Which is easier - OC Intel or Ryzen?

[vwcrusher]

OC newbie here - seems that from a performance perspective (gaming and some photo editing) both the i7-8700k and R7-2700x are very close.

I plan on some mild overclocking on the CPU, RAM and GPU, and as I haven't done this before, are there any differences in the procedure for Intel and AMD?

Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Lutfij]

They are different ofc, due to their architecture and how things are labelled in the BIOS. If we're here to answer which one is easier to overclock, y take would be, both are simple provided you know what you're doing. A fool, stumbling in the dark, will think the world is out to get him. A smart bloke, in the dark, will rather feel his way and tread carefully.

So that being said, mind sharing your platform specs like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

 

[vwcrusher]

They are different ofc, due to their architecture and how things are labelled in the BIOS. If we're here to answer which one is easier to overclock, y take would be, both are simple provided you know what you're doing. A fool, stumbling in the dark, will think the world is out to get him. A smart bloke, in the dark, will rather feel his way and tread carefully.

So that being said, mind sharing your platform specs like so:
CPU: i7-3770 3.4GHz
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V
Ram: 16GB DDR3
SSD/HDD: Samsung 830 256GB (OS and Apps), 1TB WD Black HDD 7200RPM
GPU: EVGA GTX 650 ti boost
PSU: Seasonic Focus+ 650W Gold*
Chassis: FD Define R6*
OS: W10 Pro 64bit

Thanks for the reply....regarding platform, I will list current system. I have started upgrading some line items (*).
Thanks!

 

[grimfox]

For a basic overclock Intel is as simple as picking a couple of daisies. I don't have experience with Ryzen processors. On my 6600k I used ASUS overclocking software to turn up the multiplier until it stopped being stable. Then I went into the BIOS and changed it there to make it permanent. (and uninstalled the ASUS software) On my 6600k I went from stock to 4400MHz stable 24/7. My understanding is that the 8000 series don't typically have as much headroom but run at higher clocks by default.

What I've read about Ryzen is that the infinity fabric benefits from higher speed memory. So for better overclocks faster ram is beneficial. Intel systems don't seem to care as much. In general though I think intel systems are more expensive. So you spend a little more on ram or a little more on the Intel brand.

If you were going to be doing video editing or heavy design work I would suggest going with intel as you could get a larger volume of "slow" ram for the money vs ryzen where you might have to shell out a lot more for the same amount of ram at a higher speed.

But like I said I'm not an authority on the cost/benefit/OC-ability differences between amd and intel. If anyone has any corrections or expansions I'd be interested to hear them.

 

[CountMike]

2700x on an b450/x470 MB you practically don't have to OC at all, XFR2 and PB2 (Performance boost) work very well with good cooling. Ryzen will not OC much if any over it's boost frequency, should be about 4.2-4.3GHz and when needed it will boost on all cores.
YMMW because of (Silicone lottery) but in my experience with this setup, benchmark scores are only up to 5% better when OC is set to 4.225GHz (best all stable frequency I could get) than let all on auto with XFR2 and PB2 doing it's job. Hardly noticeable in normal use. In a game it may mean 1 FPS !!!

 

[vwcrusher]

2700x on an b450/x470 MB you practically don't have to OC at all, XFR2 and PB2 (Performance boost) work very well with good cooling. Ryzen will not go much if any over it's boost frequency, should be about 4.2-4.3GHz and when needed it will boost on all cores.
YMMW because of (Silicone lottery) but in my experience with this setup, benchmark scores are only up to 5% better when OS is set to 4.225GHz (best all stable frequency I could get) that let all on auto with XFR2 and PB2 doing it's job. Hardly noticeable in normal use. In a game it may mean 1 FPS !!!

Thanks for the reply.
I guess that means that Intel may be the better path?
Even though initial expenditure is higher?

 

[CountMike]

Better path if you really must OC but I don't know why would you do that if it can boost high enough all by itself. If it was a non-x model than OC makes more sense. As I have it set now, it beats i7 8700k scores when OC-ed up to 4.8 -4.9GHz OC in multi-core tests and trails by small percentage in single thread performance. My last CB score is 1964 points and PT test 18890 points.

