i3-6100 vs FX 8320 for productivity! NOT for gaming.

[idontknowwhatcpu]

What can you recommend for a pc, mainly for productive use such as using heavily 10 tabs chrome + skype video call + youtube video running in the background + a few other programs, all at once! Please do not put gaming into your recommendation because it has no importance for me at all.

Thanks!

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi idontknowwhatcpu

Definitely the FX-8320 for productivity. 8 cores for the FX-8320 v 2 cores on the i3- 6110.
However the FX line of processors are EOL and I recommend you look at Ryzen on the new AM4 platform

 

[atljsf]

the 6100 can do all that well, but pair it with 16 gbs of ram

if you need to do video editing, more cores will be required, at least a i5

the fx is very old not and replaced by the soon to be released rizen r5, so i wouldn't recommend to buy on, unless it is very very cheap and comes with a good mainboard

that one is ideal for what you mention and also for video edition and similar tasks asking for lots of cores

 

[dapandaa]

First of all what is the budget you're looking at? Because if you add a bit more, you can get the newest intel 4-core cpu without hyper threading, unlike the 6100 which has only 2 cores and it is hyper threaded. I don't know how many of the programs you are going to use can take an advantage of those extra threads.

Again, with the FX processor, it is already pretty old technology so I wouldn't go with that and there is a high change many programs can't use all the 8 cores the FX processor has. ALso the older FX tech would mean you would have a older motherboard that couldn't support pci-e 3.0 nor ddr4. If you wan't to go cheaper with older tech, you can find an used i5 or i7 processor and/or build pretty cheap because people are transferring to newer systems that support ddr4.

But from what I can say from the i3 vs fx, I'd say the i3 wins for sure, its newer, doesn't run as hot, single core performance is a lot better. Also for the programs you are going to run, they sound like they are going to take quite some ram (chrome does use ram quite a lot, not so much cpu) so remember to invest on the ram too.

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

Well thanks for the answers so far. And yes I knew that it wouldnt take long until the first person says: you should buy an i5. But all other components are already fix. I have preferences such as an ssd only system and the like. My old pc is dead since last week. It was an old imac from 2011. Anyway, now I have to buy all stuff new, also monitor and little stuff like webcam ect... So all that comes down to having only 130 euro for a cpu. Not more. the fx 8320 is 130 euro here in germany. I can not go higher on the cpu. And I do not want to buy used stuff. Just my preference. So yes I know the i3 6100 can do the things too. But my question is just simply: What is the better choice considering I won't upgrade in the next 3 years? Arguments that it runs colder and its newer do not count at all for me. The age doesnt matter when the fx would runbetter over 3 years. Also the upgrade argument is something I also do not count on. Who knows whats in 2-3 years. Maybe then I get an even better cpu with a new mainboard from the new entry level ryzen series. But again: What of these CPUs I named, will do better for 2-3 years for the things I described. And please objectively, dont take into account that you personally like intel more because its better for gaming. Just really from an technical standpoint, what would be the better choice? Thanks in advance!

 

[atljsf]

if you go the path of the fx, you can't upgrade the cpu apart form the fx8350 that will disappear form the market this year, if already is not disappearing now so you will get stuck with that one for those 3 years or more, untill you sell it and see how much you can get and then buy a ryzen or a i5 or i7

i guess that your options are limited and you want the best bang for the buck, under some circumstances i3 will be better but on other the fx thanks to the 8 cores but as said before, if you are not going to edit videos or multicore intensive stuff, the fx will feel slower than the i3

the advantage iwth the i3 is that you can upgrade to a i5 or i7 later, the fx, only to the fx i mentioned that might disappear soon

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

Like I said. The upgrade option is not an argument and here is why: I plan to use it for 2-3 years. And I want to buy for that price the best CPU I can get so I can use it for 3 years. So after these 2-3 years, I either can be lucky and have to buy only a new CPU for around 150-200 euro from intel. OR the amd line up in that time, gives me a better option then for around 120 and maybe a cheaper mainboard. So it wont make such a big difference. Who knows whats in 3 years. Just take the upgrade path out of it. Why will the i3 feel faster when I use my described programs when the fx is better for multitasking? I do not get it. For me multitasking is using more programs at once...why would the i3 feel faster? And no I do not use video editing programs usually...but the question is: Is my described use not already multicore intensive?

