The AMD FX-8320/8350 vs Intel i5-4460/4960K Showdown

xvantok

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So I am planning my new build and have run a cheeky wee £110 over budget on a £450 build so as you can imagine I am trying to find ways to shave off as much money as possible.
My planned setup is this:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NVwKxr

So, looking at the most expensive parts (GPU & CPU) I am Looking for ways to go for a cheaper CPUs without losing too much processing ability.
I have narrowed it down to the AMD FX-8350, AMD FX-8320, Intel i5-4460 and the i5 4690k. The i5-4690k is my ideal choice as it blows away the competition in both gaming and productivity which brings me onto what I would be using this build for:
-Gaming
(Skyrim, BF4, Garrys Mod, TF2, and yes, minecraft)
-Design
(2D & 3D Work using mainly autodesk inventor for the 3D work and AutoCAD for the 2D work)
-Animation
(both 2D & 3D work using mainly Auytodesk Maya/blender for the 3D work and some other
unknown software for 2D work)
-Content Creation
(Video rendering and editing)

I know for productivity the AMD cores win by about 20% but I know for gaming the i5s win by about 50% (at stock speeds) so it leaves me stuck as to what to do and what processer to go with.

I am also aware that my motherbard is not ideal so I am aware I need to look into that and I reckon I can get about £10-15 off there and I am aware my GPU is crazy expensive for my build and so I am debating whether to cut down on that to about an £130-140 GPU in which case I could go with the i5-4960K.

Please help me with what I should do at this point as I feel it could swing the usefulness of my build depending on what I do at this stage and I am not looking to waste £500 on something that doesn't do what I need it to do.
Cheers for the help.
 
Solution
Hello :

- Gaming : i5 wins
- AutoCAD : i5 wins for the single threaded power
- Blender, maya : FX wins by number of cores
- Video editing : FX wins by far


So you have to fix your priorities before choosing your CPU, because :
- For K CPU : Z97 mobo
- If K or AMD CPU, you should take an aftermarket cooler
- For AutoCAD, you need a Quadro
- For Blender, you need a GTX for Cycles

AHBman

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Hello :

- Gaming : i5 wins
- AutoCAD : i5 wins for the single threaded power
- Blender, maya : FX wins by number of cores
- Video editing : FX wins by far


So you have to fix your priorities before choosing your CPU, because :
- For K CPU : Z97 mobo
- If K or AMD CPU, you should take an aftermarket cooler
- For AutoCAD, you need a Quadro
- For Blender, you need a GTX for Cycles
 
Solution

delaro

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In all applications where 4 cores and under are utilized a I5 4690K will blow away everything AMD has to offer and that is before you even start to overclock. If your doing a tasks that utilizes more than 4 cores then the FX 8350/8320 will pull away but not by a large margin. For the range of software you plan on using you might want to consider a Xeon E3-1230, Xeon E3-1240V3 or Xeon E3-1241 v3 all of which run about the same price as a I5 4690K AMD blow away FX chips in the software you listed.
 

xvantok

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I can see why you would need one but I am already extremely over budget so are there anyone cheap ones you would recommend that would still get the job done until I can upgrade in 4-5 months time?
 

xvantok

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Are the xeon chips overclockable? AMD by looking at the specs they don't look any different, if not worse than the 4960K, so what what is the difference between the xeon series and the i5 series
 

Beast Mode Ben

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I agree with AHBman for his statements, and yes, you will need a aftermarket heatsink if you are using an Intel K part or an AMD FX CPU. I recommend the Cooler Master Hyper212 EVO if you are going to have a heatsink. One of my friends uses an AMD 8350 in his rig and has comparable frame rates to my Intel core i7 4770K. The Intel i5 CPUs have very similar performance numbers to the AMD counterparts, maybe a bit better. If you are going to be doing things like game streaming or video encoding and editing, the AMD FX 8350 will be perfect for your build, and should be a bit cheaper than the Intel i5 series. If you do stick with your current set-up, make sure you choose a motherboard that supports overclocking if you want to take advantage of that 'K' on the end of the i5, as I'm not sure how many of the H97 motherboards do. If you want one that will certainly support overclocking, go for a Z97 series motherboard. Personally, I use an i7 chip, but I know people that use the AMD 8-core options, and I know for a fact that they are good, high performance, quality chips that can easily be overclocked with most motherboards. I hope this helps and good luck with your build! :D
 

Sig2525

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the 280x requires a 750 watts powersupply. the i5 4460 is the best when it comes to price/performance and you can get away with a cheap h81 mobo with it as you are not able to overclock it. but better go amd build you won't notice any difference in gaming because the 280x is not that powerful compared to gtx 970/980 or r9 290/290x.
 

Karadjgne

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 V2 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£39.39 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.69 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£149.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£30.25 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£36.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £536.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-28 17:48 GMT+0000

This'll work for both design and games
 

xvantok

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That is pretty handy to know as all the bench marks and speed tests seem to love slagging off the AMD series

 
the 4690k won't help you without a Z series motherboard.
you can get by just fine with a cheap H81 board.

