Intel i5 or AMD FX-8350

Munster D 187

Hi Lads, this is my set up: AMD FX-6300 Prozessor,
ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0, AM3+, ATX Motherboard
Club 3D Radeon HD 7950 13Series, 3GB GDDR5, AMD
8GB G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 RAM
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W PSU

I would like to upgrade my cpu but i can't decide which processor to go with ?!
This build is generally used for gaming and graphic design.
Can anyone advice me on which processor is the best to go with for my needs and what website to buy from?
Thanks very much in advance.

srsly78

Intel. Only go with AMD if money is a problem, or you benefit from 8 cores (most stuff does not).

Munster D 187

sugarman wrote: »

AMD, if you go for the Intel you will also need a new motherboard.

Its also dirt cheap and out performs the i5.

Really depends on what you want it for and how much you're willing to spend.

I'd prob personally go Intel, but if I already had your setup I'd go for the amd.

Last I looked it was cheapest on Amazon too.

The FX 8350 out performs the i5, really? for gaming ?
If i did go with the i5, what motherboard would be the best fit for my build?
By the way, thanks very much lads for the fast replies.

Munster D 187

sugarman wrote: »

Prob not so much in gaming, but defiantely for design/rendering given the 8 thru cores. Benchmarks online suggests it edges the i5, but that's not taking onto account over clocking. Intel over clock much better too and they cooler given they use less watts.

Its all down to personal preference, budget and use,

I'd go for a z97 motherboard with the 4670k myself.

Sound man, i think i will go with that i5. Would you be able to recommend a particular z97 motherboard model? And is my power supply sufficient and would i need an after thought cooler for the i5 ?

Monotype

Can you just buy a decent heatsink and overclock if you haven't already?

BloodBath

The 8350 is also 4 cores really with something similar to hyperthreading. The FX range is simply dated now. I wouldn't touch them anymore even for budget builds the Haswell i3s are simply better choices than the FX-6300 imo.

Per core performance is around 50% higher on Haswell compared to the FX at similar clock speeds. Not to mention less than half the power consumption.

Go with an intel.

Gehad_JoyRider

i use an 8350, for Photoshop / bridge light room and premier pro and its great, get and Asus 990fx saber-tooth don't bother with any other board its a brilliant board.
I've 550 watt psu but im sure other will tell you if you need mooore power.

Productivity wise I think it great

BloodBath

It's not a bad processor by any means but the savings made are usually spent elsewhere, like the board, power supply and cooler. Not to mention the much lower power consumption on the intels that could save you €50 a year on your electricity bills.

You also can't go matx or mitx with high powered fx chips.

You can get a cheap as chips board like the Asrock H81-M with a Haswell Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 if you want muscle on the cheap.

Gehad_JoyRider

theres a few videos on this site about it tooo.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNovoA9w0KnxyDP5bGrOYzg

I'd like to point out that I had a problem with a mouse I had and they wernt going to give me a new one but i threatened to email the tv guy about the mouse as he reviewed and I got a mouse with in 3 working days.

BloodBath

Per core performance on the Haswells is around 50% higher than the FX processors. With most games using only 2-4 cores you will have better performance on an intel in many. You just don't see this as most games are gpu limited long before they are cpu limited.

That's why even an i3 or pentium will pull similar frame rates to i7's in a lot of games. In the long run though that extra power will come into play.

For productivity the xeon has you covered as well. Hyper Threading gives a nice boost to anything that can utilise the full 8 threads.

-edit-

Just noticed the op has a 450w psu. He's already pushing it tight with a 6300 and 7950. I'd say around 350w stock speeds. Overclocking or upgrading to an 8350 would be pushing it to its limits and well outside efficiency ranges. 40-70% of capacity is the sweet spot.

Munster D 187

BloodBath wrote: »

Per core performance on the Haswells is around 50% higher than the FX processors. With most games using only 2-4 cores you will have better performance on an intel in many. You just don't see this as most games are gpu limited long before they are cpu limited.

That's why even an i3 or pentium will pull similar frame rates to i7's in a lot of games. In the long run though that extra power will come into play.

For productivity the xeon has you covered as well. Hyper Threading gives a nice boost to anything that can utilise the full 8 threads.

-edit-

Just noticed the op has a 450w psu. He's already pushing it tight with a 6300 and 7950. I'd say around 350w stock speeds. Overclocking or upgrading to an 8350 would be pushing it to its limits and well outside efficiency ranges. 40-70% of capacity is the sweet spot.

so with all that said Bloodbath, you reckon i should upgrade my PSU when i upgrade my CPU and mobo ? What PSU would you recommend?
Would the Haswell Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 be as good as the i5 for gaming ?

BloodBath

If you go with the 8350 then yes I would.

If you go with the xeon then you could get away with it, unless you plan on going for something like an R9 290 in future.

Around 600w has you covered for any potential upgrades and keeping it in the sweet spot for efficiency.

Monotype

Do you actually need to upgrade - i.e., are you noticing lag in your graphic design or do you just feel in the mood for changing something?

A new Intel system would be better if you have the cash to spend, but what you have is by no means bad. I'd get an overhaul at a later time if there's no real hurry and save for the moment.

Have you got an SSD in there?

Munster D 187

Monotype wrote: »

Do you actually need to upgrade - i.e., are you noticing lag in your graphic design or do you just feel in the mood for changing something?

A new Intel system would be better if you have the cash to spend, but what you have is by no means bad. I'd get an overhaul at a later time if there's no real hurry and save for the moment.

Have you got an SSD in there?

I have not experienced any lag with image design but I'm progressing now into video editing and design. I have a 60gb ssd with the OS on it and a few other programs like Xbmc. Would the xeon perform better in the long run than the i5?

pineapplesoft

Monotype wrote: »

Do you actually need to upgrade - i.e., are you noticing lag in your graphic design or do you just feel in the mood for changing something?

A new Intel system would be better if you have the cash to spend, but what you have is by no means bad. I'd get an overhaul at a later time if there's no real hurry and save for the moment.

Have you got an SSD in there?

Less heat, better power consumtion, quieter cooler are some possible reasons.

Monotype

Munster D 187 wrote: »

I have not experienced any lag with image design but I'm progressing now into video editing and design. I have a 60gb ssd with the OS on it and a few other programs like Xbmc. Would the xeon perform better in the long run than the i5?

Yes, the Xeon has hyper-threading. More like a server equivalent of an i7 4770. It doesn't have integrated graphics, though if you have a dedicated card, it's not going to matter much.

The Crucial MX100 SSDs are very competitive at the moment if you want some more SSD space. The Samsung Evo is coming down too in response.

pineapplesoft wrote: »

Less heat, better power consumtion, quieter cooler are some possible reasons.

And spending over €300 is a reason not to, I'm just asking the question to ensure that that it's money spent well. It's not going to be night and day in a lot of applications, but heavy video encoding etc., would be a reason to switch.

Munster D 187

Thanks very much lads for all your help, i really appreciate it.
Apart from Hardwareversand website, is there any other site i should try to order the Xeon cpu?

Monotype

scan.co.uk, dabs.ie, overclockers.co.uk are some of the main UK sites worth checking out.