Not getting the performance out of SLi that I would expect, could use some help.

Suika · February 21, 2015

Just an FYI almost all the benchmarks you just sent me are on 290s. I also said 970 not 770.

Thanks for the info though, I wish you had posted more on the 970s so I could look at them.

The 290X is comparable to the 970, the benchmarks apply, and I mentioned the 770 because I was clarifying that the FX-8350 can bottleneck more cards than just the GTX 970 and R9 290X.

kendirect · February 21, 2015

The 290X is comparable to the 970, the benchmarks apply, and I mentioned the 770 because I was clarifying that the FX-8350 can bottleneck more cards than just the GTX 970 and R9 290X.

So I just spoke with Microcenter, and they're willing to do a refund for my GTX 970 and Sabertooth Mobo. That would be enough to get an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 (1150) and an Intel 4790k. Would going down to 1 GPU but upping to this CPU be the best bet? Would the potential FPS gain be high enough to support this course of action?

Suika · February 21, 2015

So I just spoke with Microcenter, and they're willing to do a refund for my GTX 970 and Sabertooth Mobo. That would be enough to get an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 (1150) and an Intel 4790k. Would going down to 1 GPU but upping to this CPU be the best bet? Would the potential FPS gain be high enough to support this course of action?

Before you do that, look over loads with a single GPU to determine how much of a bottleneck you're getting in games. A straight upgrade to an i5 isn't always worth it with a single card.

In any situation, if you aren't getting 95+% GPU usage, you're likely to have a GPU bottleneck. If you're seeing 60% GPU usage, then it will be worth it to get the i7. If you get 90-95%, the performance increase might not be worth it until you can afford to keep SLI and the get the i7.

kendirect · February 21, 2015

Before you do that, look over loads with a single GPU to determine how much of a bottleneck you're getting in games. A straight upgrade to an i5 isn't always worth it with a single card.

In any situation, if you aren't getting 95+% GPU usage, you're likely to have a GPU bottleneck. If you're seeing 60% GPU usage, then it will be worth it to get the i7. If you get 90-95%, the performance increase might not be worth it until you can afford to keep SLI and the get the i7.

Sorry to keep bothering you, but here are some examples of single card only:

BF 4: http://i.imgur.com/INpfs7Y.png63% load

Skyrim: http://i.imgur.com/8UNlSlP.jpg36% (I believe this is more CPU heavy though?)

DAI: http://i.imgur.com/D0RWtYx.png98% at the highest (but also was at 60% at some points)

Suika · February 21, 2015

Sorry to keep bothering you, but here are some examples of single card only:

That Skyrim benchmark seems a little drastic, and none of the CPU cores are at 100% either, do you have Vsync on possibly?

On that note, BF4 may see some big improvements, DAI won't see huge gains in averages/maximums, but the minimums are likely to go way up if GPU load fluctuates between 60-100%.

kendirect · February 21, 2015

That Skyrim benchmark seems a little drastic, and none of the CPU cores are at 100% either, do you have Vsync on possibly?

On that note, BF4 may see some big improvements, DAI won't see huge gains in averages/maximums, but the minimums are likely to go way up if GPU load fluctuates between 60-100%.

I have Vsync "forced off" through the ini file. I'm not too worried about gains in Maximums, I just want stable 60FPS gaming @ 1080p. I want to get rid of microstutters and increases stability.

Godlygamer23 · February 21, 2015

I have Vsync "forced off" through the ini file. I'm not too worried about gains in Maximums, I just want stable 60FPS gaming @ 1080p. I want to get rid of microstutters and increases stability.

Is V-Sync off in the drivers?

kendirect · February 21, 2015

Is V-Sync off in the drivers?

Yes I disabled it then restarted when I was testing only Single Card vs SLi.

Faceman · February 21, 2015

So I just spoke with Microcenter, and they're willing to do a refund for my GTX 970 and Sabertooth Mobo. That would be enough to get an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 (1150) and an Intel 4790k. Would going down to 1 GPU but upping to this CPU be the best bet? Would the potential FPS gain be high enough to support this course of action?

Couple things:

I know you're upset that SLI isn't working, but change your attitude towards those trying to help you.

Your CPU is a massive bottleneck, even for a single 970 in most titles, an FX8 is not enough to push that card to 100% utilization.

People think they are getting a good deal when they buy an FX for gaming, and they are not.

If you enjoy games like MMOs(ArcheAge, WoW, Guild Wars2, World of Tanks, Planetside2 etc..) DayZ, ARMA2, ARMA3, Dead Rising 3, Indies, RTS, Emulators, etc.. the FX will fall WAY behind the equally priced Intel processors, and in some instances, become unplayable unless you are fine with 15-20fps when the action starts.

Then there are other games that are playable, but no where near as fluid as they would be on Intel because minimum framerates(which are the most important), drop much more significantly with FX processors. A few examples are: Starcraft, Skyrim, Civilization V, Assassin's Creed, etc..