Raise your budget 450 is bare minimum for a GAMING PC, you'll be using your pc to make money, in the real world you'd likely be dropping 2000 on it easy.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£130.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£32.17 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.69 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card (£186.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£30.25 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£36.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £511.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-28 17:53 GMT+0000
 

Sam_crysis

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You want to play skyrim? so don't touch those AMD cpus, don't get me wrong, I still love AMD, and if they bring out something that can come close to intel cpus, I will go for AMD...the problem with those AMD cpus is that they are like a lottery, in same games they are on par with top tier Intel cpus, in some others, they can't come even close to i3 cpus... I think industry is still in favor of Intel. Rarely can you find any game or app which use all 8 cores, but if you do AMD can be slightly better, not even noticeable, as far as aftermarket cooler is concerned, you can overclock your cpu a little with the stock cooler on an Intel cpu, but if you want a good one, still budget, I suggest you buy thermalright true spirit 120m
 

xvantok

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Seriously!? it cant take a 750 watt powersupply cause A: thats crazy amounts of power and B why doesnt that show up on Pc part picker?

also the GTX 970/980 and R9 290/290x are waaaaay out of budget!
 

Sig2525

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this i would go for, except i would really love to step up that 500 watts to a 750 watts just to be safe.. :D
 

xvantok

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What kind of frames would I be getting on this rig? would it allow me to be playing HIgh settings? or play at 1080p?
 

xvantok

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Again what kind of rates would I be getting with this build?
 

DubbleClick

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When being on a tight budget, I'd either recommend the I5 4460 + h81/b85 board or amd fx 8320 + cheap board. With gaming as priority, intel is the clear winner and the I5 does support every gpu out there to get it to it's fullest. The fx 8320 clearly wins in video rendering, though, so that should be your choice if that is your priority.
If you plan on upgrading in a few months, I'd recommend to get a z97 board and a pentium g3280, though. It will do better than the amd one in most games but won't be optimal in rendering. But with the z97 board, it leaves the option to go for a broadwell I7 later. However, might as well save money and get a b85 board + xeon e3-1231v3. Basically an I7 without integrated gpu. Would be the strongest choice in all mentioned tasks.

To sum it up: I5 4460 + b85 board for now without upgrading later and gaming as priority. Amd fx 8320 with productivity as priority. Xeon e3-1231v3 +b86/h97 board as optimal choice, no upgrades needed. Or z97 + pentium to upgrade once you can.
 

xvantok

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again though, I still think 750 watts is a tad excessive even if I do overclock! (which isnt possible on the i5-4460
 

Sig2525

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depends on the game, the i5-4460 is pretty much the same with the 4690k except it has lower frequency and is not unlocked. i have the same procie and a r9 270x i play most game on ultra 1080p at 50-60 fps (farcry 4/battlefield 4/nba 2k15). i have skyrim too and the fps goes well over 70+, with your 280x im guessing 10-20 more frames than my 270x.
 

AHBman

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I choose the GTX 760, although the R9 280X is faster, but it do a great work in CUDA acceleration apps (Blender, 3DSmax .... ) dividig render time by 2, 3 or morz times
I choose also the FX for great value and good performances at midway between an i5 and i7, for gaming, according to the last Toms FX review, the FX won't bottleneck a mainstream card

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£125.00 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.54 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£62.68 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB DirectCU II Video Card (£154.73 @ Ebuyer)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£30.25 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £544.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-28 18:08 GMT+0000

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-fx-8370e-cpu,3929-7.html

63-Battlefield-4-R9-285.png
 

Sig2525

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r9 280x is only above 5-15 FPS depending on games with the gtx 760 in real time gaming.

gtx 760 will do the job at 1080p ultra settings has cuda cores helps in video rendering, will consume less power, requires less power to operate and is cheaper.

r9 280x will do the job better at 1080 ultra settings but not by a large margin, will consume more and require more power is a little expensive but it has 3gb memory and 256bit bus width.
 

Sig2525

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i'll see you try running a r9 290x on 400 watts that is a single gpu

well many says the r9 280x would run on a 500-600 watts QUALITY PSU.

manufacturer side says power requirements needs 750 watts.

is up to you to decide to go what the manufacturer says just to be safe, or just try what others have done already.
 

DubbleClick

Admirable


The 290x has an average power draw of 250w under full load with 1ms spikes to ~330w. The i5 4460 consumes around 60w power maximum (stress test). So we're at 380w. 20w for hdd's and optical drives and you're at 400w. Maximum power consumption. I'm myself running a gtx 680 and an i7 4790k, both overclocked. I get along with my 450w psu very well, have personally not seen over 350w total system power usage.
 

Sig2525

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Ram, Fan(s), CPU cooler, led strips, extra hdd, sdd and whatever peripheral he would want to add in the near future (sli/xfire). i just said just to be safe i did not say it would not work. and by the way nice info on the r9 290x now i know i won't need to upgrade my 600 watts psu just to gpu upgrade my 270x into a 280x/290x :D
 

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