AMD to Intel?

Zinnkio · 23 Aug 2013 at 19:55

I'll hopefully start earning soon and with the money I'm hoping to upgrade some of my PC. I'm reluctant in choosing Intel as I've used AMD since the beginning of time and it's what I'm comfortable with, however I have been thinking about turning to Intel. I'm really not sure about anything Intel, like the processors and boards. If anyone could shed some light on what's good with what and compatibility and stuff it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Zinnkio

Smoogels · 23 Aug 2013 at 20:35

Like AMD Intel has different processors to suit different price brackets and some will offer better price/performance ratio. For gamers the i5 4670K is ideal since the next model up (i7) has hyperthreading which, at the moment, is not used well in games. This means the results of a i7 model and a i5 model are very similar even though the i7 is a rather large increase in price. It's worth noting that processors with a "K" on the end (e.g 4570K, 4770K) are overclockable easily using the CPU ratio.

What is your budget and what do you intend to use the computer for? AMD still offers decent price-performance in some builds to so they may still be worth considering

Zinnkio · 23 Aug 2013 at 20:38

I don't have a specific budget atm but I'd be using it for gaming. I also do quite a bit of rendering and photoshop.

Kei · 23 Aug 2013 at 23:31

Have to admit that i'm still not feeling the need to move on from my 955 yet. It still does everything i ask of it without a problem. That includes photoshop work, encoding in vegas pro and avid and all manner of gaming. Only hankering i get is for an X6 dirt cheap.

Productivity with the likes of photoshop and video encoding would definitely be a fair bit quicker on an intel cpu, but i find that the difference still isn't worth me opening my wallet for. (maybe that's me though)

teppic · 23 Aug 2013 at 23:40

Rendering and encoding are some of the things ideally suited to high core AMD CPUs.

http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image//skymtl/CPU/FX-9590/FX-9590-55.jpg
http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image//skymtl/CPU/FX-9590/FX-9590-57.jpg

The problem is that older boards aren't suited to the 8320/8350, and these really come into their own when overclocked above 4GHz, which requires a decent 970/990 board with good VRM design (£90+).

One concern about getting a decent new AM3+ board is that its not yet confirmed that Steamroller will be available, but it is expected. In saying that, you can get a good AMD board and the 8320 for about £200.

Dave0w · 23 Aug 2013 at 23:42

Kei said:
Have to admit that i'm still not feeling the need to move on from my 955 yet. It still does everything i ask of it without a problem. That includes photoshop work, encoding in vegas pro and avid and all manner of gaming. Only hankering i get is for an X6 dirt cheap.

Productivity with the likes of photoshop and video encoding would definitely be a fair bit quicker on an intel cpu, but i find that the difference still isn't worth me opening my wallet for. (maybe that's me though)

100% agree, if the system dose the job stick with it. an up grade needs to be an upgrade not a side step. you get a lot going from 955 and 1090t's going to i3's because of the price and that is no up grade. intell as more power end of story but you need to spend £100 on a board and £200 on a chip minimum

then there is all the other goodies that end up making it a £600 upgrade.

Saying you have no budget is a lie or you would not be asking for advice is you would have a £10,000 rig and not need to upgrade.

if you want real advice then give ppl the full story. are you looking to spend £100, £1000 or 10,000.