 

[vwcrusher]

Better path if you really must OC but I don't know why would you do that if it can boost high enough all by itself. If it was a non-x model than OC makes more sense. As I have it set now, it beats i7 8700k scores when OC-ed up to 4.8 -4.9GHz OC in multi-core tests and trails by small percentage in single thread performance. My last CB score is 1964 points and PT test 18890 points.

Oh, my bad. I thought the 'x' version of the AMD CPU was 'equivalent' to the 'k' version of the Intel CPU.
Ouch.....does that change any of the analysis/recommendations?

 

[CountMike]

All Ryzen are unlocked but X are binned higher and that's why they achieve better OC and higher boost. That doesn't change anything unless you want to OC competitively. In that case delidded Intel would OC higher. Otherwise they are at average of about same performance for all practical purposes.

 

[vwcrusher]

All Ryzen are unlocked but X are binned higher and that's why they achieve better OC and higher boost. That doesn't change anything unless you want to OC competitively. In that case delidded Intel would OC higher. Otherwise they are at average of about same performance for all practical purposes.

Ah, thank you.
So taking that information and the previous comments as well....perhaps an AMD 'x' path would be at least equal to that of OC'd 8700k, simpler from an oc'ing perspective (at least for the CPU), and less expensive?

 

[CountMike]

Yes, something like that if you want to match price and performance, they are direct competitors in that segment.

 

[vwcrusher]

Yes, something like that if you want to match price and performance, they are direct competitors in that segment.

So taking that into account, for my specific needs:
- easy to overclock (if needed)
- future proof
- GTX 1070 ti or 1080 (will wait for 2070, but probably not practical)
- not necessarily budget sensitive
- games and photo editing (keep in mind 2560 x 1440 60Hz IPS panel)
- quality and reliability of components
- What haven't I asked? lol

Could you please suggest which path I should pursue (AMD / Intel)?

 

[CountMike]

No problem with either feeding those GPUs, not even RTX 2080Ti. Just give them enough fast RAM (Ryzen specially likes them) and you're off to proverbial races. That's for games of course, for graphic work you may not need go that far with GPU.

 

[vwcrusher]

No problem with either feeding those GPUs, not even RTX 2080Ti. Just give them enough fast RAM (Ryzen specially likes them) and you're off to proverbial races. That's for games of course, for graphic work you may not need go that far with GPU.

Thanks...If I understand this correctly (and that is in doubt), the 2700x kind of overclocks itself, while the 2700 doesn't.
From a strictly performance point of view, it seems that one can eek out a little more performance from the 2700. If that is true for me it is frankly not worth the risk and effort....as overclocking for me is not a hobby.

For the 8700 it is not OC'able and will lag the performance of the 2700x....yes?
If all this is true (and I would really appreciate validation) the 2700x seems like a good solution for me.

 

[CountMike]

Non-x also has turbo but doesn't go as far although it might if OC is forced. Turbo on it is up to 4.1GHz and also starts at lower frequency, 3.2GHZ vs 4.2GHz + for X model. They are actually same CPU but x is higher binned at factory.

 

[vwcrusher]

Non-x also has turbo but doesn't go as far although it might if OC is forced. Turbo on it is up to 4.1GHz and also starts at lower frequency, 3.2GHZ vs 4.2GHz + for X model. They are actually same CPU but x is higher binned at factory.

I suppose the obvious question is: does the i7-8700 non-k do the same internal overclocking as the 2700x?

 

[CountMike]

Yes, if all is left at auto, they will all change frequency depending on load as well as activate/deactivate (park) some cores.

 

[vwcrusher]

Yes, if all is left at auto, they will all change frequency depending on load as well as activate/deactivate (park) some cores.

Thanks @CountMike,

So it seems that I will go the AMD way......I put together a strawman build that I would love your thoughts on:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2BzCgw

Note: haven't decided on whether I need liquid cooling or not, so I included both.
the pricing with 0's are items I already have.

thanks again

 

[CountMike]

You most probably don't need liquid cooling, at full OC and load it's about 130W of TDP. You also gonna need a motherboard. My Asus Prime x470 pro is holding great.