Seriously Overclocked FX-8350 vs i5-6600k?

[codee500]

I am looking to build a new custom PC for some gaming and normal use - no video editing or anything like that. I come to you guys in hopes for an answer.
In a gaming aspect - would a very overclocked FX-8350 or even a 9590 be comparable to an Intel i5-6400 or 6600k? I absolutely plan on liquid cooling. I would like to be able to run everything maxed out in 1080p as I don't much care about 4K for a while. I would like to achieve possibly 60+ fps without much issue. I know it all depends on the GPU as well but I just don't want a CPU to be my bottleneck.

I just can't really muster spending more for just an Intel CPU alone when I could get a beefy octacore FX series CPU and motherboard for the same price. However if it's actually worth it I will expand my budget.

THANK YOU!

 

[nikoli707]

considering that even on release date the 8350 had trouble keeping up with a 2500k, it is pretty much no comparison to a 6600k. there are certain applications like large zip unpacking or other heavily threaded applications where the fx 8 core takes the i5, but for gaming only the fx processor needs a large overclock just to match a 2500k at stock speeds.

 

[krells]

The 6600k is the better cpu even against a heavily overclocked amd cpu.

 

[breek]

2+ year owner of an Fx 8320.

I would not recommend AMD at this time. Pretty much any i5, all the way back to Sandy Bridge (2xxx series) has better single core performance. Coming to the Skylake, 6xxx, series you're getting miles ahead of AMD. Until we see where Zen sits performance and price wise, AMD isn't worth using if you want to game without hiccups at 1080p.
For the most part, games will require a solid GPU, you're right. However, don't neglect the importance of a good CPU. My Fx 8320 is overclocked to 4.4Ghz and it still doesn't beat my good friends 2500k (non overclocked, cause he's that guy). You would be much better off with any i5, i7, or Xeon you can get your hands on that is part of the 3-4 most recent Intel generations. If you're buying new, I would buy a 4690k or 6600k, assuming you're overclocking with that liquid cooler. If not, you could grab a 4460, 6500, 6600, etc. There are definitely options that will far surpass AMD's FX series at this point.
The reason I mention Intel's Haswell series, 4xxx, is because if you have DDR3 ram you can to reuse or have access to a motherboard you wouldn't have to buy new, they are still solid options. Skylake isn't miles ahead of Haswell as some may have you believe.

Bottom line, get a solid CPU and GPU. If you play open world games where things are preloaded, get a good CPU for sure. If you play mostly small map based games, you will be fine with a lower end CPU and higher GPU. I would recommend you look at different benchmarks for the games you want to play to see what people have found works best.

 

[codee500]

2+ year owner of an Fx 8320.

I would not recommend AMD at this time. Pretty much any i5, all the way back to Sandy Bridge (2xxx series) has better single core performance. Coming to the Skylake, 6xxx, series you're getting miles ahead of AMD. Until we see where Zen sits performance and price wise, AMD isn't worth using if you want to game without hiccups at 1080p.
For the most part, games will require a solid GPU, you're right. However, don't neglect the importance of a good CPU. My Fx 8320 is overclocked to 4.4Ghz and it still doesn't beat my good friends 2500k (non overclocked, cause he's that guy). You would be much better off with any i5, i7, or Xeon you can get your hands on that is part of the 3-4 most recent Intel generations. If you're buying new, I would buy a 4690k or 6600k, assuming you're overclocking with that liquid cooler. If not, you could grab a 4460, 6500, 6600, etc. There are definitely options that will far surpass AMD's FX series at this point.
The reason I mention Intel's Haswell series, 4xxx, is because if you have DDR3 ram you can to reuse or have access to a motherboard you wouldn't have to buy new, they are still solid options. Skylake isn't miles ahead of Haswell as some may have you believe.

Bottom line, get a solid CPU and GPU. If you play open world games where things are preloaded, get a good CPU for sure. If you play mostly small map based games, you will be fine with a lower end CPU and higher GPU. I would recommend you look at different benchmarks for the games you want to play to see what people have found works best.

What combo for CPU and motherboard would you recommend? I'm more set on intel now - is there a major benefit from the 6400-6600? Can the 6400 be overclocked? I'm looking to play a lot of open world games like GTA etc.

 

[nikoli707]

the i5-6500 has excellent balance and it can be overclocked on some motherboards with the correct bios.

 

[breek]

2+ year owner of an Fx 8320.

I would not recommend AMD at this time. Pretty much any i5, all the way back to Sandy Bridge (2xxx series) has better single core performance. Coming to the Skylake, 6xxx, series you're getting miles ahead of AMD. Until we see where Zen sits performance and price wise, AMD isn't worth using if you want to game without hiccups at 1080p.
For the most part, games will require a solid GPU, you're right. However, don't neglect the importance of a good CPU. My Fx 8320 is overclocked to 4.4Ghz and it still doesn't beat my good friends 2500k (non overclocked, cause he's that guy). You would be much better off with any i5, i7, or Xeon you can get your hands on that is part of the 3-4 most recent Intel generations. If you're buying new, I would buy a 4690k or 6600k, assuming you're overclocking with that liquid cooler. If not, you could grab a 4460, 6500, 6600, etc. There are definitely options that will far surpass AMD's FX series at this point.
The reason I mention Intel's Haswell series, 4xxx, is because if you have DDR3 ram you can to reuse or have access to a motherboard you wouldn't have to buy new, they are still solid options. Skylake isn't miles ahead of Haswell as some may have you believe.

Bottom line, get a solid CPU and GPU. If you play open world games where things are preloaded, get a good CPU for sure. If you play mostly small map based games, you will be fine with a lower end CPU and higher GPU. I would recommend you look at different benchmarks for the games you want to play to see what people have found works best.

What combo for CPU and motherboard would you recommend? I'm more set on intel now - is there a major benefit from the 6400-6600? Can the 6400 be overclocked? I'm looking to play a lot of open world games like GTA etc.

Like I said, I have an FX 8320. At 4.4Ghz, paired with a GTX 770, I can run GTA V "fine". Pretty long loading screens, also due to it being saved on a HDD, and stutter with high render distance on (it's so hard to not have it on high, I always have to see endlessly). If you could throw me a budget and if you actually want to overclock, because that does add a rather large amount of $ for not a huge benefit (overclocking my 8320 was definitely noticeable in WoW).

Here are two recommendations:

If you don't plan on OCing.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($63.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($379.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Jet)
Total: $902.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-19 11:54 EST-0500

If you do plan on OCing.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($26.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW DT GAMING ACX 3.0 Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Jet)
Total: $1072.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-19 12:10 EST-0500

You'll see there isn't a huge price difference (~15%). The theory behind my choices are getting you high quality parts either way, with one build letting you push the CPU and GPU. Also, I believe every build (nowadays) should have an SSD with how cheap they've become and how much of a difference they make. You can also swap some parts around. For example, get a 30GB SSD if you would only use it for your OS. Drop the HDD if you would want just the SSD for now and upgrade later. You could shave off some dollars here and there, but no matter what you switch I would double check you're getting quality parts (mobo and PSU especially).