AMD or Intel?

KiltedCowboy

KiltedCowboy

Well-Known Member
I am looking to build my own gaming computer, entry level, and I still have questions about who is better (AMD or Intel). Mainly, what are the main advantages/disadvantages of each? Also, I have two possible builds, each utilizing a different CPU. Anyone willing to look over these and give me their opinion would be appreciated.

(Oh, and I already have the optical drive, operating system, and memory taken care of)

For the Intel CPU-run computer;

https://t9k.me/2Yg


For the AMD-run computer;

https://t9k.me/2Yh

Patrick-Star-Smashing-A-Computer-On-Spongebob-Squarepants.gif
 
Intel CPUs are complicated to overclock unless they're the "unlocked" versions (signified by a K following the product number [ie. Intel-4770K]). All new AMD CPUs are pretty easy to overclock. Other than that, you're gonna want to look at benchmarking websites for a cost vs speed chart to tell you what the best option for you is.
 
For gaming, Intel has better single-core performance, but if you're going to be video editing and can't afford an i7, AMD is perfect for it. So it all matters what you'll be doing.

In your case, the i3 is dual-core with hyperthreading, while the 4300 is a true quad-core. But I would replace the 4300 with an Athlon X4 750K, which is essentially an A10 APU without integrated graphics. It's cheaper and offers similar performance to the 4300.

But since you'll be mainly gaming, I would go with the i3 for the better performance per core.
 
Both builds are really pushing your luck on gaming.

The Intel 750Ti build is better, I'd suggest getting an i5 if you can?
 
My main obstacle is money. I don't get paid too much (about 200 a week, though it fluctuates due to a not-set schedule and bills[insurance, gas, and student loans] and whatnot). I'm trying to get something that I can play decent games on while maintaining a budget of doing so. I hate being near-broke
 
KiltedCowboy said:
My main obstacle is money. I don't get paid too much (about 200 a week, though it fluctuates due to a not-set schedule and bills[insurance, gas, and student loans] and whatnot). I'm trying to get something that I can play decent games on while maintaining a budget of doing so. I hate being near-broke
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May I suggest that instead of buying now or soon, that you prolong it and stuff more money in your budget over time? This way you can get a build that you're more comfortable with?

What I see happening on both these builds is a bit of buyers remorse, and you'll very soon want better parts, which will absorb money that you could have just saved up for the initial build.

Starting from the bottom (IMO) will cost more than if you just wait and purchased something higher up the ladder.
 
I've just started looking at building a new system. My current machine was a budget PC 5 years ago and it was scraped together with parts from my old PC before that, so it's started to get a bit old and cranky. Definitely I need to get a new HDD before the 6/7 year old one I have decides to die.

I've started looking at Intel chips but I'm not sure why. Probably just because they have better brand marketing and reputation. The problem is that I can currently afford to build a fairly decent machine, but I do suffer from buyers remorse a lot and I don't think I do enough gaming to make a top range machine a worthwhile investement. That said, I'm not sure what range to aim for. Hopefully a machine that will last around 5 years so not looking to build a budget or value machine, but at the same time I don't want to go crazy on it.

So confused by what's available. Intel Core seems the way to go, and I'm told more cache is good, but not sure if it's worth going for the i7 or the i5. Or even the i3. And do I need the 16 gig of RAM I'm tempted to get??? Then there's the whole graphics card debate, though apparently one brand is a lot more expensive due to high demand from bitcoin miners...

Is it even worth buying a bluray drive when DVDRW drives are so damn cheap? When was the last time I even used an optical disc anyway?

Also, those hybrid drives look pretty nifty... but wouldn't entirely solid state be awesome??

