Budget build: GPU + AMD vs Intel

[manolin]

Hi guys. I'm planning to build a budget gaming PC that will serve as well as music production workstation and for some light virtualization for educational purposes. I'm spending about 430$ (or 320€) on the CPU-GPU combo and that gets me to 2 main routes: go for the cheap Athlon x4 760k and spend the rest on a R9 280x, or go with the stronger i5 4570 and a R9 270x. Two questions: What combo should grant me better gaming performance? And, is the AMD route strong enough for my other concerns? Thank you in advance.

 

[viewtyjoe]

Given your planned usage, I'd say go with the i5 and 270x. The per-core performance of the i5 is just way better than the AMD CPU, and barring significant overclocking, I'd worry about the 760k bottlenecking the 280x.

 

[manolin]

Given your planned usage, I'd say go with the i5 and 270x. The per-core performance of the i5 is just way better than the AMD CPU, and barring significant overclocking, I'd worry about the 760k bottlenecking the 280x.

Thanks viewtyjoe. Then the 760k wouldn't let me much room for GPU upgrade without bottlenecking in the future, am I right? What is the biggest card the i5 4570 can handle?

 

[viewtyjoe]

Given your planned usage, I'd say go with the i5 and 270x. The per-core performance of the i5 is just way better than the AMD CPU, and barring significant overclocking, I'd worry about the 760k bottlenecking the 280x.

Thanks viewtyjoe. Then the 760k wouldn't let me much room for GPU upgrade without bottlenecking in the future, am I right? What is the biggest card the i5 4570 can handle?

Just about anything on the market will run alright on an i5 4570 if I'm remembering where in the line that is, except maybe some sort of crazy quad SLI/Crossfire with Titans/295x's in which case you have the resources to get a bigger processor anyways.