Upgrade time, AMD vs Intel?

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G4m3r

77 posts

Master Geek

#114846 5-Mar-2013 09:12

Hi

I am currently looking to upgrade my desktop and I am unsure to go for a AMD or Intel system.

The AMD system would consist of:
CPU: AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz eight-core
RAM: Dual Channel DDR3 1866.

The Intel system would have:
CPU: Core i7 3770 Gen3 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz quad-core
RAM: Quad Channel DDR3 1600

My main question is whether the eight core provides any benefit with any programs today?

Would assigning certain CPU heavy programs to the upper four cores, then the windows system processes to the lower four cores allow the computer to run smoother and would it provide much of a benefit over the i7?

Dual vs quad channel RAM, Theoretically there should be a large speed increase going for the quad channel but from what I have read on the internet there is not that much of a increase. Does anyone have any experiences with the differences in RAM types?

Any general opinions on either of the systems welcome.

sidefx

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#774805 5-Mar-2013 09:30

I would probably go i7 (or even i5)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/697?vs=551

I don't generally believe in artificial benchmarks but the anandtech folk seem to give them some really careful thought.

Why not go for DDR3 1866 in the intel system though? Not really sure how much difference quad vs dual channel would make.

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G4m3r

77 posts

Master Geek

#774845 5-Mar-2013 10:15

The reason that I have not gone for 1866 RAM on the intel build is under the specs for that CPU the memory types show DDR3 1333/1600. If I'm right there is no point going above 1600 as it wont utilise the higher frequency

If I was to go i5 it would be the i5 3570K 3.4GHz .

Similar price to the AMD.

It will all come down to the budget and if I can get the i7 for not too much more and if either system is affordable enough to get a PCI express SSD with it.
Thanks for the help

noc

107 posts

Master Geek

#774898 5-Mar-2013 11:24

The difference between 1600 and 1866 RAM in the real world would be so small, it would be impossible to notice the difference during everyday use. Amount of RAM would make a difference though.

As I have mentioned on a similar post, i5 K series CPUs are very good, so + 1 for the i5.

ajobbins

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#774925 5-Mar-2013 12:21

I've always found Intel chips much easier if you run or plan to run VMs as well.

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bfginger

1268 posts

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#775800 6-Mar-2013 17:41

If you wait several months Intel will release its next generation CPU.

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#775858 6-Mar-2013 19:43

bfginger: If you wait several months Intel will release its next generation CPU.

That is always going to be the case though.

If you are rendering, you will benifit from more physical cores. If you are gaming, you will benifit from less cores with more GHz per core. If you do a bit of both, I'd probably still go for the i7 as they do better over-all in terms of performance.

AMD are great value for the money. I have an AMD Phenom 2 X6 and it still does everything I want it to.

bfginger

1268 posts

Uber Geek

#777599 10-Mar-2013 12:10

That is always going to be the case though.

It used to be but AMD is no competition for Intel in high performance anymore and Intel's development schedule has become predictable. After Haswell is released in a few months there's unlikely to be any significant upgrades from Intel until 2015 or 2016. An Ivy Bridge i7 is only a minor update on what Intel released in January 2011.

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G4m3r

77 posts

Master Geek

#777793 11-Mar-2013 00:04

So I have just done a draft of the systems which I would consider.

Intel core i7 3770 3.6GHz
ASUS P9X79
Gskill DDR3 1600 16GB
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA 3
Approx $1130

Intel core i5 3570k Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
Gskill DDR3 1600 16GB
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
Approx $920

AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-D3 8GB
Corsir Deliminator Platinum 8GB DDR3 1866
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
Approx $840

The big thing that is drawing me to the AMD system is the lower price which will allow me to upgrade a few other things in my system as well.
The i7 build is stretching the budget a bit for how much higher performance?
The i5 system seems the best for price and performance when comparing it or the i7 to the AMD system.

timmmay

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#777807 11-Mar-2013 07:40

What do you use the PC for? What software do you run?

G4m3r

77 posts

Master Geek

#777839 11-Mar-2013 10:04

Mainly university work:
Report writing
Mechanical CAD design, and simulations of fluids and mechanical stress analysis
CAD for electrical circuits and simulations
Programming
and playing a few games every so often

timmmay

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#777841 11-Mar-2013 10:07

Ok, some of that software may effective use the hyperthreaded cores. Get the i7 over the i5 if you can afford it. AMD may be a reasonable option if its cores are fast, but I know Intel tends to be quite a bit ahead for most things right now. Performance per dollar tends to be better with AMD.

Poll

343 posts

Ultimate Geek

#777861 11-Mar-2013 10:56

The Asus motherboard you have listed for the i7 is not actually compatible with an ivy bridge cpu like the i7 3770k, it is for the socket 2011 sandy bridge-e Core i7's. The Motherboard you have listed to go with the core i5 3570k will work just fine with the i7 3770k.
If you were wanting the quad channel memory then you would need to go for one of the i7 38xx or 39xx cpu's which would work with that Asus motherboard.
Unless the extra memory bandwidth is necessary or likely to give you great performance improvements then i would go for the i7 3770.

KiwiTim

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#777891 11-Mar-2013 11:38

I built an FX-8350 system for a relative a few months back. Put W8 on a samsung SSD. It goes like the clappers. You would be hard pressed to use all that power. Sure an i7 has even more power, but who really needs that much power. I have built two i5 systems recently and I think I prefer the FX-8350. I have found both the i5s and FX-8350 run fairly warm (35C - 45C). I have an Athlon II 460 triple core 3.4 Ghz in my HTPC and that runs much cooler (never above 35C) in a poorly ventilated case.

My suggestion would be save some money and go with the FX-8350, but make sure you get a quality CPU cooler and a well ventilated case. Even if you go for an i5 or an i7 I'd make the same comments about cooling.

G4m3r

77 posts

Master Geek

#777896 11-Mar-2013 11:46

opps sorry! it should be the Intel core i7 3820 3.6GHz

Just pointing it out that the AMD being 8 cores @ 4.0GHz

Was looking at buying an extra Cooler for the AMD build, something like the Cooler Master X6 as a extra upgrade

lokhor

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#777907 11-Mar-2013 12:02

Another thing worth considering is power usage, the Intel cpus will probably mean you have a much lower power usage which can save $$ over time

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.