Intel or AMD?

[Goalieguy28]

I'm trying to use about $700-800 for a gaming computer. AMD seems to be a lot cheaper than Intel but does that mean it's much worse?

 

[CTurbo]

Not always. You get more bang for your buck by going with AMD cpus for $200 or less. More than $200 and Intel cpus are better.

 

[CTurbo]

In gaming, the video card is most important

 

[Novuake]

For that budget AMD is the better choice. They are a very viable option on a tight budget.

Here :
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2kPvh
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2kPvh/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2kPvh/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($319.99 @ B&H)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $777.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-15 16:09 EST-0500)

 

[CTurbo]

+1 for Novuake's build

 

[CTurbo]

If I was going to critique it, I would recommend getting a 990FX motherboard if at all possible. It would cost around $30-40 more, but it'd be worth it IMO.

 

[Savagearms]

The advantages of Intel is that they use half the power, and by doing so create much less heat. They also have Hyper-Threading on some of their CPU's, which lets a Dual core almost act like a Quad core.

However, for having a cooler chip, you'll be paying roughly double to get the same performance as an equivalent AMD CPU. It's only when you get into $300+ CPU's does the heat problem really affect an AMD build.

Overall, AMD's give a significantly better price/performance ratio than Intel. You just need to make sure you have a decent cooler for it, such as the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ or Evo.

Both make good CPU's, and Intel usually IS better, but you pay a premium for an imperceptible increase in performance.

As far as build quality or reliability, they're pretty much equal.

 

[theHexCore]

I just recently put together a new gaming/work PC using an AMD FX-6300 and a Radeon 6870 and I'm pretty happy with its performance so far. I can play Far Cry 3 at 1080p on high settings no problem, Warface on max settings, and compiling code for my programming class is much faster than my laptop's i3.

The only problem I have is trying to play Battlefiled 4; the game is unplayable because it doesn't know how to utilize all 6 cores or something. It's apparently is a pretty common problem (just google "bf4 unplayable", and it's not AMD's fault, but it's something you should consider if you plan on playing BF4 any time soon.

The i3's and i5's are great for video games as well, so no matter which you choose I think you'll be happy.