FX 6300 vs Intel Pentium

[IMPERIUS]

Hi!

 

what do you guys think is a beter cpu for gaming- an AMD FX-6300 or any other Intel processor e.g. the Pentium? The price must not be higher than 100$ because I'm on a really tight budget.

 

Thank you

[CCap]

Well, the Athlon X4 860k isn't a bad option in that range, but if you can afford the 6300 then I would get it.

[brownninja97]

Hard choice, the 6300 is just better but its held back a lot by its chipset, you get less usb 3.0, less sata 3, no sata express, no fancy soundcards(built in), more power usage and the list goes on.

 

Hmm but i would get the 6300, but its too high, maybe the 4350

[Lotus]

The G3258 stomps on the 6300 in terms of single threaded performance, so if you're playing older games then the G3258 would be better. However, if you're playing older games, the 6300 should still be able to handle them okay because, heck, they're older games.

 

As such, I'd probably get the 6300 just because it's better suited to handle newer games. However, if you are willing to spend more money in the future, the G3258 can easily be replaced down the road with a Broadwell CPU, whereas the AM3+ socket is pretty much dead. If you have funds coming in and easily able to replace the G3258, it's the right choice. Otherwise the 6300 is the right one in my opinion.

[DigitalHermit]

Depends on what you're doing...

 

Listen to @Lotus...

[Antibull]

Choose the intel i3-4160 it is $110, 2 cores, 4 threads.  And perform the same as not better in games  

[IMPERIUS]

Hard choice, the 6300 is just better but its held back a lot by its chipset, you get less usb 3.0, less sata 3, no sata express, no fancy soundcards(built in), more power usage and the list goes on.

 

Hmm but i would get the 6300, but its too high, maybe the 4350

 

Well, I have been using an old pc which can't run bf3 on min settings+ res, so to me it doesn't really matter to me which USB port I get and which SATA and I'm also not a pro audio editor or something like that so I bet the sound will be just ok for me.

 

The G3258 stomps on the 6300 in terms of single threaded performance, so if you're playing older games then the G3258 would be better. However, if you're playing older games, the 6300 should still be able to handle them okay because, heck, they're older games.

 

As such, I'd probably get the 6300 just because it's better suited to handle newer games. However, if you are willing to spend more money in the future, the G3258 can easily be replaced down the road with a Broadwell CPU, whereas the AM3+ socket is pretty much dead. If you have funds coming in and easily able to replace the G3258, it's the right choice. Otherwise the 6300 is the right one in my opinion.

 

I won't be replacing any parts in the upcoming 3 years and today, I think it gets the job done.

 

Choose the intel i3-4160 it is $110, 2 cores, 4 threads.  And perform the same as not better in games

 

But don't the newer games have some sort of benefit with 4 or more core cpus?

[typographie]

Hi!

 

what do you guys think is a beter cpu for gaming- an AMD FX-6300 or any other Intel processor e.g. the Pentium? The price must not be higher than 100$ because I'm on a really tight budget.

 

Thank you

 

I think the two will perform similarly in most games, but the FX-6300 will probably be faster in games that scale well with multiple cores. But the nice thing about the G3258 is that later on, you'll have the option of dropping a Core i5 or Core i7 in to the same motherboard. Any worthwhile, gaming-relevant upgrade to the FX-6300 will need a new motherboard.

 

But don't the newer games have some sort of benefit with 4 or more core cpus?

Core i3's have Hyperthreading, so Core i3's are "logical" (as opposed to physical) quad-cores. They do okay in newer games, though not as okay as true quad-cores like a Core i5.

[Lotus]

Here's a sample build with the 6300 that I like. I don't know your budget, so I just extrapolated from your CPU choice. It should suit most needs just fine, and be able to play every game out there, so long as you don't mind turning a few settings down. I did not include rebates, and I made sure to include a motherboard that supports faster memory (2000 mhz, but the 2133 speed memory I included can just be run at 2000, there was no better deal), 6 gb/s SATA ports if you want an SSD later on, and other goodies. Plus it has heat sinked VRM mosfets, which are great for overclocking. Some people don't like Biostar, but unless you want to spend considerably more money or rely on rebates, you wont be able to find a comparable board in this price range. The R9 270 is really well situated at this price point because you can overclock it to faster speeds than a stock 270x, and clock speeds are the only difference between the 270 and 270x (besides power delivery to reach those speeds). I even like the case for the price, and it includes a fan controller even. Basically, for the price of the build, I think you'd be hard pressed to beat it, so long as you care more about multi-threaded CPU performance over single-threaded. Just make sure you OC the CPU/GPU, or else you're wasting potential, including the price of the Evo 212, which is pointless unless you OC.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($106.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($33.03 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 3500 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($45.61 @ Amazon)
Total: $565.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 09:35 EST-0500

 

 

While an i3 is decent, it's not overclockable so I'd get the G3258 every time. It's cheaper, and thanks to overclocking performs better in single threaded performance. The i3's hyper threading helps with multi-threaded performance, but if you care about multi-threaded performance it's best to just get an AMD processor anyway at this price range.

