Which build is better? Intel or AMD

Jan 20, 2019
3
0
10
Hello everyone.
I'm in need of a new rig and have put together two systems for a budget of $250. My hard drive is being reused. So, is not currently needed. These PC's will be mostly used for watching YouTube/Netflix in 1080p. Downloading (legal) games and movies,and light gaming. The most demanding titles I play are Minecraft, GTA 5, and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Build 1:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/KCOJ3XKIT3PS
Note: I will be replacing the celeron with an i3 8100 later on.

Build 2:
DIYPC DIY-F2-P Black / Purple SPCC MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-353-097&Ignorebbr=true
I found.

ASRock B450M-HDV AM4 AMD Promontory B450 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard , https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-157-842&Ignorebbr=true

Same power supply And RAM

CPU: AMD A8-9600 Bristol Ridge Quad-Core 3.1 GHz Socket AM4 65W AD9600AGABBOX Desktop Processor Radeon R7 , https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2F86570539&Ignorebbr=true
What one is the best value per dollar performance wise?
 
Solution
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M-HDV Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($68.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg Business)
Case: Thermaltake - Versa H15 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($25.05 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $313.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-21 10:43 EST-0500

If possible I would do something like this...
I looked AMD better myself. Plus socket am4 is supposed to be supported through next year. This is just my opinion, but if you are spending for the AMD setup, spend another 25 or 30 dollars and get the ryzen 3 2200g. Much much better than the current cpu you have listed and just go toe to toe with the i3.

If going ryzen however, ryzen does like faster ram, so if you can find ddr4 3000 or better for a similar price, go that route.
 
I would suggest going Ryzen 3 2200g as well. you'll be happier with the performance. I'd say start at a minimum of 2933 on the DDR4 RAM speed, but get the fastest you can afford and that the motherboard supports. If faster is cheaper, don't worry too much, grab it and just run as fast as the MoBo will allow. Speaking of Motherboards... ASRock, outside of their Tai-Chi series, are not that great. Their biggest weakness there is in weak voltage regulation.
 

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M-HDV Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($68.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg Business)
Case: Thermaltake - Versa H15 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($25.05 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $313.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-21 10:43 EST-0500

If possible I would do something like this for a good performance increase and you have the future option of dropping in a dedicated gpu in the future for further performance without really doing anything else.

I did 16gb of ram to keep the cheaper motherboard with dual ram slots instead of paying for 4 slot ram motherboard to allow the future upgrade. Small price difference between the two options but it can help you further down the line.

The case is capable of taking more fans and providing good cooling if needed. In stock form it should be sufficient for this build.
 
Solution
Jan 20, 2019
3
0
10

That's a really nice build. The Asrock B450M-HDV motherboard is a solid choice, I'm just worried that when Ryzen 3000 launches that I would have to switch to a new chip set, and all this money would be wasted. That's one of the reasons I don't like Intel, yes they have good chips, but force you to upgrade your board every year, and I don't have the money to do that. I want something that's going to last at least 2-4 years,
 

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515
With a GPU upgrade latter down the line 2 years is a cakewalk, and I see 4 years as doable. Though any longer you may need an overclocked cpu and another GPU upgrade.

I’m running an AMD 750k (on par with Fx 4300), originally paired up with a 650 gtx, than this year I finally threw in a 1050gtx and I’m gaming just fine. This is it’s just 8gb of ram. The original build was in 2013 I believe.

If the goal is to just run the game than the requirements aren’t as high, which for your current budget from the looks of it this should be the goal with trying to leave an easy path for future upgrades.

The build I posted I would save up money after you get it and than drop money on something like a 1060gtx, radeon580, or something along those lines when you want to. There is little need to replace it with a higher end CPU for gaming as your more GPU bound, and you are able to do some overclocking on the stock heatsink if need be.

There will always be a bottleneck, so you have to accept that and try to make things balanced. A new Ryzen sounds good, but it’s stated for the 2nd half of the year and there is no telling when the ones with the integrated gpu will debute. Than upon release it will probably be a question of tracking down a newer more expensive board that will support it or tracking down an older one which has the bios update to support it. So keep that in mind if you plan to wait for it’s release.

I encounter this issue when this 2ng generation of Ryzens were released. Motherboard prices where higher than I wanted and tracking down a cheaper board with ryzen support was doable but more difficult so I settled for upgrading my current system than a full rebuild, so my goal is to hold out till am5 socket is released to do a full rebuild.
 
Yeah, I would not consider either of those builds in the first post. The Celeron in particular would not have playable performance in a game like GTA V, as it's only a dual core design with poor integrated graphics performance. And that AMD A8 is based on AMD's pre-Ryzen architecture, which just doesn't hold up well to their current offerings. If you want to play some recent games on integrated graphics, the 2200G would probably be the lowest you would want to go.

Something to keep in mind though, is that especially with integrated graphics, you'll want to make sure the performance of your RAM is relatively good. A dual-channel (2 stick) kit of DDR4-3000 like assasin32 listed is probably a good idea, since that will have a positive impact on graphics performance. And make sure you set it to use that rated speed in the motherboard BIOS.