Which setup is more "future-proof"?

[ConfusedTapeworm]

I asked the same question to /r/buildapc but they are notoriously Intel-biased so I can't fully trust them. Here goes:

 

After 2 years of laptop overheating, I'll be building my 3rd PC soon. I want this new build to last as long as possible with as few upgrades as possible. The plan is to buy a good overclockable CPU, roll with the stock speeds for a couple of years and then overclock it to prevent it from "aging", so to speak.

 

However I can't decide on which CPU to buy. It will either be an AMD FX-8350 or an Intel i5-4670K. Now I can see that the 4670K is faster than the 8350 but from what I understand, the 8350 has a far greater OC capability. And that could make it a better choice in the long run. Is that true? Does the OC'd 8350 really outperform the OC'd 4670K?

 

Also when it's OC'ing time, I'll set up a custom water loop including the GPU(which will be an XFX double dissipation r9 280x). Is it ok to go with the stock coolers until then? Also does the XFX 280x OC well?

 

Cheers

[s3ns3]

no it does not ouperform the i5.  go with intel ofc

 

GPU OC depends on the chip,not brand

[Shroomster]

Nothing is future proof, please do not use it. Mmhmmkay. But go intel, and buy a z97 motherboard for possible future updates, and the 280x is good and clocking is a matter of the silicon lottery.

[ConfusedTapeworm]

Nothing is future proof, please do not use it.

 

That's why I used quotation marks in the title. 

[s3ns3]

Nothing is future proof

look at the 2500K today. still very strong.

fx 8150...meh

[Mateyyy]

Get Intel, and for overclocking, don't get the 4670K. Get the 4690K, Haswell CPUs like 4670K or 4770K have a very poor thermal interface material between the core and the heat-spreader. What that means, is that when overclocking, Haswell CPUs get very very hot, and the only way to solve that would be deliding, which isn't really easy and safe. Until you get you're watercooling loop all done, you shouldn't overclock the CPU at all. The stock cooler will be enough for stock speeds, but that's it.. The XFX 280X should overclock quite well.

[SeventhPillars]

No doubt, you should go with the i5. I have the same CPU in my current rig

[SeventhPillars]

No doubt, you should go with the i5. I have the same CPU in my current rig

[Chronos5618]

Just from experience and personal research, I am much more happy recommending Intel over AMD. I would always go with the higher stock speed over OC, simply because you aren't guaranteed a good OC- the silicon lottery and all that. Just my two cent  

[zaanko]

Hey

 

Well I'm not entirely sure which will last you longer. Both CPUs overclock damn well, the only thing that I'm not sure about is the "future proof" aspect as most games now use 4 cores and 8350 isn't much behind i5. But as games will get more demanding and will support more cores (some games already support more like BF4 I think) 8350 should be able to last longer with its 8 cores when 8 core games will be mainstream. At the moment however I think i5 is superior to 8350.. but Idk what will happen in the next year or two.

[ConfusedTapeworm]

Hey

 

Well I'm not entirely sure which will last you longer. Both CPUs overclock damn well, the only thing that I'm not sure about is the "future proof" aspect as most games now use 4 cores and 8350 isn't much behind i5. But as games will get more demanding and will support more cores (some games already support more like BF4 I think) 8350 should be able to last longer with its 8 cores when 8 core games will be mainstream. At the moment however I think i5 is superior to 8350.. but Idk what will happen in the next year or two.

 

 

Yeah that's another subject I'm thinking a lot about. The i5 might be faster but 4 years from now, the 8 cores of the 8350 might be more useful than i5's speed. But I guess it's next to impossible to tell how things will be in the future. Either way, it will be kinda like gambling. Am I going to bet on a CPU with fewer but faster cores, or am I going to bet on a CPU with slower but more cores.

[nokturrduk84]

There's no future proof, but bear in mind, Intel is far ahead than AMD.

[Raxzer]

The sad truth is that the AMD-CPUs can't keep up when it comes to single-thread performance. They're good processors, but they're lacking where it matters when it comes to gaming.

 

I wouldn't mind the FX-8350's overclocking-potential when comparing to the 4690K. If overclocked to their average maximums, the 4690K still wins due to the superior single-thread performance. Arguably, none of the two processors are "future-proof". If you'd like to be safe for a while, the expensive X99-platform would be the option you'd have to go for.

 

I wouldn't speculate too much when it comes to the future. The FX-processors are coming up short right now, and in my opinion, that's what matters. I don't believe we'll see anything about this for at least a few years. Single-threaded perfromance is still the way to go, mainly due to the fact that processors aren't really the big bottlenecks in most games anymore, unless we're talking titles like Guild Wars 2 and Skyrim.

[totjup5]

I would get the 4670k, it will perform better in most cases, and it's on a newer platform that will likely get driver support for longer.

[DavidHawk62]

With games really only now starting to use 4 cores I'd say we've still got a few years before 4 cores are fully utilized. For the time being and immediate future the i5 is probably gonna be better than the 8350, if you plan to overclock definitely get the i5 4690k over the 4670k to get the best results. How good your over clocks will be are all luck but the Devil's Canyon CPUs are supposed to be better.