 

edit: If your budget is more than the budget in this sample build (note: I didn't include an OS), then you might be able to afford an i5 build, which has the single threaded performance similar to the G3258 and even slightly better multi-threaded performance than the 6300.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Lotus

[IMPERIUS]

Here's a sample build with the 6300 that I like. I don't know your budget, so I just extrapolated from your CPU choice. It should suit most needs just fine, and be able to play every game out there, so long as you don't mind turning a few settings down. I did not include rebates, and I made sure to include a motherboard that supports faster memory (2000 mhz, but the 2133 speed memory I included can just be run at 2000, there was no better deal), 6 gb/s SATA ports if you want an SSD later on, and other goodies. Plus it has heat sinked VRM mosfets, which are great for overclocking. Some people don't like Biostar, but unless you want to spend considerably more money or rely on rebates, you wont be able to find a comparable board in this price range. The R9 270 is really well situated at this price point because you can overclock it to faster speeds than a stock 270x, and clock speeds are the only difference between the 270 and 270x (besides power delivery to reach those speeds). I even like the case for the price, and it includes a fan controller even. Basically, for the price of the build, I think you'd be hard pressed to beat it, so long as you care more about multi-threaded CPU performance over single-threaded. Just make sure you OC the CPU/GPU, or else you're wasting potential, including the price of the Evo 212, which is pointless unless you OC.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($106.98 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($33.03 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($74.70 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($139.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Fractal Design Core 3500 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($45.61 @ Amazon)

Total: $565.28

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 09:35 EST-0500

 

 

While an i3 is decent, it's not overclockable so I'd get the G3258 every time. It's cheaper, and thanks to overclocking performs better in single threaded performance. The i3's hyper threading helps with multi-threaded performance, but if you care about multi-threaded performance it's best to just get an AMD processor anyway at this price range.

 

edit: If your budget is more than the budget in this sample build (note: I didn't include an OS), then you might be able to afford an i5 build, which has the single threaded performance similar to the G3258 and even slightly better multi-threaded performance than the 6300.

 

My original plan was like this: 

 

cpu: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6300wmhkbox

mobo: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga970ads3p

ram: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls2kit4g3d1609ds1s00

hdd: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003

gpu: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-112170120g

cd/dvd writer: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24f1st

psu: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500

case: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-case-z3pluswhite

 

and since I really like quite systems (bacause I can't concentrate otherwise) and am not a huuuge fan of oc, I think that this is what I will get. Plus I will buy licensed windows and the monitor + other basic pc stuff.

I will also mostly play bf3 and I don't mind low graphical settings @ 720p + the fact that in my country 120hz monitors are rare and expensive, I don't think that I really need the oc option but I will consider it. But thank you for the idea.

[Lotus]

If you don't OC, then don't get an unlocked chip like the FX. It's really a waste. OCing has little to do with quietness. You can go higher if you don't mind the noise, but it's still very easy to OC on a quiet system. The stock AMD fan is usually louder than the Evo 212 anyway, and the 140mm fans in the case I suggested are quieter than the fans in your case, and they even have a fan controller so you can run them at slower speeds for even less noise. If you don't want to OC and can stretch your budget a bit, this is what I'd get. Keep in mind you have to spend more on the GPU since you aren't willing to OC, and I'd easily spend the extra $10 to go from a 270x to a 280. Also note: you really don't need an optical drive these days as physical media is dead. You can install windows from a USB flash drive.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Zeus Yellow 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($170.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 3500 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($45.61 @ Amazon)
Total: $635.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 11:06 EST-0500

[IMPERIUS]

