I5 2500k / 3570k vs AMD Piledriver FX-6300 / FX-8350

[ericjr85]

I am trying to decide if it is worth the extra money to go with a i5 2500k or a 3570k for my gaming rig compared to the new Vishera piledrivers by AMD (FX-6300 or FX-8350)

I want to get a

XFX FX-795A-TNFC Radeon HD 7950 Core Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150590
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$314.99

which is why I was thinking about the FX-6300 due to price. Im wondering though if I will see bottlenecking and if i should go with a GPU in the $200 range and a CPU in the $300 range like an i5. What do you all suggest? Please help! I am planning on buying my gaming PC today.

Thanks.

 

[wanderer11]

Any of those cpus will work fine with the 7950. If you were going to crossfire it, however, I would have to recommend Intel.

 

[ericjr85]

I wouldnt plan on crossfiring for a couple years. I just havent heard much on the new piledrivers. Are they much better than say a Phenom II x4 965 BE?

 

[wanderer11]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=699 See for yourself. It looks like the 6300 is a little better, but I hate the way the settings are on a low resolution. They will probably be very similar at 1920x1080 ultra 4xaa.

 

[geofelt]

My rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget twice the cost of the cpu for the graphics card.
The 7950 is a very nice $300 graphics card; comparable to a GTX670 if you like Nvidia better.

The FX-6300 is an OK $140 cpu which might be appropriate, but the AMD chips lack the individual core processing power that games need. Games rarely use more than 2-3 cores .
You would be better off with a i3-3220 for $130.
Read this article on <$200 gaming cpu's.
Note that the i3-3220 is about 15% more capable than the i3-2100.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-6.html

If you live near a microcenter, they will sell you a 2500K for $160 or a 3570K for $170. Great deals, but instore pick up only.

While a 3570K is, perhaps stronger than you need, it is as good as it gets for gaming.
Buy one if your budget will allow.
I expect it to be a 4 year chip since I do not see a great enough boost from haswell next year to compel an upgrade.

And... perhaps you can post a list of your other parts, links, and budget.
Perhaps we can see a way to better allocate your budget.

 

[ericjr85]

This is what I have put together so far.



COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible with Intel ...
Item #: N82E16835103065
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$34.99
$29.99
1

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
Item #: N82E16820231428
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$39.99 Saving
$39.99
$0.00
1

AMD Gift - 4-in-1 Game Coupon
Item #: N82E16800995140
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$169.99 Saving
$169.99
$0.00
Subtotal: $29.99
Calculate Shipping
Zip Code Update Method
FREE 2-Day Shipping learn more

Shipping: $0.00



SAMSUNG DVD Burner SATA Model SH-224BB/RSBS
Item #: N82E16827151257
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$4.00 Instant
$20.99
$16.99


Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ...
Item #: N82E16811147153
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$20.00 Instant
$59.99
$39.99


Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148840
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Recover Your Data(expand for options)
-$30.00 Instant
$109.99
$79.99


GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128519
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$25.00 Instant
$114.99
$89.99


XFX FX-795A-TNFC Radeon HD 7950 Core Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150590
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$314.99


Antec HCG M Series HCG-620M 620W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power ...
Item #: N82E16817371059
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$20.00 Instant
$99.99
$79.99


Microsoft Wireless Desktop 2000 M7J-00001 Black USB RF Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard & Mouse
Item #: N82E16823109235
Return Policy: Iron Egg Guarantee Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$15.00 Instant
$37.99
$22.99


AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6300WMHKBOX
Item #: N82E16819113286
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$139.99

Subtotal: $784.92

 

[blacknemesist]

If you plan on OC the CPU go with the i5-3570k otherwise the i5-3470 is better for you.
The 'K' series are for OCing purposes.

 

[geofelt]

Read this article on best gaming cpu's for the money:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

 

[majestic1805]

Question is what games do you want to play on it now and what sort of applications do you run when not gaming?

 

[ericjr85]

This is the setup I ended up going with.

SAMSUNG DVD Burner SATA Model SH-224BB/RSBS
Item #: N82E16827151257
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$4.00 Instant
$20.99
$16.99


Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ...
Item #: N82E16811147153
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$20.00 Instant
$59.99
$39.99


Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148697
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Recover Your Data(expand for options)
-$60.00 Instant
$109.99
$49.99


ASUS HD7850-DC2-2GD5-V2 Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814121651
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$30.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$219.99
$189.99
1

AMD Gift - FARCRY3 / MOH 2-in-1 Game Coupon
Item #: N82E16800995141
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$69.99 Saving
$69.99
$0.00


OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
Item #: N82E16817341018
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$20.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$129.99
$109.99


Microsoft Wireless Desktop 2000 M7J-00001 Black USB RF Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard & Mouse
Item #: N82E16823109235
Return Policy: Iron Egg Guarantee Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$15.00 Instant
$37.99
$22.99


G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2
Item #: N82E16820231461
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$39.99


Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
Item #: N82E16819116504
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$10.00 Instant
$229.99
$219.99


ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157296
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
1 year: $14.99 INCLUDED
$109.99

Subtotal: $799.91

I got a few things at microcenter though so the subtotal actually came out at $720 before mail in rebates which will put it around $680.

Thanks for the help guys. =)

 

[ericjr85]

Best answer selected by ericjr85.