AMD vs Intel

[big.rich1976]

I am in the market for a upgrade, I want some honest opinions and experiences from people with both Intel and AMD CPU's. My last 2 PC's have been built around Intel, Namely the E2180 Core2Duo and the Q6600, Both great overlclockers with minimal problems. Im not adverse to AMD, Are there any motherboards and CPU's people would suggest? My PC is used for a variety of tasks, internet, Photography, Bit of gaming etc.

Anyway look forward to your opinions. The upgrade will consist of motherboard, CPU and ram and will add more bits in later on.

 

[big.rich1976]

Budget of about £350 for Ram(8gb), CPU and motherboard. I was leaning towards a i5 3570K CPU, 8gb DDR3 ram and Asus motherboard. Im not a massive gamer(tend to play xbox more and old retro games) and do tend to dip in and out, However i am doing more photoshop/photography based work and looking into doing a bit of music making(something i did many years ago on my P75!) Great advice tho, I will certainly take a look at the AMD option, Its not abt saving money, However if i did spend less on a CPU i could maybe get a better motherboard and more ram, Overclocking is a must, Do like a challenge and a free upgrade, My Q6600 has done me proud on that front.

 

[big.rich1976]

I was just comparing the AMD FX-8350 vs the i5 4670K and despite having double the amount of cores they even out, I guess its that age old problem of having the hardware and nothing supporting it yet. Will check the 4670K out as well.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/697?vs=701

 

[big.rich1976]

Wow thats a real eye opener right there, 100 quid difference between the intel and AMD spec, GPU currently is a ATI 5870, I have 2 options foor the GPU, add another 5870 in and run in crossfire or spec a new card, Its not critical straight away as im not a massive games player.

 

[big.rich1976]

Your 5870s are heavily limited by the fact they have 1gb vram. That sort of vram was out dated as soon as Battlefield 3 launched.

However, given you're not a massive gamer then you'd find that two 5870s are bloody fast. I would use your AMD saved pennies to put to a GPU. Something like a 7950 would show you a much bigger gain than going Haswell and keeping your 5870.

So could i crossfire the 5870 with a 7950? Either way lots of brilliant info in this thread, Much appreciated peeps and will give me some food for thought, Will keep you posted. Cheers.

 

[big.rich1976]

The futures bright, The futures AMD! As long as it suits(which it sounds like it will) then major new PC upgrade happening very soon. Really appreciate the advice, Thanks guys, Wealth of knowledge in this group.

 

[big.rich1976]

I use:

FX6300 @ 4.6 (max temp under load is 55c) and its under water.
ASUS M5A97 R2.0 Board Chipset 970
8GB 1600mhz corsair XMS3 ram
XFX 7950 @ 1125/1560

i can play any game @ full at 1080. i average 60-80fps depending on the game.

i also use my pc for everything, internet, video editiing, gaming, etc etc.

my fx6300 can reach 5ghz, but not with my board.

hope this helps on your decision.

jonnyp

Perfect Jonnyp,

RW stats, Defo going down the AMD route this time.

 

[big.rich1976]

Im gonna wait till January, Hopefully pick up more of a bargain in jan sales. Again thanks for all the advice. Been playing some games as well, Forgot how great my PC is.

 

[big.rich1976]

Thanks for the info guys, Ready to order. Cheers.