If you don't OC, then don't get an unlocked chip like the FX. It's really a waste. OCing has little to do with quietness. You can go higher if you don't mind the noise, but it's still very easy to OC on a quiet system. The stock AMD fan is usually louder than the Evo 212 anyway, and the 140mm fans in the case I suggested are quieter than the fans in your case, and they even have a fan controller so you can run them at slower speeds for even less noise. If you don't want to OC and can stretch your budget a bit, this is what I'd get. Keep in mind you have to spend more on the GPU since you aren't willing to OC, and I'd easily spend the extra $10 to go from a 270x to a 280. Also note: you really don't need an optical drive these days as physical media is dead. You can install windows from a USB flash drive.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($66.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Team Zeus Yellow 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($170.00 @ Newegg)

Case: Fractal Design Core 3500 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($45.61 @ Amazon)

Total: $635.54

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 11:06 EST-0500

 

I thought about the oc idea and I might just take your suggestion. But since I heard that especially gpu coolers can get loud, how about if I oc the cpu and take the 270x or the 280?

[Faceman]

Buy the Pentium + Z97 motherboard. Combo deals can be found often to get that pair for $100. Then buy the best GPU you can afford. Overclock the Pentium as far as the stock cooler will take it, which is actually pretty far. Then in the future when you get more money, buy an i5/i7.

The FX6 is a dead path and it won't perform well in certain games, really depends on what you play though.

After reading through the thread, your best option is a locked i5 processor + H81 motherboard.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Save some more until you can afford this kit:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($41.34 @ Newegg)

Total: $221.32

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 14:39 EST-0500

If saving some more money isnt an option then i would suggest the FX-6300.

but once you factor in a more expensive Z97 motherboard for the G3258 OR an aftermarket CPU cooler to overclock the FX chip, you'll be in the ball park of that locked i5 and H81 kit right...

[Lotus]

I thought about the oc idea and I might just take your suggestion. But since I heard that especially gpu coolers can get loud, how about if I oc the cpu and take the 270x or the 280?

That works too. Again, loudness is determined by fan choice and fan speed. You can still OC the GPU as long as you don't push it hard enough to force the fans to spin all out. It depends on what fan control software is available to you. Most mid-end GPUs don't need to spin their fans at full speed to get great temps. Even my OC'd R9 270 at 1100 MHz (a very significant overclock, faster than stock clocks of 270x cards) never gets loud and the fan speed never even goes higher than 50% when fully stressed, and stays cool at ~65°C

 

 

Save some more until you can afford this kit:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($41.34 @ Newegg)

Total: $221.32

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 14:39 EST-0500

If saving some more money isnt an option then i would suggest the FX-6300.

but once you factor in a more expensive Z97 motherboard for the G3258 OR an aftermarket CPU cooler to overclock the FX chip, you'll be in the ball park of that locked i5 and H81 kit right...

This is very similar to the combo I put in my last build if he didn't want to overclock, but I want to caution against that MoBo. It's very limiting as it only has two slots for memory, like every other h81 chipset board. Plus it relies on a rebate to get to that low price. Spend just $10 more and you can get a better board like the one in my build. True you can get away with it, but its featureset, especially with only 2 dimms, is not to my liking. Other than that, this is definitely a great way to go.

[Majestic]

The i3-4130 or i3-4330. Same price, better balance. Comparing a 50-60 dollar chip vs. a 100 dollar chip is unfair.

[IMPERIUS]

The problem is that in my country the i3s are like 150€ and thats waaay too much for my budget so the only Intel option is the Pentium. Do you guys have any suggestion about which pentium to use, the I dont know what this is caled Haswell or Ivy bridge or something in those "families" (is that the right expression?)? Can you also explain to me what benefit do I get with the Pentium over the fx? Because most of todays games support multiple cores, even bf3 supported 6 cores?

Thank you

[Faceman]

Pentium G3258

[i_build_nanosuits]

The problem is that in my country the i3s are like 150€ and thats waaay too much for my budget so the only Intel option is the Pentium. Do you guys have any suggestion about which pentium to use, the I dont know what this is caled Haswell or Ivy bridge or something in those "families" (is that the right expression?)? Can you also explain to me what benefit do I get with the Pentium over the fx? Because most of todays games support multiple cores, even bf3 supported 6 cores?

Thank you

the pentium will be better at anything that run's about 3 threads or less (some games) and the FX-6300 will be better at things that run's 4 threads or more (again...some games)

The Fx is better for multi-threade purposes (video rendering for example)

The pentium is VASTLY superior for cpu intensive games that only require a couple threads (ONline RTS, MMO's, RPG...)

