Which proc is better to game with?

[TweakTweakerson]

Edit: I apologize if this is too big. 🙁 I am told I go into detail too much.

So I am new to this site and love how informative it is!!! Just some insight before I get into my question. I have built a couple pc's before (a hackintosh and some office desktops) but I have never personally bought them. It was basically given to me to build because that was my job at the time. This was about four years ago so I am a little dated on stuff. So I do have a basic understanding of computers and how they work but I am by no means a tech.

My question is simple. What would be a better buy and why? Please don't give me your biased opinions as I have already read too many and am quiet confused by the arguing that commenced. I was looking at building a gaming rig with an intel i5 4670k and an ASUS z87-a LGA 1150 motherboard. When I told this to my friend and we priced it out I was a little bummed out at the overall price. He (he has an AMD machine)said that I need to go with AMD and it is more cost effective. I shunned him off as everyone I have talked with has told me to go with an Intel. "Easier to build", "Less of a headache" and so forth. I originally decided on Intel after consulting this website.

However I went to Tiger DIrect today (the physical store) and after talking to a sales associate he told me that overall AMD is better because of the fact that they (forgive me if I'm wrong, I don't remember his exact words) use openGL for their processors which is better. There is less bottlenecking because basically their graphics properties are better. He recommended that I buy an AMD FX 8350 and compliment it with the ASUS a99fx pro. It has 8 cores (instead of 4 cores) and out of the box has 4GHz (compared to 3.4GHz).

Once again after consulting Tom's Heirarchy and a couple other websites I am torn between what to get. I am saving up for this build so I don't mind spending the extra money for the Intel but then again I'm not wanting to spend $1,000 for a gaming rig I will be playing mostly fps shooters on (CS:GO, DayZ, Arma III just to name a few). If you could please help me sort this out I would be very happy and less stressed. After all half the fun is putting together the build you want to make. As I have stated please don't be biased. I don't need to know that you have owned AMD or Intel your whole gaming life. That is not important to me. If you have used Intel AND AMD and you can give me an educated response on what performed better and what form of cooling you used it would greatly help me as I am also looking at either water cooled or traditional heatsinks.

Thanks!

 

[CTurbo]

No AMD is not better. The reason your Intel build was so expensive is that you were trying to overclock which is not a cost effective option. You should be looking at an i5 4570 + B85 or H87 build with a video card like the R9 270x, GTX760, R9 280x, or GTX770 depending on your budget.

What is you budget, what parts, if any, do you already have, and what resolution will you be gaming on?

 

[Gam3r01]

This is the simplest way to put it, and I recommend explaining it to everyone this way:
AMD processors are cheaper, and are better in their price range. (Under 160)
Intel rules the high end market, AMD simply cant compete with high end Intel, but you pay for the performance.

If you are on a budget, AMD is the way to go. If you want performance and dont mind paying Intel.
The 8350 cant compete with the 4670k.

 

[CTurbo]

This would be great for $826

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3An5m
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3An5m/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3An5m/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($67.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $826.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-28 21:04 EDT-0400)

- $60 for a good R9 270x
+ $60 for a good R9 280x
+ $73 for a good GTX770
+ $160 for a good R9 290


I would probably go for the 770 for right at $900

 

[TweakTweakerson]

No AMD is not better. The reason your Intel build was so expensive is that you were trying to overclock which is not a cost effective option. You should be looking at an i5 4570 + B85 or H87 build with a video card like the R9 270x, GTX760, R9 280x, or GTX770 depending on your budget.

What is you budget, what parts, if any, do you already have, and what resolution will you be gaming on?

My budget is less than $1000. Currently my boss has given me an older 8800gts and has said I can get another fairly cheap online and SLI them and it would pretty much run the games I want to play. That is basically all I have at the moment. I understand that it will be pricey because this is for gaming. But I want to do things right so I will be saving for what I need, so in a way there really isn't a priceline. Also, thank you for the setup you have done for me below. But why not the 4670k. Is overclocking overrated? I will be picking up a moniter from tiger direct that is a Hannspree (H94-2304 is it worth it?) but if I find a better deal I will more than likely pick it up. A monitor isn't a priority due to the fact I will be buying parts first.