 

[MeanMachine41]

The FX 8320 is better than the i3 in multi-threaded applications, such as CAD rendering,Video editing Multitasking and general productive work.
However, the i3 beats the FX in single-threaded applications.(Better for Gaming)
The FX -8320 can be Overclocked, the i3-6100 has it's cores locked.
FX-8320 has 8MB L3 cache, I3-6100 has 3MB L3 cache.
The i3 6100 is newer CPU and uses DDR4 RAM and FX uses DDR3 RAM.
AMD FX has positive insertion socket on MB. Intel has crappy MB socket where pins bend easily.

I don't preference either AMD or Intel.

 

[theonerm2]

"10 tabs chrome + skype video call + youtube video running in the background + a few other programs, all at once!"

Just about any modern CPU is up to that task. You just need enough RAM to keep everything in memory and it will work perfectly. I'd say 16GB is enough RAM to do what you want. You could probably get away with having 8GB but 16GB would be plenty. My laptop has an A10 7400P and it's weaker than any of the new Pentiums. I regularly have 20+ tabs open in chrome, I video chat while having all that open, I watch youtube videos every day, and 4 or 5 programs always run in the background. My laptop has 8GB of RAM and I sometimes run into the swap file which slows things down a little bit. That's why I recommend 16GB of RAM. It's chrome that would be the hardest on your system. it can be a bit of a RAM hog. Even a Pentium could do what you need to do. Though I'd get the Pentium that has hyperthreading the G4560 is the one I recommend if you go with a Pentium.

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

The last two answers were good! Thanks. Though, I still do not know what would be the better choice. I hear on intel i can upgrade, i hear almost any cpu can do what I want, I hear fx is better for multitasking..is multitasking what I described? My use, is that multitasking? Oh there is one game i play sometimes..csgo on low settings So theres a good example. Im inside the game but still wanna keep the browser open with its tabs and also staying in skype. So that I can switch from csgo to the desktop and back into the game, and all stays fluent. FX or i3 for the next 3 years, on this scenario?

 

[theonerm2]

It really does not matter which CPU you get just as long as you get enough RAM. I wouldn't quite call what you're doing very heavy multitasking but it is multitasking... BUT it's just normal everyday things that just about any modern CPU can handle. CS:GO doesn't require a beast of a CPU either. So any modern dual core CPU or faster is OK. You will want the 6100 for its integrated graphics if you wanna play CS:GO without a discrete GPU. The FX has integrated graphics on the motherboard which is usually garbage.

 

[atljsf]

not exactly garbage, just very old gpu integrated

in any case, get a decent gpu to play games, at least a gt740 or something like that, second hard market is nice atm, lots of good cards available and great prices

vega is coming and 1080ti has been released

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

what cpu is better for my usage? Why can no one answer it? .. I dont wanna fool anyone..seriousley. Its just always the same things but I know already I can do with both CPUs the stuff I wanna do. But what is the better choice for 3 years without upgrading? Or is actually, that you can not clearly say which is better? I mean in general you surely can not say which is better, but I thought for my described user-frame, it would be possible to say which is better.

 

[atljsf]

lets put it this way, i wouldn't buy a 2 cores cpu

i would buy a fx, i already mentioned before why

still the intel offers more in the long term thanks to the capability of upgrade cpu without changing mainboard and ram

fx can't do that

i already told you that

we cannot tell you what to buy you are the one who decides based on what we replied to your original answer, that as far as we can go

if i tell you to buy fx and you regret from that decision the same day, i will be the one to blame, if you buy the intel and same happens, you will blame the one who said buy intel

you decide based on our opinions and personal experiences, as you said your budget is not big but if you can, try to get the i5 and keep the machine for 3 or 4 years, then buy a amd or intel, whatever is popular in the 2020

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

That sounds good mate! And yea I agree, if you would tell me what to buy and I wouldnt be happy, Id use my new pc to learn hacking, finding out where you live to knock on your door, crying, and asking you why you recommend me to by the cpu!! no...but yea, for me its like that too. On one hand I like the fact the i3 new...oh by the way id take an i3-7100, not 6100, but is pretty much the same. So I just would have something more recent. But then my heart says NO cause its an dual core and that doenst make sense when I think about my usage. Well...yea.. One more thing maybe. What difference will the ddr4 make on the run over 3 years, compared to ddr3 ? Will I notice anything ?