If you play more modern games (BF4...) i'd go with the FX, if you play mmos defenetly intel...

keep in mind intel as a much brighter upgrade path to an i3, i5 or even i7....FX 8 core or 6 cores it wont change anything for gaming...so no upgrade possible...hope this help.

[Lotus]

The G3258 is the only good pentium since it is the only one with an unlocked core multiplier. Any other pentium will not do. period.

[IMPERIUS]

the pentium will be better at anything that run's about 3 threads or less (some games) and the FX-6300 will be better at things that run's 4 threads or more (again...some games)

The Fx is better for multi-threade purposes (video rendering for example)

The pentium is VASTLY superior for cpu intensive games that only require a couple threads (ONline RTS, MMO's, RPG...)

If you play more modern games (BF4...) i'd go with the FX, if you play mmos defenetly intel...

keep in mind intel as a much brighter upgrade path to an i3, i5 or even i7....FX 8 core or 6 cores it wont change anything for gaming...so no upgrade possible...hope this help.

Yes it did thanks. I play mostly bf3 (which supports 6 cores) and I'm also planning to change out multiple components at once so when I do and when the time comes then I will maybe switch to Intel

[StarFire]

Never

 

Ever

 

Buy an i3.

 

for $100, you can either get the pentium G3258 or the FX6300, and if you have the $100 to spend, I would buy the FX 6300, as the higher core count does better in newer games, and the cores are strong enough to handle old games just fine.

[flibberdipper]

The G3258 stomps on the 6300 in terms of single threaded performance, so if you're playing older games then the G3258 would be better. However, if you're playing older games, the 6300 should still be able to handle them okay because, heck, they're older games.

 

As such, I'd probably get the 6300 just because it's better suited to handle newer games. However, if you are willing to spend more money in the future, the G3258 can easily be replaced down the road with a Broadwell CPU, whereas the AM3+ socket is pretty much dead. If you have funds coming in and easily able to replace the G3258, it's the right choice. Otherwise the 6300 is the right one in my opinion.

I have to agree with this. The only reason I want to get an AM3+ board is because I already have my Sempron to go in it for a rig at my grandma's. If it wasn't for that, I would be waiting more and jumping to a G3258.

 

It'll be funny, since that rig will have an AMD motherboard, Nvidia GPU, and Intel SSD.

[Priller]

Here's a sample build with the 6300 that I like. I don't know your budget, so I just extrapolated from your CPU choice. It should suit most needs just fine, and be able to play every game out there, so long as you don't mind turning a few settings down. I did not include rebates, and I made sure to include a motherboard that supports faster memory (2000 mhz, but the 2133 speed memory I included can just be run at 2000, there was no better deal), 6 gb/s SATA ports if you want an SSD later on, and other goodies. Plus it has heat sinked VRM mosfets, which are great for overclocking. Some people don't like Biostar, but unless you want to spend considerably more money or rely on rebates, you wont be able to find a comparable board in this price range. The R9 270 is really well situated at this price point because you can overclock it to faster speeds than a stock 270x, and clock speeds are the only difference between the 270 and 270x (besides power delivery to reach those speeds). I even like the case for the price, and it includes a fan controller even. Basically, for the price of the build, I think you'd be hard pressed to beat it, so long as you care more about multi-threaded CPU performance over single-threaded. Just make sure you OC the CPU/GPU, or else you're wasting potential, including the price of the Evo 212, which is pointless unless you OC.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($106.98 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($33.03 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($74.70 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($139.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Fractal Design Core 3500 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($45.61 @ Amazon)

Total: $565.28

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 09:35 EST-0500

 

 

While an i3 is decent, it's not overclockable so I'd get the G3258 every time. It's cheaper, and thanks to overclocking performs better in single threaded performance. The i3's hyper threading helps with multi-threaded performance, but if you care about multi-threaded performance it's best to just get an AMD processor anyway at this price range.

 

edit: If your budget is more than the budget in this sample build (note: I didn't include an OS), then you might be able to afford an i5 build, which has the single threaded performance similar to the G3258 and even slightly better multi-threaded performance than the 6300.

 

I don't like those Biostar boards at all. Put just a tad bit extra voltage into it, increase CPU freq to 4Ghz and the VRM temp skyrockets. Once it hits 85C it throttles the CPU.

[Linux User]

I'd get an 860K, since it has more powerful cores than the 6300 (steamroller), but in 2014 I'm not comfortable getting a dual core.