 

[CTurbo]

Overclocking is not worth it, especially on a tight budget. The 4570 in particular is more than strong enough for any task. The 4670k itself is $30 more than the 4570. Then you have to pay more for a Z87 motherboard that supports overclocking which will be about $30 more than the B85 I chose.(and those are the cheaper ones) THEN you have to buy an aftermarket cooler like the $29 Cooler Master 212 Evo. That's $89 extra for performance that you don't need and likely won't even feel. That $89 is better spent upgrading to a stronger video card like the GTX770 above is only $73 more. Or that $89 would get you a very good 120-128GB ssd for windows. Now THAT is a performance boost that you will notice. OR, $89 gets you a 2TB hard drive, ORRRRR you could just save that $89 since it truly isn't necessary.


That $826 build above would be great in gaming

 

[Gam3r01]

That is the best way to explain overclocking.
My Phenom II needed the overclock im running to keep my 760 from bottlenecking, buying a processor like that, not so much.

 

[WhiteSnake91]

it all depends on how much eye candy you want, before I got my gpu I used the integrated intel hd4000 and played anything I wanted on 720p low settings. Compare Battlefield 4 on Xbox 360 vs PC on ultra maxed out 1080p.

Intel is better if you're trying for constant 60fps on ultra settings. I know Arma isn't very well threaded nor is Day Z so honestly I'd go intel if you're going to be playing them alot. AMD is just really good for the money on a budget. The fx6300 at $120 and fx8320 at ~$150 are good buys, but at anything above that, I'd just get an i5.

I haven't personally built an AMD desktop for myself, but I built my bro one using an A10 5800k which he later upgraded with a GTX 660ti and I can't tell much of a difference between the two.

Are you wanting to max everything out? On a budget you could probably go with an fx6300, and gtx 750ti, and corsair builder psu, and 8gb of ram.

SSD is nice for a fast bootup time but isn't mandatory. At ~$70 I'd personally get a 120gb just for the OS and a couple games at least though. It's more a fact of being spoiled by them.

 

[mohit9206]

This thread is awesome and i agree with CTurbo's $826 build.Dont bother with the 8800gts that your boss gave you because it will perform poorly in games that you want to play and will also run very hot.
Go with i5-3570 +B85 or H87 mobo with gtx 760 or r9 270x and you will be very satisfied with the performance.

 

[JOOK-D]

This thread is awesome and i agree with CTurbo's $826 build.Dont bother with the 8800gts that your boss gave you because it will perform poorly in games that you want to play and will also run very hot.
Go with i5-3570 +B85 or H87 mobo with gtx 760 or r9 270x and you will be very satisfied with the performance.

I'm guessing you meant i5 4570. 😛

 

[gamerk316]

However I went to Tiger DIrect today (the physical store) and after talking to a sales associate he told me that overall AMD is better because of the fact that they (forgive me if I'm wrong, I don't remember his exact words) use openGL for their processors which is better. There is less bottlenecking because basically their graphics properties are better. He recommended that I buy an AMD FX 8350 and compliment it with the ASUS a99fx pro. It has 8 cores (instead of 4 cores) and out of the box has 4GHz (compared to 3.4GHz).

False on all counts.

Both Intel and AMD can process OpenGL calls if the game in question uses it, which few do.
While AMD has more physical cores clocked at a higher speed, they do less work over the same timeframe. As a result, for gaming, Intel pretty much ALWAYS faster. Hence the extra cost associated with going Intel.