 

[atljsf]

ddr3 will disappear this year from the market now that amd is finally abandoning it, so in 3 years, you will not find ddr3, same as you can't find ddr2 on the market now, only old stock left somewhere abandoned

ddr4 is the only path atm in terms of ram

soon will come a ddr4 killer and ddr4 will vanish too in 3 or 5 years

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

No, I mean preformance wise? within the next 3 years, what benefits i could have from using ddr4 2400 herz vs ddr3 1600?

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

Oh and another Id have. If I would decide go towards the Intel side. How much of a performance difference Id see between the pentium g4560 and the i3-7100. I am wondering because people saying, the i3-6100 would be only 3% better than the g4560 and the 7100 is not much better than the 6100..so what are your thoughts on that?

 

[dapandaa]

No, I mean preformance wise? within the next 3 years, what benefits i could have from using ddr4 2400 herz vs ddr3 1600?

There's really not that much of a difference as you would think. Main advantage is the lower voltage ddr4 runs at, which doesn't really affect the average home user, but in server configs etc. it saves a lot of watts = lower electricity bills.

I have an fx-8350 and I wouldn't recommend it (pretty much the same as 8320 but higher clock speed) because in order to have full advantage off all the cores, you would need a lot of ram, and programs, that CAN take a advantage of those cores. I'm a video editor so that's pretty much the only reason I have 8 cores on my system, but for what you are doing, it's going to need more ram, not cpu cores.

So to answer pretty much both of your questions, I would recommend the i3, and you won't see a noticeable difference with the ddr4.

And one thing about the 3 year plan you are having, there's a big advantage on the i3, because after 3 years pretty much no one will buy a system with ddr3 and a AM3+ socket motherboard, but a newer LGA1151 socket with ddr4 would get sold a lot easier.

 

[atljsf]

all, ddr4 is supported and is already faster than ddr3, it will keep getting faster untill it is replaced by whatever i called the next ddr or if it is called differently

i am not a fan of intel but from what i have read, the g4560 is quite decent, but the i37100 is better, there is a couple videos on youtube doing comparisons in games between those two

this is one example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRh3bKh7_A

there is a difference but is not big

a comparison between the fx and the i3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Xql--ntgw

i would buy the amd, but because i always wanted to have one and i am a fanboy, but the i3 looks well

you decide

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

No, I mean preformance wise? within the next 3 years, what benefits i could have from using ddr4 2400 herz vs ddr3 1600?

There's really not that much of a difference as you would think. Main advantage is the lower voltage ddr4 runs at, which doesn't really affect the average home user, but in server configs etc. it saves a lot of watts = lower electricity bills.

I have an fx-8350 and I wouldn't recommend it (pretty much the same as 8320 but higher clock speed) because in order to have full advantage off all the cores, you would need a lot of ram, and programs, that CAN take a advantage of those cores. I'm a video editor so that's pretty much the only reason I have 8 cores on my system, but for what you are doing, it's going to need more ram, not cpu cores.

So to answer pretty much both of your questions, I would recommend the i3, and you won't see a noticeable difference with the ddr4.

And one thing about the 3 year plan you are having, there's a big advantage on the i3, because after 3 years pretty much no one will buy a system with ddr3 and a AM3+ socket motherboard, but a newer LGA1151 socket with ddr4 would get sold a lot easier.

Thanks for the detailed answer mate, I am still researching the whole internet non stop since I posted this question earlier today ... -.- I am just a crazy perfectionist when it comes to buying or creating something. So I try to make sure I do 100% the right choice which is somehow, never possible. So I end up getting really annoyed but beeing able to stop reading and reading and all the time I hear both versions. Person A says FX, Person B says Intel, both with legit arguments but my initial feeling and heart just says: Why am I buying in 2017 such an old CPU as the FX... but whatever.

Your answer helped me right now a lot since it cleared the dust in my mind a little bit up, from reading so much opinions. I hope you not paid by intel to say you own a fx 8350 and still recommend me an i3 (for MY USER FRAME of course). And the fact that you are not blindly targeting also the ddr4 as another "big" advantage for the intel, only to keep hyping intel because fanboy reasons, is another point why I think you are qualified enough to give objecive recommendations! So...what I was about to ask you: I plan to buy this mobo GIGABYTE GA-B250M-DS3H. Because Id take an i3 7100 instead of 6100, since I can get the 7100 for only 114 euro.

