[SOLVED] Is the switch to Intel worth it now?

FatatSteel

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So for the past year i had a 3700x and a B550 Msi Board. I sold the whole rig after a year and I am in the planning phase for a new one. I was told that for 1080 and 1440 Intel was betting for gaming and streaming due to its single core speed and AMD was more for media production. Ive only ever used Amd and want to know if the new cpus that came out last year and the upcoming ones are good enough to warrant the switch. I don't want the mid grade any more like the i5 or a 6c 12th. I want the top tier as I will game and stream. Is AMD still the CPU king or did intel take their crown back?

Edit: I will also be getting an nzxt 240 or 360 AIO so that will handle any beefy cpus u guys might recommend. and I am looking to pair it with either a 3070, and 3080, or a 4000 series this year hopefully
 
Solution
I was told that for 1080 and 1440 Intel was betting for gaming and streaming due to its single core speed and AMD was more for media production.
That's pretty outdated information. Back in the pre-Ryzen days, that was probably good advice, as AMD's FX CPUs had been stuck on an outdated architecture for a number of years, that was both inefficient and well behind Intel in terms of single-core performance.

But the first Ryzen chips released around 5 years ago brought AMD relatively close to where Intel was in terms of lightly-threaded performance, but well ahead in terms of multithreaded performance, due to them offering a lot more cores at any given price level. Since then, AMD gradually closed the small remaining gap in terms...
Yes. Your 3700x is ranked around 119th as compared to 1st for the 12900k for performance. If you go intel 12900k you have to be committed to use Win 11 for best performance. Remember, that for gaming, the gpu does all the heavy lifting, but for streaming the cpu definitely comes in to play. The combination of two would be no problem. You also get pcie 4.0 AND 5.0 support with Intel. I wouldn't bother going ddr5 just yet as there is no advantage there right now. The 1900k is a scorcher coming in at 125w, so be sure to get a beefy cooler. IMHO of course.🆒
 
Asking "worth it" raises the question of price-to-performance and considering recent price drops it's not worth it....especially when it means a change to the platform. If you're looking for a boost just move to a 5800X, Intel's advantages are not really significant enough to get in a lather about.

Or wait a bit for the 5800X3D...at least wait for the reviews to see if it displaces Intel as gaming king again and just how much.
 
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FatatSteel

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Yes. Your 3700x is ranked around 119th as compared to 1st for the 12900k for performance. If you go intel 12900k you have to be committed to use Win 11 for best performance. Remember, that for gaming, the gpu does all the heavy lifting, but for streaming the cpu definitely comes in to play. The combination of two would be no problem. You also get pcie 4.0 AND 5.0 support with Intel. I wouldn't bother going ddr5 just yet as there is no advantage there right now. The 1900k is a scorcher coming in at 125w, so be sure to get a beefy cooler. IMHO of course.🆒
I feel that for me intel sounds like the way to go I like to record and live stream sometimes, and my 3700x was slacking even tho its only 1 year old. I might go with the 12900k or something a lil less expensive and pair it with a either a 3080 or 3070. I feel like the 4000 series is a dream only lol and for ddr5 not worried about it. Also whats the best speed and cl speed for intel? I know amd like fast ram speeds.
 

FatatSteel

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Asking "worth it" raises the question of price-to-performance and considering recent price drops it's not worth it....especially when it means a change to the platform. If you're looking for a boost just move to a 5800X, Intel's advantages are not really significant enough to get in a lather about.

Or wait a bit for the 5800X3D...at least wait for the reviews to see if it displaces Intel as gaming king again and just how much.
Well the good thing is i have a few buyers for my CPU and mobo so as of now there is no switch its just buying from a platform and moving forward so nothing to hold me back. I'm looking to go with the company that is best for gaming and media production and live streaming.
 

FatatSteel

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If your main goal is performance and only such, Intel has taken that crown. But as far as efficiency goes, AMD still wins here.
I was told that for gaming Intel was the way to go, and amd lack in that but makes up for it thru its high core count for media production. Idk man idk lol hard to choose one.
 