ARGH!
 
kimbal86 said:
Intel Core seems the way to go, and I'm told more cache is good, but not sure if it's worth going for the i7 or the i5. Or even the i3.
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Cache size does not affect gaming performance enough to matter. Most modern CPU's have enough cache to run games well.

kimbal86 said:
And do I need the 16 gig of RAM I'm tempted to get???
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Unless you're video editing, running VMs a lot, or using hundreds upon hundreds of tabs in a browser, you won't need more than 8GB of RAM.

kimbal86 said:
Then there's the whole graphics card debate, though apparently one brand is a lot more expensive due to high demand from bitcoin miners...
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Actually, both Nvidia and AMD have had price drops due to new stuff coming out soon (or already coming out). It's possible to get a GTX 770 for ~$270 USD and an R9 280X for ~$240 USD.

kimbal86 said:
Is it even worth buying a bluray drive when DVDRW drives are so damn cheap? When was the last time I even used an optical disc anyway?
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DVDRW drives are pretty cheap (and Blu-ray is pointless when you can stream your movies) and so if you find yourself needing to use an optical disc, you can pick one up. But I wouldn't worry about it for now.

kimbal86 said:
Also, those hybrid drives look pretty nifty...
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I wouldn't really recommend going with a hybrid drive because they cost more than a traditional HDD and it would be better to put the money saved toward an SSD later.

kimbal86 said:
but wouldn't entirely solid state be awesome??
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Yes, but not for the budget-oriented consumer. The best bang-for-buck option would be a 1TB HDD + a 128GB SSD.

Hopefully this helps.
 
Awesome. Thanks for above response. But how much effect does memory speed have on performance? DDR4 is quite expensive.
 
kimbal86 said:
Awesome. Thanks for above response. But how much effect does memory speed have on performance? DDR4 is quite expensive.
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You won't need DDR4 because 1.) DDR4 can only be used on the X99 chipset, where processors and motherboards are hella expensive and 2.) The gaming benefits are small, and the benefits to video do not justify the cost. Generally, stick with DDR3-1600.
 
DaGamer12345 said:
You won't need DDR4 because 1.) DDR4 can only be used on the X99 chipset, where processors and motherboards are hella expensive and 2.) The gaming benefits are small, and the benefits to video do not justify the cost. Generally, stick with DDR3-1600.
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The best value in X99-compatible processors that I've seen is the Intel Core i7-5820K at about $390. It scored 2700 points higher than the i7-4770K on cpubenchmark.net. Of course, as you mentioned, one would have to dish out the same price or more for the X99 motherboard, and half that the price for the DDR4 memory. The final system is probably overkill for even graphic-rigorous games.
 
Ugh. I'm still so confused. Spent the whole weekend looking at computer parts, reviews, tech articles. Still no idea which processor to go for. The MOBO choice seems even more complicated. Blergh.
 
kimbal86 said:
Ugh. I'm still so confused. Spent the whole weekend looking at computer parts, reviews, tech articles. Still no idea which processor to go for. The MOBO choice seems even more complicated. Blergh.
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You should send a PM to JerzeyLegend. PC part picking is his hobby and he can give you good recommendations if you give him a budget. Then, you can individually research the parts he picks and make tweaks to suit your tastes/needs.
Random PC Builds thread
 
kimbal86 said:
Still no idea which processor to go for.
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Do you have a budget of any kind for the processor (or even the entire build)? The best choice would be either an i3 or an i5; however, none of the i3s can overclock, so if you're going to be overclocking, the i5 would be for you.
kimbal86 said:
The MOBO choice seems even more complicated.
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If you're not overclocking the processor, you could go with an H97 motherboard like the Asrock H97 Pro4. If you do plan to overclock, a Z97 board would be best, and an all-around suggestion I would give is the Asus Z97-A. Also, if you're overclocking, Intel's unlocked Core-series processors end with a K (i5 4690K, i7 4790K).

EDIT: Links
 
DaGamer12345 said:
Do you have a budget of any kind for the processor (or even the entire build)? The best choice would be either an i3 or an i5; however, none of the i3s can overclock, so if you're going to be overclocking, the i5 would be for you.

If you're not overclocking the processor, you could go with an H97 motherboard like the Asrock H97 Pro4. If you do plan to overclock, a Z97 board would be best, and an all-around suggestion I would give is the Asus Z97-A. Also, if you're overclocking, Intel's unlocked Core-series processors end with a K (i5 4690K, i7 4790K).

EDIT: Links
Click to expand...

I've posted in Jerzey's thread. Also, I've never even considered overclocking tbh.

4 cores on an Intel chip or 8 cores on an AMD chip?
 
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