New CPU Choice, R7 1700, i7 6700k, i5 7600k

[Dillon07]

Okay, So I need help deciding between a few processors. Here is my predicament. I currently don't have a computer anymore, and would like to get one within 2 weeks or so. So I don't want to wait for the R5 lineup. Anyway, I am going to use this for gaming, browsing the internet, and maybe some video editing and live streaming. The 3 I am deciding from are Intel's i7 6700k, and i5 7600k, as well as the R7 1700. The gpu I have is the rx 480 8gb, but I plan to crossfire, so I need a CPU that won't bottleneck two rx 480's. I know that the i7 is better at gaming, and the R7 is better at video rendering, and stuff like that. What are your guys' opinions. Thanks.

 

[Ecky]

For what it's worth, a pair of RX 480's will probably be both slower than a single GTX 1070 in most cases, draw twice as much power, and be overall more expensive. I generally recommend that, when people are ready to upgrade, they sell and replace with another single card. I've come to this conclusion after having tried dual GPUs many, many times over the years, from several vendors, going back to SLI Voodoo's in the 1990's.

Regarding CPU choice, I have a few thoughts:

-I would immediately rule out the i5. The i7 7700 + a B250 board is generally cheaper, more power efficient AND faster than an overclocked 7600K. You can run it without issue using Intel's stock heatsink and get a less expensive motherboard, which adds a ton of value.

-Ryzen is brand new and there are a TON of bugs. Bricked motherboards from changing BIOS settings are not uncommon at this point. If you're an early adopter, you can basically expect problems. Intel's lineup is very mature and largely problem-free.

-Why not consider the i7 7700 or 7700K, which are basically the same price as the 6xxx CPUs, only faster?

-Intel's i7's win in basically every benchmark against AMD's Ryzen CPUs in games, most likely because even though gaming is becoming more threaded, and 8-thread CPUs (Core i7) show real benefits over 4-thread CPUs (Core i5) in recent games, per-core speed is still very important and Intel's chips are both faster per clock and clocked higher than Ryzen. However, Ryzen is still very respectable and within spitting distance of Intel's offerings, while offering much better performance in things like encoding and rendering, due to having twice as many real cores.

-Ryzen is more power hungry and you can expect it to dump more heat into your case/room, but this is in part because you're getting twice as many (if slightly slower) cores.

I don't think there's a wrong choice between Ryzen and an i7. If I could choose which were to be given to me right now, I'd probably pick Ryzen because I enjoy tinkering with new stuff. More cores is probably more future proof, too, but you can expect to have a far more trouble-free experience and better performance in today's games with an i7.

 

[Dillon07]

Okay, I might be leaning more towards the r7 now. I do like how the processor should last a little longer because of the extra cores. As of right now the framrate that I get in game should be pretty close with either, because I will only have 1 rx 480. And by the time I get 2 or a better video card, the cores should be optimized better. I am looking for a processor that will last me awhile, so do you think the r7 is the best bet? How many bugs do you think will be fixed in 2 or so weeks? The only one I am worried about right now, is the whole ram frequency issue. Also, is there any motherboards that are equivalent to this one?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B012IBPJ6I/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488855829&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gigabyte+gaming+7
It is really cheap right now, but a great MB.

 

[Ecky]

Two weeks... not much. You're probably look at 6 months to maybe the better part of a year to iron out many of the bugs. Ryzen is brand new from the ground up, while the Intel 7xxx CPUs are the evolutionary product of more than a decade of tweaking and optimization. That said, I agree that an 8-core CPU is likely to age much better.

Food for thought though - an i7 7700 can be used with a $70 motherboard, so you're not even really looking in the same price category when comparing Ryzen to Intel's socket 1151 chips. An i7 system will likely be in the range of $100-150 cheaper, minimum, which is nearly enough to buy you a second RX 480. You really ought to be comparing it against the i7 6800K, which is a 6 core / 12 thread CPU.

 

[Dillon07]

Alright, I might end up going with the i7 just because of the savings. I really want to support AMD though. So do you think that if I was okay with spending a little more Ryzen should be the choice? I mean, Ryzen only gets better from here right?

 

[Ecky]

The R7 1700 is a very attractive chip to me, so yes, if I were in your shoes I would probably find some way to justify spending the extra money. I would probably even enjoy the bugs that, if a new Intel CPU were released with, would be met with outrage. It's long overdue that AMD offered a chip that was competitive and easily time for Intel to start releasing larger core counts in their mainstream socket, which Ryzen is likely to force.

Looking back to now from several years in the future, Ryzen will probably be the better choice.

 

[Finesse_ck]

I don't know how much your saving with intel? A Ryzen 1700 the better valued chip imo out of the R7 lineup which oc can benchmark practically like a 1800x. Has a pretty good wraith led cooler it's shipped with and you can overclock on the lesser b350 Mobo that you can pick up for 80-90$. The 99$ Asus prime b350 plus im using can easily oc to 3.9ghz on the stock wraith cooler, also it is the only b350 board with crossfire on it, however I do not recommend using it for that just for single GPU setups and grabbing a x370 for multi GPU setups, sli/crossfire. I don't know why people say if you do gaming and need higher frame rates for 144hz monitor, while I would get better frames with a 7700k, the Ryzen 1700 at 3.9 doesn't drop below 250 frames for me and is at 270-300 on 1080p on a ffa dm server but I play on a 4:3 stretched res so it's never under 300 really and is just fine for csgo and using a 144hz monitor it didn't struggle at all, I went with the Ryzen for future proofing and because I will be doing some editing however mostly game & stream on this PC and it's a really good buy for that. I've had no trouble keeping my frame rate up with this CPU. Also my Ryzen chip stays really cool on the stock wraith cooler, my buddy is grabbing a liquid cooler and that apparently runs it really chilly at like 68 under load using the extreme oc basic preset on the ROG x370 just like that Newegg oc video on getting it to 4.1. it's far better at power consumption it's at 65 stock, however it's far better than the fx series processor.

The 7700k is a great chip don't get me wrong, BUT id argue strictly gaming your better off buying an i5 not the 7700k? Streaming and gaming like csgo you can maintain the higher frame rate for a 144hz monitor and you can have a single PC setup for streaming.