 

[TweakTweakerson]

Thanks guys for all the input. I have decided I will not settle for anything less than Intel. After doing more research I do understand what everybody has brought to the table. I want this computer to last a while. I will not be needing an optical drive as I can just borrow one from work when needed. As far as the cpu goes is the i5 4570 the same as the i5 4670k in terms of performance (I like the 3.4GHz). I want the best because I'm willing to pay, as well as not wanting to have to replace it any time soon. As far as Mobo is concerned I need a trusted brand that isn't cheap. Price doesn't matter as long as it's below $200. I don't need anything like Asus ROG or any overkill like that. I'm not a pro gamer......yet. lol. For the cases/cooling I will be getting a HAF case (more than likely Cooler Master HAF 912 sounds good right?) and I was thinking liquid because a kid at work who has built gaming machines was saying it keeps it cooler and it won't run the fans as much saving on electricity. Thanks for the ram choice. I like that. Next would be a video card. I love eye candy but I once again don't need overkill. On games with campain mode I will run it on high settings so I can drool but when it comes to multiplayer I will be turning everything down because let's face it.....I'm not as concerned with looking at the water as I am with getting the headshot from across map. For now I am playing cs:go so I can get used to the whole mouse keyboard but I think I mentioned above Arma III, Dayz and Battlefield will be the most frequented games I play. Also (turbo you might be able to answer this better) is 750w power supply overkill and would it make a difference to get it now or later due to the fact I will eventually be running dual gpu's? Thanks for the continued help guys.


Also an optical out is a must for the motherboard as I will be using Astro A40s for my headset.

 

[CTurbo]

The i5 4570 is not quite as strong as the 4670k, but the 4670k is not worth the extra $40 something. The difference is just 200mhz at stock speeds, and if you want to overclock, that $40 extra becomes $120-150 extra. The 4570 is just a better value plain and simple.

You need 750-900w if you want to run two gpus later.


What is your actual budget? Whatever build I put together is going to look almost exactly like my $826 build above except for maybe the case if you like the Cooler Maser HAF 912.

 

[TweakTweakerson]

I see. Thank you turbo. It's not really the budget as much as I'm going to be putting $200 aside each month (but if i have to put a price on it I would say between $900-$1000). I am currently using an i5 laptop to play cs:go and I have an xbone so getting the computer built right away is not a major concern. Gpu is honestly the last thing I will be purchasing unless I come across a crazy deal. I will be pooling my money together for that reason.I already did a little bit of a build with the z87 and 4670k with some ram, psu, liquid cooler and case but did not include os or hdd. It was around $750. My thing is trusted brands. I don't want to go with brands I haven't heard of strictly because I don't want to run into any issues. I understand you are very well rated amongst the people here turbo so if you give me your honest opinion and why I will go with it.

 

[CTurbo]

Well I'm not going to recommend a bad brand. Tell me which brands you are comfortable with, and are you insisting on getting the Z87 + 4670k?

 

[TweakTweakerson]

Well I know the most popular ones. You mention ASrock but I haven't really heard that much of them so I was kinda weary. Just so you know I work for a refurbished laptop parts company so that's where most of my knowledge is from. This however is my first pc to build in about 7 years so I'm dated on desktops like I said. I'm not locked in with the 4670k but the idea of being able to clock it if I need to makes me feel a little better. So in a way I would like to stick with the 4670k. I feel more comfortable. the extra bit of money is fine by me.

 

[CTurbo]

ASRock has been around a long time and is equal to Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte. I just cannot recommend a 4670k setup to overclock in a build under $1000. You will be giving up graphics power and/or quality in order to overclock. Compare these two builds.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CViX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CViX/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CViX/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($192.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.44 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B BRONZE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $895.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-03 00:30 EDT-0400)


vs


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CVtd
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CVtd/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CVtd/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($108.89 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.44 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270X 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($179.99 @ TigerDirect)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B BRONZE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $896.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-03 00:36 EDT-0400)


Which one do you think is better? To allow for overclocking, you would drop from a GTX770, to a R9 270x. Not to mention you will have a hotter and louder system after overclocking. The difference between the 770 and 270x is huge. For the record, 770 > 280x > 760 > 270x -that is a lot of tiers to drop just to have overclocking.