Intel vs AMD - help me decide

[MegaHavok]

Hey there folks,

I am looking to upgrade for when bf4 hits the uk (obviously going to wait for the benchmarks). But a little pre-planning cant do anyone harm. I am a noob when it comes to assembly and so have identified two systems which are very cost effective (being only £20 more than the individual components themselves!!). So here they are:

1) AMD build:

Motherboard: GA-990XA-UD3
CPU: FX-8350 @4.0 (would overclock to 4.5 ghz)
Cooler: Xigmatek darkknight nighthawk sd1283
GPU: R9-280X
PSU: Corsair 650W TX modular
Case: Zalman z11+
Storage: 1tb

Price: £850

2) Intel build:

Motherboard: GA-Z87-HD3
CPU: i5-4670k @4.4 ghz
Cooler: H80i
GPU: GTX 760
PSU: Corsair CX 600w
Case: Zalman z11+
Storage: 1 tb + 128gb ssd

price: £850

I am planning to be playing msotly bf4 which is said to be optimized for amd with the december mantel patch? However the superior processor in the intel build would maybe improve fps in large multiplayer maps?

What do you think?

 

[rolli59]

The AMD build because of the stronger GPU and better PSU! You had the Intel on top last time you posted this.

 

[MegaHavok]

The AMD build because of the stronger GPU and better PSU! You had the Intel on top last time you posted this.

indeed i did, things changing all the time. I am eagerly awaiting the bf4 benchmarks. How much of a step-up is the r9-280x from the gtx 760?

 

[geofelt]

I think I would meld the two builds.

The cores on the 4670K are stronger. I am dubious that one would need 8 cores to play any game well. Game developers would not sell many.
In BF3 single player, the graphics card is important; in multiplayer, the cpu becomes more important.

The R9-280X is competitive in performance with the GTX770. With the new price drop, they are competitive in price too.
Take your pick.

Please do yourself a favor and use a 120gb ssd for the os and a few games.
With 240gb, defer on the hard drive. you may never need one at all.
Look at Samsung evo.

Stick with the Xigmatek air cooler.
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler can do the job.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"


Corsair is a decent psu brand. A 650w psu will run even the strongest R9-290X or the upcoming GTX780ti.

 

[MegaHavok]

I think I would meld the two builds.

The cores on the 4670K are stronger. I am dubious that one would need 8 cores to play any game well. Game developers would not sell many.
In BF3 single player, the graphics card is important; in multiplayer, the cpu becomes more important.

The R9-280X is competitive in performance with the GTX770. With the new price drop, they are competitive in price too.
Take your pick.

Please do yourself a favor and use a 120gb ssd for the os and a few games.
With 240gb, defer on the hard drive. you may never need one at all.
Look at Samsung evo.

Stick with the Xigmatek air cooler.
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler can do the job.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"


Corsair is a decent psu brand. A 650w psu will run even the strongest R9-290X or the upcoming GTX780ti.

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately these are pre-built systems. However from what you are saying the cpu in the amd build may be of a concern. i have read numerous people say that next gen games will utilize the 8 cores as the consoles themselves feature this number?

 

[geofelt]

I think numerous people are in error. No pc game developer wants to develop games that require 8 cores to run. They would not sell many.

I would buy neither system as it is.

You have already done the hard work by looking at components. Consider building it yourself. It is not difficult.
If you must, pay a local computer shop or a kid to assemble one for you.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I think numerous people are in error. No pc game developer wants to develop games that require 8 cores to run. They would not sell many.

I would buy neither system as it is.

You have already done the hard work by looking at components. Consider building it yourself. It is not difficult.
If you must, pay a local computer shop or a kid to assemble one for you.

I bolded what I question.

BF4 runs equally well in a stock 8350 (4m/8C) as a 4770 (4c/8T) , and better than the 4-core i5s, at least in 64-player maps (20 player maps are all Intel). BF4 is OPTIMIZED for 8 threads, but will run with less (but a minimum of 4 threads). We will see more games optimized for 8 threads with the new PS4 and XBox One have 8 x86 cores as time goes by.

The 760 is a step, maybe two, behind a 290X, the difference in GPU more than make sup for any deficit in CPU power in less-than-8-thread applications. The 8350 will hold its own against i5/i7 in other games with the same GPU. with a better GPU, it'll be no contest

 

[geofelt]

I think numerous people are in error. No pc game developer wants to develop games that require 8 cores to run. They would not sell many.

I would buy neither system as it is.

You have already done the hard work by looking at components. Consider building it yourself. It is not difficult.
If you must, pay a local computer shop or a kid to assemble one for you.

I bolded what I question.

BF4 runs equally well in a stock 8350 (4m/8C) as a 4770 (4c/8T) , and better than the 4-core i5s, at least in 64-player maps (20 player maps are all Intel). BF4 is OPTIMIZED for 8 threads, but will run with less (but a minimum of 4 threads). We will see more games optimized for 8 threads with the new PS4 and XBox One have 8 x86 cores as time goes by.

The 760 is a step, maybe two, behind a 290X, the difference in GPU more than make sup for any deficit in CPU power in less-than-8-thread applications. The 8350 will hold its own against i5/i7 in other games with the same GPU. with a better GPU, it'll be no contest

I have been unable to find cpu scaling benchmarks for BF3, let alone BF4 in multiplayer, using a fully populated server.
Can you lead me to such a test?

 

[MegaHavok]

I think numerous people are in error. No pc game developer wants to develop games that require 8 cores to run. They would not sell many.

I would buy neither system as it is.

You have already done the hard work by looking at components. Consider building it yourself. It is not difficult.
If you must, pay a local computer shop or a kid to assemble one for you.

I bolded what I question.

BF4 runs equally well in a stock 8350 (4m/8C) as a 4770 (4c/8T) , and better than the 4-core i5s, at least in 64-player maps (20 player maps are all Intel). BF4 is OPTIMIZED for 8 threads, but will run with less (but a minimum of 4 threads). We will see more games optimized for 8 threads with the new PS4 and XBox One have 8 x86 cores as time goes by.

The 760 is a step, maybe two, behind a 290X, the difference in GPU more than make sup for any deficit in CPU power in less-than-8-thread applications. The 8350 will hold its own against i5/i7 in other games with the same GPU. with a better GPU, it'll be no contest

thanks for the input! makes my decision easier. Would you recommend 1866 ram over 1600 for bf4?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

thanks for the input! makes my decision easier. Would you recommend 1866 ram over 1600 for bf4?

Except for APUs, 1866 vs 1600 makes little difference. I have been seeing some Kingston 2133 CAS 11 RAM running at $58.99 for a while, which is a bit cheaper than 1600 or 1866, the CAS-11 can probly be tightened if you underclock the ram back down to 1600 or 1866