When the new canon lake or whatever comes out, will this mobo still be alright for it? Or should I take something else due to that? ... and yes it has all slots that I would ever need. Thanks again for your answer and time! helped me so far a lot!

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

all, ddr4 is supported and is already faster than ddr3, it will keep getting faster untill it is replaced by whatever i called the next ddr or if it is called differently

i am not a fan of intel but from what i have read, the g4560 is quite decent, but the i37100 is better, there is a couple videos on youtube doing comparisons in games between those two

this is one example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRh3bKh7_A

there is a difference but is not big

a comparison between the fx and the i3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Xql--ntgw

i would buy the amd, but because i always wanted to have one and i am a fanboy, but the i3 looks well

you decide

Fanboys who know that they are fanboys, are good and legit fanboys! Nothing wrong with it. Only the brain damaged kids who indentify themselves with their computer hardware and therefore over-hyping their own Favorited Hardware, are not legit!

 

[atljsf]

you are not crazy, it is ok to try to find more information about what you wnat, on what invest your money and what will offer you more

about ddr4, well, amd already adopted it, so it is not a intel thing, it is the new hot ram that all users should get, ddr3 lasted like, 7 years? that is alot for a ram technology to live!

about the cannon lake, well, the problem with intel is that they release sockets and cpus like crazy, and sometimes the new platform will not cooperate with the old, they could decide to abandon lga 1151 this year thanks to amd push, intel does this almost each 2 yars, there was lga 1155, 1150, 775, 2011, 771, there is more but i can't remember

amd kept alive am3 for almost 8 yeas, added fm2 for low cost cpus and am1, for ultralow cost and low power consumption

all 3 surely will die this year with the new am4 and am4 surely will live at least 3 years, amd likes to do that and we like amd for doing that

 

[idontknowwhatcpu]

you are not crazy, it is ok to try to find more information about what you wnat, on what invest your money and what will offer you more

about ddr4, well, amd already adopted it, so it is not a intel thing, it is the new hot ram that all users should get, ddr3 lasted like, 7 years? that is alot for a ram technology to live!

about the cannon lake, well, the problem with intel is that they release sockets and cpus like crazy, and sometimes the new platform will not cooperate with the old, they could decide to abandon lga 1151 this year thanks to amd push, intel does this almost each 2 yars, there was lga 1155, 1150, 775, 2011, 771, there is more but i can't remember

amd kept alive am3 for almost 8 yeas, added fm2 for low cost cpus and am1, for ultralow cost and low power consumption

all 3 surely will die this year with the new am4 and am4 surely will live at least 3 years, amd likes to do that and we like amd for doing that

Yes. I did not mean that ddr4 is an single intel advantage, but I meant in my right now scenario where I can not buy a new AMD ryzen zen cpu. But my thoughts were also: Maybe the Mobo will still fit for a new cpu in 2 years from intel, if not, then at least I could use the ram also on a new mainboard for a new amd cpu then, in case it would be better to switch then. If I buy now am3, after 2 years I anyway would have to buy mobo + ram.

 

[atljsf]

yes, that is a perfectly viable approach, i wanted to do that same thing this year but i couldn't, the mainboard i want is a bit too expensive and it limits me to ddr3 and a fm2 cpu, but my budget is very limited atm

this is my situation and i think you had in mind that same idea

i build a itx pc for basic stuff, be pretty on a itx case, be silent, play some games, be cheap and last for some years

all well on that plan, 8 gbs ddr3, a itx mainboard, a ssd, a 1 tb hard disk, and a small am1 cpu

all perfect, but i decided to use it to play gta v, so add a gpu, it worked, but the am1 is slow for this game, so upgrade rignt?

cpu on tht mainboard can't be really upgraded, there is noe abit faster but is not that faster to help at all

next step is get anew itx mainboard, a fm2 cpu and reuse the ram, right?

couldn't find a mainboard and while i tried to find the mainboard i spent the money for the cpu on other stuff, so the am1 stays in place

now that the am4 socket came, the r5 will come in june and a itx mainboard will come, but is ddr4, so the idea of reuse parts i had vanished

more or less what you would face if you decide to go with the fx, but the intel could let you skip most of those problems thanks to ddr4 and a possible couple more cpus worth to buy and use on the mainbard you buy

then we return to the fanboy stuff and the fx not recommendable option, and the intel offering more atm in your case with your budget