My current setup:
MB: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX
CPU: AMD FX-8320 @ 4.0GHz (OC)
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon 7970HD

Hi guys. I need help deciding whether or not I should switch to Intel, particularly the i7-3770K.

I use my system everyday, for work and play. Currently I'm playing BF3, Hitman: Absolution, Chivalry and a few other games on and off. Then, when I'm not playing games, I'm doing a lot of day to day programming, word processing etc.

However, most of these games seem to perform really sluggishly, particularly Battlefield 3. It takes a heck of a lot of time to even boot the game (booting from a 2TB WD 7200rpm). I can't even reach more than 30FPS on Saints Row: The Third, and I'm certain my 7970 is capable of more.

I'm afraid my 7970 is bottlenecked . I've never owned an Intel CPU, so I don't really know what to expect from it. Is it really worth me switching?

Thanks guys.

What's the GPU usage in the games you're playing?
If you're playing BF3 on big servers upgrading to the 3770k would be big upgrade in that department.

For the loading times, get yourself an SSD! Load your Origin games to the SSD, Steam lets you choose which drive you install onto now as well - most played games on SSD others on HDD

Honesty, it's worth switching to Intel...if you're using the computer more for work than gaming, maybe switch over to X79 and if funds allow 3930k (3820 if not)

Nope, not really.

Hi, thanks for the quicky reply!

I just left Battlefield 3 single player running for a little and the GPU usage is jumping between 55-70%. After running DX11 Heaven Benchmark 3.0, the usage stays at a solid 98-99%.

I plan to purchase an SSD soon, thanks .

What settings and FPS are you getting on BF3? Single player isn't normally CPU bound, that happens on 32p+ maps.

I cant really comment on SR3...as i've not played it since release.
What kind of CPU usage are you getting, curious really.

My 3770k @4.6Ghz gets a good 60%+ usage in the larger servers.

u shouldn't have issues with bf3 with teh 8320 i get constant 60fps minemum with my 670 and my 8320 @ 4.2.

Slow loads and things are due to you HDD upgrade to an SSD as stated above.

If your getting 30fps on a 7970 something is worng somewhere 8320 / 8350 don't bottleneck single cards.

for bf3 waste of money gpu bound game

get ssd then reaccess

~>Dg<~ said:

for bf3 waste of money gpu bound game

get ssd then reaccess

Click to expand...

BF3 can be both CPU and GPU bound depending on the server.
32+ players and the chances are your CPU is more important than the GPU.

I play BF3 on a 7870 overclocked to 7950 BE performance with a Phenom II 1090T

i'm averaging 60 to 70 FPS online with constant 98% GPU usadge.

Its not the CPU as yours is more powerful than mine.

here.... http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=22995656&postcount=89

@ ~>Dg<~, BF3 is CPU intensive, its just a properly threaded game using up to 8 cores.

Bf3 rapes your cpu in some game types with 64 players.

My 960t (4 core) at 4.1 was running 95% most of the time and giving me major frame drops.

I should imagine your 8320 would have much less problems but still if you can afford an i7 3770k then I think you would see an improvement but it does cost £100 more.

humbug said:

I play BF3 on a 7870 overclocked to 7950 BE performance with a Phenom II 1090T

i'm averaging 60 to 70 FPS online with constant 98% GPU usadge.

Its not the CPU as yours is more powerful than mine.

Click to expand...

I thought a 1090t at 4.2 would best a 8320 at 4.0?

humbug said:

I play BF3 on a 7870 overclocked to 7950 BE performance with a Phenom II 1090T

i'm averaging 60 to 70 FPS online with constant 98% GPU usadge.

Its not the CPU as yours is more powerful than mine.

here.... http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=22995656&postcount=89

@ ~>Dg<~, BF3 is CPU intensive, its just a properly threaded game using up to 8 cores.

Click to expand...

I found my earlier testing with a stock 3770k vs 4.6Ghz 3770k.
(Not in graphs though!)

***3770k @3.5Ghz (Stock W/Turbo)***HD7970 @1125/1575***64p Caspian***

Min: 63
Max: 177
Avg: 96.2

***3770k @4.6Ghz (W/O Turbo)***HD7970 @1125/1575***64p Caspian***

Min: 73
Max: 189
Avg: 106.3

Both tests were done with a single GPU with *High* presets.
Subjectively, the game felt a lot smoother with the OC CPU, i do play on a 120hz screen though...so it's not in my best interest to play on Ultra with a single GPU.

imginy said:

I thought a 1090t at 4.2 would best a 8320 at 4.0?

Click to expand...

Majority of games it would, BF3's threaded enough to play in favour of AMD's core for core performance deficit.