I was told that for gaming Intel was the way to go, and amd lack in that but makes up for it thru its high core count for media production. Idk man idk lol hard to choose one.
Intel has taken the lead but both AMD are Intel are excellent gamers. The reality is you are actually unlikely to be able to tell the difference, in a blind test could you actually tell the difference between say 180fps and 200fps? And this is best case scenario where you are using an overkill gpu at 1080p. There are also some games that don’t work as well with the Intel P cores and E cores. Personally I don’t think the cost of changing motherboard is worth it. There are some cracking deals on the 5900x, I recently saw it for £353 and was very tempted but I am waiting for the 5800x3D which AMD have claimed will take the gaming crown again.

So in summary Intel is faster for gaming on paper. However if you had a 5900x and 12900k systems with 3080’s could you tell the difference in a blind test, no. Is that really worth buying a new motherboard?
 
I was told that for 1080 and 1440 Intel was betting for gaming and streaming due to its single core speed and AMD was more for media production.
That's pretty outdated information. Back in the pre-Ryzen days, that was probably good advice, as AMD's FX CPUs had been stuck on an outdated architecture for a number of years, that was both inefficient and well behind Intel in terms of single-core performance.

But the first Ryzen chips released around 5 years ago brought AMD relatively close to where Intel was in terms of lightly-threaded performance, but well ahead in terms of multithreaded performance, due to them offering a lot more cores at any given price level. Since then, AMD gradually closed the small remaining gap in terms of lightly-threaded performance compared to Intel's competing processors until they actually took the lead ahead of Intel with their 5000-series, with both faster single-core and multi-core performance at most tasks. And Intel didn't really gain that lead back for over a year until their current "12th gen" processors launched.

Of course, while AMD has been improving their lightly-threaded performance, Intel has been improving their multithreaded performance, and overall the performance differences between the two now tend to be relatively minor at most tasks. With their "12th-gen" lineup, Intel has now retaken a small lead, at least for the time being, but AMD isn't far behind, and does have some new, supposedly faster processors coming this year. Really though, gaming performance should be relatively similar with either one.

At the moment I would likely go with Intel for a new system due to the current value they offer at each price level, but Ryzen would arguably be alright as well. And if you were considering keeping your existing motherboard, plugging in a Ryzen 5000 CPU might be a better value. The current i7s seem nice, though I'm not sure its worth moving up to an i9. Even at 1080p with a 3080-class card, the differences in average frame rates in modern games between the 17s and i9 will typically be within a couple percent or so of one another, and those differences will tend to diminish at higher resolutions or with a lesser card. And something like a Ryzen 5800X or 5900X would not be far behind. I haven't really looked into whether the additional low-power cores of the 12900K would be beneficial to streaming, but really the graphics card's encoder should be doing most of the heavy lifting for that.
 
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Solution
12600K provides pretty formidable performance for the money....

(Looking forward to seeing what 5800X3D can accomplish, it would be nice to see it challenge the 12th gen CPUs despite it's lower clock speeds over the 5800X, at least according to specs)

You never mentioned your chosen previous GPU, much less which is intended for future rig, and that is of much more importance than having a 12600K over a 5800X, as the former only really takes a lead at 1080P and when both are equipped with a RTX3070 or better... Give them both only a 2060, and I doubt the 2-3 fps differences would change anyone's outlook on gaming...
 
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FatatSteel

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12600K provides pretty formidable performance for the money....

(Looking forward to seeing what 5800X3D can accomplish, it would be nice to see it challenge the 12th gen CPUs despite it's lower clock speeds over the 5800X, at least according to specs)

You never mentioned your chosen previous GPU, much less which is intended for future rig, and that is of much more importance than having a 12600K over a 5800X, as the former only really takes a lead at 1080P and when both are equipped with a RTX3070 or better... Give them both only a 2060, and I doubt the 2-3 fps differences would change anyone's outlook on gaming...
I had a 1660ti lol with 16gb ram at 3600mhz
 

FatatSteel

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12600K provides pretty formidable performance for the money....

