i5 3350P vs fx 6300

[melancholyx3]

There is currently a combo on newegg http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-13-130-665-_-11142013_3 (MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt + i5 3350P) $265, $230 AR. (this might be around $200 in 2 hours).

vs

fx 6300 + some oc mobo ($120 for cpu and idk how much for the mobo)

Which one would be better for the price/performance?

 

[rvilkman]

The i5 is better for gaming.

For the OC mobo you are looking at 105-140 for the mobo for the AMD system.

 

[JOOK-D]

The difference between AMD and intel for gaming.
Firstly, you need to decide what your priorities are, and what you will use the PC for.
Things such as: light gaming, heavy gaming, basic work (e.g. MS Office), heavy work (e.g. video editing, 3d modeling).
For the most part in current games the biggest difference will be made by the selection of the GPU. Get a great GPU + worse CPU rather than worse GPU + great CPU.

The AMD FX CPU's have many cores, which are weaker.
intel i5's have less cores, which are stronger.

The intel's consequently have better performance per core. In older games, the intels perform much better as those games are optimised for good performance with only a few cores (single-threading).
In newer games, the AMD FX's really shine due to the introduction of games using more cores (multi-threading).

The difference comes in depending on what you want to use the PC for. If you're on a tight budget, save some money and go with the AMD and spend the extra money on a better GPU that will give you better performance than any CPU could.

i5: Good for older games (single-threaded), Good for newer games (multi-threaded), Good for general work, great all-round CPU and probably the best around for current games (may change in future).
AMD: Slightly worse for older games (single-threaded), Great for newer games (multi-threaded e.g. BF4, Crysis 3), Good for light/heavy work, extra cores are great for 3d modeling and video editing or rendering, great CPU whilst costing much less than the intel. Even though it's worse in older games it will run them perfectly well and smoothly.

Regardless, both will perform well.
For an i5, I would recommend an i5 3570k or a 4670k. Why? They are king for gaming performance at the moment and since they are the k version they are unlocked and can be overclocked in future for a performance boost.

For an AMD, I would recommend a FX 6300/8320/8350 [Do NOT go with a bulldozer CPU, only piledriver. List here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piledriver_(microarchitecture) <-- That should all be one link, not sure why it splits.]. Why? Great multi-threaded performance for newer games and heavy work, are just fine in older games (not overkill, can deliver smooth frame rates maxed with a good GPU), and are great for productivity with a tame pricetag.

In conclusion, budget gaming/work: AMD. Not on a budget gaming/work: i5. The i5 currently delivers better performance but don't get the impression that the AMD is lagging behind. They are great for gaming and work with a really great pricetag, just not currently up there with intel. In newer games though such as BF4 the AMD's have caught up in performance and in some cases deliver better performance than the intel's for much less money. You will get great, smooth FPS with either.
Either solution will game just fine with a nice GPU, focus mainly on that.

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I would choose an unlocked FX over a locked i5 any day. Games are starting to use more cores so the FX is possibly better for the future, not to mention the socket of that i5 is unlikely to get any more updates and you'll have to buy a new mobo in future. Not sure about AMD, I've heard that the steamroller chips coming out will be AM3+ or FM2+.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lNdG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lNdG/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lNdG/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($117.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $212.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-14 14:23 EST-0500)

http://www.corsair.com/blog/ps4-xbone-pcgaming/

Overclocking the FX will likely bring it on par or further ahead than the i5. Both will perform great in games, focus more on your GPU.

 

[infamouswoodster]

Hi there,

Tough call, the price points are pretty close and the platforms are obviously very different.

What will you be using the computer for?


The i5 is a good performer ( 4 cores) , being the "P" version, the multiplier is locked so the overclocking is limited (if your into over clocking)

The fx6300 is a good performer (6 cores) and has an unlocked multiplier (overclocking).

At stock speeds they trade blows in the performance charts. The fx6300 is cheaper and if overclocked would well outpace the i5-p in the dollar/performance ratio.

I think I paid 175ish for a fx6300 and a msi-970 (G46) motherboard combo deal (this was at the beginning of 2013) and I can say it noticeably outperforms my work computer (i5 2500-sandy bridge) in my daily activities.

Bare in mind, I over clocked my fx6300 (without a voltage increase!) to 4.5ghz and its rock stable, your results may vary, but its a good chip.

All in all, both are good choices, at stock speeds you would not notice one way or the other IMO.