Then there are a lot of games where the FX will perform similar to Intel, provided you're using a 60Hz Monitor and don't see the bottleneck happening.

For the majority of games, the FX will be fine. But why would you want to spend more or the same amount of money on an old, and inferior product, when you can get a new and superior product for the same amount of money. Why play 4 out of 5 games well, when you can play 5 out of 5 games well, with no bottlenecking, lower energy costs, and future upgrade paths. That is what Intel provides. You will see below that even the less expensive Intel i3 is outperforming the FX8s in many games, and the locked i5 is running away with it.

I always advocate the right tool for the job, and for some jobs, the FX processor is the best tool for the job, but you need to be aware of what your priorities are when building your machine. If your priority is gaming, then Intel is the clear winner regardless of price point. I don't hate AMD, and I have experience with both processors, and have owned both Intel and AMD.

My goal here is to help others by avoiding costly mistakes that so many before them have made. I see so many users on this forum complaining about their gaming experience with FX processors that it is time to put a stop to it, and the best way to do that is nip it in the bud and recommend the correct tool for the job.

The most common problems are unsatisfactory results in certain games, VRM throttling, and GPU bottlenecking. In my links below I will show you many different, yet conclusive results compiled from respected hardware reviewers and other members of this forum. I hope to paint a picture as to why the FX processor is the inferior option and why it is a bad choice for a gaming machine.

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Even this supposedly very good multi-threaded game, Call of Duty:Advanced Warefare runs better on an i3 than an FX9

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Really pitiful when modern games are playing so much better on an i3 than an FX9.

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You have to OC an FX8 to 5Ghz just to match an i5-4440 at stock in BF4 multiplayer with an R9 290X.

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Even Mantle doesn't bridge the gap. Too bad they don't show the minimums in this above graph.

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This one above is Witcher 2

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These are just a few games, and obviously skewed towards Intel, but my point is to try and illustrate that some games run very poorly on the weak cores on FX processors. If you can find benchmarks from multiple sources that show something else, please share because in all of my research, I have not found any. What benchmarks fail to show is in-game performance. There is no substitute for actually playing these games on both processors. Now, I will admit I haven't played all of the games listed above, but in the games I did play, there was a noticeable stutter that would happen. It didn't happen in all games, but it happened often enough for me to be displeased with it. My friend who owns the FX8 simply said "You get used to it" Now...why buy a processor that can only play 4 out of 5 games, when you can pay the same and play 5 out of 5 games without issue? In the 18 gaming graphs above that show both the FX8 processor and the 4th Gen Intel i3, the i3 is performing better than the FX8 in 16 of the games! In not a single game does the i5 perform worse than the FX8. A locked i5 + H81/B85 motherboard can be purchased for less than the cost of an FX8 + 8+2 VRM Phase Motherboard. I will show that below in another spoiler.

Look through all of these sources... the i3 is handing it to the FX8s and FX9s in so many games!

Benchmarks:

http://www.hardcorew...-4340-review/2/

http://www.hardwarep...8-games-tested/

http://www.tomshardw...cpu,3929-7.html

http://www.anandtech...w-vishera-95w/3

http://techreport.com/review/23750/amd-fx-8350-processor-reviewed/14

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fgamegpu.ru%2Ftest-video-cards%2Figry-2014-goda-protiv-protsessorov-test-gpu.html

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpclab.pl%2Fart57842.html

"To put it nicely, the FX-8370E is a true middle-of-the-road CPU. Using it only makes sense as long as the graphics card you choose comes from a similar performance segment.

Depending on the game in question, AMD’s new processor has the potential to keep you happy around the AMD Radeon R9 270X/285 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or 660 Ti level.

A higher- or even high-end graphics card doesn’t make sense, as pairing it with AMD's FX-8370E simply limits the card's potential."

"This is a huge result – it wasn’t until we used a Haswell core CPU that the R9 280X was able to deliver consistent frame times and a 60 FPS frame rate in Assassin’s Creed IV. All three AMD CPUs we used – even the FX 8350 – and the Ivy Bridge Core i3 would deliver a sub 60 FPS frame rate, with frame spikes throughout the benchmark run.

In this case, the Core i3 4340 allows the R9 280X GPU to run at maximum potential, just like the Core i5 (and Core i7 would)."

"Pop over to the gaming scatter, though, and the picture changes dramatically. There, the FX-8350 is the highest-performance AMD desktop processor to date for gaming, finally toppling the venerable Phenom II X4 980. Yet the FX-8350's gaming performance almost exactly matches that of the Core i3-3225, a $134 Ivy Bridge-based processor. Meanwhile, the Core i5-3470 delivers markedly superior gaming performance for less money than the FX-8350. The FX-8350 isn't exactly bad for video games—its performance was generally acceptable in our tests. But it is relatively weak compared to the competition.