(Looking forward to seeing what 5800X3D can accomplish, it would be nice to see it challenge the 12th gen CPUs despite it's lower clock speeds over the 5800X, at least according to specs)

You never mentioned your chosen previous GPU, much less which is intended for future rig, and that is of much more importance than having a 12600K over a 5800X, as the former only really takes a lead at 1080P and when both are equipped with a RTX3070 or better... Give them both only a 2060, and I doubt the 2-3 fps differences would change anyone's outlook on gaming...
hmmm not sure I can wait until next year for the new chips prob would want to buy in the next 3-6 months or sooner. so idk might go with intel
 

FatatSteel

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That's pretty outdated information. Back in the pre-Ryzen days, that was probably good advice, as AMD's FX CPUs had been stuck on an outdated architecture for a number of years, that was both inefficient and well behind Intel in terms of single-core performance.

But the first Ryzen chips released around 5 years ago brought AMD relatively close to where Intel was in terms of lightly-threaded performance, but well ahead in terms of multithreaded performance, due to them offering a lot more cores at any given price level. Since then, AMD gradually closed the small remaining gap in terms of lightly-threaded performance compared to Intel's competing processors until they actually took the lead ahead of Intel with their 5000-series, with both faster single-core and multi-core performance at most tasks. And Intel didn't really gain that lead back for over a year until their current "12th gen" processors launched.

Of course, while AMD has been improving their lightly-threaded performance, Intel has been improving their multithreaded performance, and overall the performance differences between the two now tend to be relatively minor at most tasks. With their "12th-gen" lineup, Intel has now retaken a small lead, at least for the time being, but AMD isn't far behind, and does have some new, supposedly faster processors coming this year. Really though, gaming performance should be relatively similar with either one.

At the moment I would likely go with Intel for a new system due to the current value they offer at each price level, but Ryzen would arguably be alright as well. And if you were considering keeping your existing motherboard, plugging in a Ryzen 5000 CPU might be a better value. The current i7s seem nice, though I'm not sure its worth moving up to an i9. Even at 1080p with a 3080-class card, the differences in average frame rates in modern games between the 17s and i9 will typically be within a couple percent or so of one another, and those differences will tend to diminish at higher resolutions or with a lesser card. And something like a Ryzen 5800X or 5900X would not be far behind. I haven't really looked into whether the additional low-power cores of the 12900K would be beneficial to streaming, but really the graphics card's encoder should be doing most of the heavy lifting for that.
Well since I sold my last board and CPU or at least have them up for sale. I am moving forward as if I don't have any parts so either platform is up for my choosing just comes down to who has more to offer for the money and who can last longer
 
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Meh. Both are pretty much the same it should be based on what you want and if intel offers you more of what you want then go for that
 

Amddefector

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You could go with intel now as they have a slight lead over amd in single threaded performance. Then go with amd when they claw back the lead. Then Intel again when they are back on top then back to amd..........and so on.

Am4 is dead. The 5800x3d is pointless! Rumoured to have overclocking disabled. Probably because it runs so damn hot there's no room for overclocking. Plus it's am4! With am5 just around the corner It doesn't make much sense.

The best choice right now is probably Intel 12th gen but 6 months down the line you could be wishing you held out for amd 7000 series.

My rig is purely for gaming and it's packing a 12th gen i5. I was with amd before this but what it was gonna cost me just for a 5000 series I got the i5 and mb!
 
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Everyone is only talking about gaming. He wants to game AND stream. Intel for now offers more for both, plus ddr5 support, when they get their timings under control. Pcie 4.0 support for now and future proofed for when pcie 5.0 comes around. Intel also comes made to work with Win11 out of the gate and does not need a back door bios like AMD had to do for their cpu's. To me Intel is plug and play and a lot less troubleshooting than AMD. There are too many fiddly bios adjustments, and memory compatibility worries with Amd.
 
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KyaraM

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hmmm not sure I can wait until next year for the new chips prob would want to buy in the next 3-6 months or sooner. so idk might go with intel
To be fair, the 5800X3D will be released next quarter. I don't think it's necessary, though. I bought the i7-12700k and MSI PRO Z690-A mainboard and am pretty happy with it. With a decent GPU, that should be more than enough for streaming for a price that in my country wouldn't even give you the next two comparable Ryzens, the 5900X and 5950X... with the price point of the latter, I actually also got 32GB of Corsair RAM, LOL. So darn overprized...

Also, I find the upgradability of the Ryzen boards nice in theory, but if you factor in that you can't use some features of the newest chips with older MB generations, the possibility becomes rather worthless to me. Personal opinion, naturally, but yeah.
 