 

[BSim500]

The i5 is a good performer ( 4 cores) , being the "P" version, the multiplier is locked so the overclocking is limited (if your into over clocking)

No it isn't. The "P" means it has no iGPU. You can easily OC a 3350P to 3.7GHz on a Z77 motherboard if you wanted:-
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/Intel-Core-i5-3350P-Ivy-Bridge-Processor-Review-No-Integrated-Graphics/Overclocki

 

[JOOK-D]

The i5 is a good performer ( 4 cores) , being the "P" version, the multiplier is locked so the overclocking is limited (if your into over clocking)

No it isn't. The "P" means it has no iGPU. You can easily OC a 3350P to 3.7GHz on a Z77 motherboard if you wanted:-
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/Intel-Core-i5-3350P-Ivy-Bridge-Processor-Review-No-Integrated-Graphics/Overclocki

Not my conversation, but I was under the assumption that only the k series were designed for overclocking. w/e, I'd still go with the FX for price/performance, personally.

 

[BSim500]

Not my conversation, but I was under the assumption that only the k series were designed for overclocking. w/e, I'd still go with the FX for price/performance, personally.

It is by far the most misunderstood feature of i5's. "K" chips means it has "no limit" OCing. Non-K = "limited OC" of 4-bins (+400MHz) over and above the highest Turbo Boost setting:-

3350P = 3.1GHz Base can be OC'd to max 3.7GHz (3.3GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)
3470 = 3.2GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.0GHz (3.6GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)
3570 = 3.4GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.2GHz (3.8GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)

You need a Z77 board to do it, and one with Multi-Core Enhancement for highest freqs under full load (instead of core-load-based OC's), but you can indeed OC non-K i5's up to 800MHz over stock.

 

[JOOK-D]

Not my conversation, but I was under the assumption that only the k series were designed for overclocking. w/e, I'd still go with the FX for price/performance, personally.

It is by far the most misunderstood feature of i5's. "K" chips means it has "no limit" OCing. Non-K = "limited OC" of 4-bins (+400MHz) over and above the highest Turbo Boost setting:-

3350P = 3.1GHz Base can be OC'd to max 3.7GHz (3.3GHz Turbo + 400MHz)
3470 = 3.2GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.0GHz (3.6GHz Turbo + 400MHz)
3570 = 3.4GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo + 400MHz)

You need a Z77 board to do it, and one with Multi-Core Enhancement for highest freqs under full load (instead of core-load-based OC's), but you can indeed OC non-K i5's up to 800MHz over stock.

Cheers, good info to know.

 

[infamouswoodster]

Not my conversation, but I was under the assumption that only the k series were designed for overclocking. w/e, I'd still go with the FX for price/performance, personally.

It is by far the most misunderstood feature of i5's. "K" chips means it has "no limit" OCing. Non-K = "limited OC" of 4-bins (+400MHz) over and above the highest Turbo Boost setting:-

3350P = 3.1GHz Base can be OC'd to max 3.7GHz (3.3GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)
3470 = 3.2GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.0GHz (3.6GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)
3570 = 3.4GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.2GHz (3.8GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)

You need a Z77 board to do it, and one with Multi-Core Enhancement for highest freqs under full load (instead of core-load-based OC's), but you can indeed OC non-K i5's up to 800MHz over stock.

Thanks for clearing that up. I didn't mean that the "p" designation meant it couldn't over clock, rather pointing out it was Not a "K" series chip.

Not to be stickler, but since the processor is able to reach its turbo boost frequencies without any changes, I myself don't count that Mhz increase as "overclock" in the traditional use of the word.

I've not tweaked with intel setups since the core2duo and if I was only able to squeeze an extra 400mhz then, I would have called that a poor overclock.

All in all, thanks for your input, its useful information for the buyer.

 

[sora]

Not my conversation, but I was under the assumption that only the k series were designed for overclocking. w/e, I'd still go with the FX for price/performance, personally.

It is by far the most misunderstood feature of i5's. "K" chips means it has "no limit" OCing. Non-K = "limited OC" of 4-bins (+400MHz) over and above the highest Turbo Boost setting:-

3350P = 3.1GHz Base can be OC'd to max 3.7GHz (3.3GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)
3470 = 3.2GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.0GHz (3.6GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)
3570 = 3.4GHz Base can be OC'd to max 4.2GHz (3.8GHz max Turbo + 400MHz)

You need a Z77 board to do it, and one with Multi-Core Enhancement for highest freqs under full load (instead of core-load-based OC's), but you can indeed OC non-K i5's up to 800MHz over stock.

Thanks! This is good information I never even knew about!