skyrim along with Starcraft are the only games in which AMD CPU's underperform so badly.
I'm not saying the AMD CPU will be better at games but it will not be noticably slower.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/far-cry-3-performance-benchmark,review-32584-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/medal-of-honor-warfighter-performance-benchmark,review-32557-7.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/615-far-cry-3-performance/page6.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/601-black-ops-2-performance/page5.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-vishera-review,3328-13.html

Note that those test are done with graphics cards twice faster than your HD 7850.

Buy the FX 8320 and be done with it
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009O7YU56/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[DeusAres]

My apologies. I must not be thinking clearly. I didn't realize you already had an AMD motherboard for the FX 8350. Get the FX 8350. Didn't realize you were only going to have to buy the processor if you went with AMD. Just keep in mind, you're going to take a huge performance hit in single threaded applications such as Skyrim.

(Well, considering I was posting all this at 3:00 in the morning, I can see why my judgement was a bit off, lol) Sorry for the confusion.

 

[ohyouknow]

To be completely honest the FX CPU will be the better choice in my opinion.Not only do you save a lot of money, you will also get superior performance in the applications you use and the same performance in games.
Skyrim along with Starcraft are the only games in which AMD CPU's underperform so badly.
I'm not saying the AMD CPU will be better at games but it will not be noticably slower.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/far-cry-3-performance-benchmark,review-32584-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/medal-of-honor-warfighter-performance-benchmark,review-32557-7.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/615-far-cry-3-performance/page6.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/601-black-ops-2-performance/page5.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-vishera-review,3328-13.html

Note that those test are done with graphics cards twice faster than your HD 7850.

Buy the FX 8320 and be done with it
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009O7YU56/?tag=pcpapi-20

Truth. Couldn't agree more. Although I would add WoW to that list of games as well.

 

[Mikeboiiii]

Hmm... I'm really tempted to go pick up a FX-8350 but I just need to know one last thing. Will it bottleneck the performance of two crossfired 7970's (I'm planning on upgrading soon)? Assuming I upgrade the mobo to run a 2 x16 config.

 

[DeusAres]

No, it shouldn't bottleneck performance. I would give it a modest overclock just to be safe though.

 

[Mikeboiiii]

Best answer selected by mikeboiiii.

 

[Mikeboiiii]

Merry Xmas everybody, I'm going with the 8350 (I had the extra $30 for it thought why not)