If you have a need now, buy now.
If you wait for the next best thing, you will wait forever.
Today, the I9-12900K is probably the best bet.
Games do best with a high single thread performing cpu.
Try a simple cpu-Z bench test with your 3700x.
You should score about 528:
https://valid.x86.fr/bench/q7xhw8
12th gen intel will currently beat any amd processor on that metric.

For streaming, you want to have sufficient available threads.
If your budget permits, a I9-12900K will have 24 that should be plenty.
5900x would also have 24 threads, but the single thread performance would be less.
5950x with 32 threads might stream better, but gaming performance would be less capable.

And, you can reuse your DDR4 ram if you want to.
Today, there is minimal difference in performance between DDR4 and DDR5 but a big difference in cost.
 

FatatSteel

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If you have a need now, buy now.
If you wait for the next best thing, you will wait forever.
Today, the I9-12900K is probably the best bet.
Games do best with a high single thread performing cpu.
Try a simple cpu-Z bench test with your 3700x.
You should score about 528:
https://valid.x86.fr/bench/q7xhw8
12th gen intel will currently beat any amd processor on that metric.

For streaming, you want to have sufficient available threads.
If your budget permits, a I9-12900K will have 24 that should be plenty.
5900x would also have 24 threads, but the single thread performance would be less.
5950x with 32 threads might stream better, but gaming performance would be less capable.

And, you can reuse your DDR4 ram if you want to.
Today, there is minimal difference in performance between DDR4 and DDR5 but a big difference in cost.
just saw the 600 price tag I looking into morethe 400-450 price tag for cpus
 

KyaraM

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The i7-12700K at about $$400 is virtually the same, but with 20 threads.
I might add that you can save some by passing on liquid cooling.
A noctua NH-D15 will do the job and last much longer.
This. It's a great piece of hardware and every test on this planet will tell you that gaming performance is within a couple of percent of each other. Virtually can't be feeled, only measured. Plus, there should be more than enough power and threads for smooth streaming. Both my boyfriend and I use the CPU on air cooling, too, he with the mentioned Noctua and I with a Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4 Pro. Both are excellent. However, funny fact. I got a friend who slapped a 35€ cooler on it and it's fine... at least with undervolting. A bit too risky for me, though, but whatever works for her I guess...
 
To be fair, the 5800X3D will be released next quarter.
It's actually supposed to be released next month, April 20th, though it's hard to say whether or not it will be available in sufficient quantities at launch. Next month is technically next quarter, but that makes it sound further away. : )

You could go with intel now as they have a slight lead over amd in single threaded performance. Then go with amd when they claw back the lead. Then Intel again when they are back on top then back to amd..........and so on.

Am4 is dead. The 5800x3d is pointless! Rumoured to have overclocking disabled. Probably because it runs so damn hot there's no room for overclocking. Plus it's am4! With am5 just around the corner It doesn't make much sense.

The best choice right now is probably Intel 12th gen but 6 months down the line you could be wishing you held out for amd 7000 series.

My rig is purely for gaming and it's packing a 12th gen i5. I was with amd before this but what it was gonna cost me just for a 5000 series I got the i5 and mb!
I wouldn't say AM4 motherboards are "dead" anymore than Intel's motherboards will be after this year. Remember, Intel tends to require new motherboards every other generation, so after their Raptor Lake lineup launches later this year, next year's processors will require new motherboards on their side as well. Now, the AM4 backward-combatibility is certainly no longer a benefit at this point, but that's generally always been the case for Intel. In general, someone shouldn't upgrade to either of these platforms expecting substantial CPU upgrade options down the line.

As for the 5800X3D being "pointless", according to AMD it's supposedly going to be a little faster than Intel's Alder Lake lineup for gaming, and probably certain other workloads. Probably not to a noticeable degree, but that arguably applies to the current lead Intel holds over the 5000-series as well. At the very least, the 5800X3D might be considered a viable upgrade option for an existing AM4 system, even if the rumored pricing doesn't seem all that great.

And overclocking is not really a benefit for Intel's high-end CPUs anymore either, as much like AMD's current processors, they have virtually no overclocking headroom. Today's high-end CPUs tend to be designed to get as much performance as possible out of the silicon at stock, so manual overclocking is rarely worthwhile anymore.
 

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