This strange divergence between the two performance pictures isn't just confined to gaming, of course. The FX-8350 is also relatively pokey in image processing applications, in SunSpider, and in the less widely multithreaded portions of our video encoding tests. Many of these scenarios rely on one or several threads, and the FX-8350 suffers compared to recent Intel chips in such cases. Still, the contrast between the FX-8350 and the Sandy/Ivy Bridge chips isn't nearly as acute as it was with the older FX processors. Piledriver's IPC gains and that 4GHz base clock have taken the edge off of our objections.

The other major consideration here is power consumption, and really, the FX-8350 isn't even the same class of product as the Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors on this front. There's a 48W gap between the TDP ratings of the Core i5 parts and the FX-8350, but in our tests, the actual difference at the wall socket between two similarly configured systems under load was over 100W. That gap is large enough to force the potential buyer to think deeply about the class of power supply, case, and CPU cooler he needs for his build. One could definitely get away with less expensive components for a Core i5 system."

"The FX-8370E stretches its legs a little in terms of minimum frame rates, particularly in SLI, however it is handily beaten by the i3-4330."

"Average frametimes did not do AMD’s processors any justice either. As we already said the game was fluid with i7 and i5’s, and somewhat playable with the i3 processor line. When we switched to FX CPUs not only did we have worse framerate but the gameplay was simply put, laggy."

The Bulldozer architecture was released in 2011, but it had been in development for many years. It basically reused an old architecture that had already been phased out years ago. They reused it, and marketed it well to trick users into thinking it was something spectacular. "How could an 8 core, 4Ghz CPU possibly be bad?" One word: Architecture. This CPU is not good now, and it wasn't even good when it was released. Please give this article a read because it does a much better job of explaining this than I will ever be able to. Analyzing Bulldozer

The architecture behind the FX CPUs cannot keep up with high end graphics cards that require strong cores to consistently feed the card. Monitor your GPU load in your games and you will quickly see that your GPU is not running at 90%+ if you own a high end graphics card paired with an FX processor. Use an FX with a mid range GPU all you want, that is fine and you won't limit the card's potential and makes for a much more balanced rig. If you get into the upper echelon of GPUs, that is when you are holding your card back by the FX. This also doesn't bode well for the future because as GPUs get more powerful, the FX will simply not be able to keep up with even mid-range GPUs. As of now, the highest end GPU I would pair with an FX that won't limit its potential is an R9 280/GTX770.

There are very few games that are very well multithreaded, and even in those games, such as CoD:AW, an i3 is still beating out an FX9. The reason behind this is because games typically have one main thread, Core #0. When this main thread is being choked by poor single core performance, the rest of the threads struggle. So even in these really well multithreaded PC port games, we are still seeing Intel processors beating out FXs because their poor IPC simply can't give as good as results on that main thread.

When AMD sends out R9 290Xs for review, or release new drivers they send out Intel i7s along with them because they know their FX processors can't power their high end GPUs to their max potential. That's a big red flag.

-Source

Check out LTT's own Cinebench Scores:

-LTT's Cinebench Database

These FXs are overclocked to 4.8Ghz and 5.3Ghz! and still fall well behind Intel's offerings.

Even when you pair the FX with a mid range GPU, it doesn't change the fact that some games are largely CPU bound and require strong IPC. Parallelism doesn't exist in games. There are not many, if any highly repetitive calculations going on in games that the CPU can guess what is coming next like in video editing or rendering. They have tricked you into thinking that more cores and higher Ghz is what matters for your CPU, when it all comes down to the architecture and instructions per cycle.

Websites like cpubenchmark.net have a suite of synthetic benchmarks that they run each processor through to spit out a score. Going by this, the FX8 outperforms the i5 because those synthetic tests are highly repetitive calculations that benefit from more cores. People see that result and automatically think "Oh, the FX8 is a much stronger processor than the i5." And in some tasks it is, gaming is just not one of them.

A man(Faa) who knows a lot more about this than me did some research and found, to the surprise of no one, that games just aren't using more than 4 threads, and the ones that do, aren't benefiting as much as you would think from those extra cores/threads. I'm going to link you over to his research that shows how cores/threads have an impact on gaming performance. It is a great read with a lot of interesting information, as well as a few links to other more reputable review websites doing testing on many popular mainstream games. For the most part, games are using 2-4 threads. And the few that can take advantage of more threads, aren't really benefiting from them. Of course in some games, the FX8 is going to do much better than the FX4, but looking over benchmarks from the gaming graphs above, and all of the links in the i3 > FX8 spoiler, the FX4,6,8 processors are mostly lumped together with very little difference between them. An example: For every game that the FX8 actually does a lot better than the FX4, there are 5 games that only show a ~10% improvement.

Gaming performance aside, the vast majority of daily tasks are single threaded. Everything you do on your desktop, booting up your computer, loading a simple program such as iTunes is going to be faster on Intel because these are single threaded tasks and the performance per core is so much more powerful which results in a more snappy overall experience. There are very few tasks that benefit from 8 cores. A program that really benefits from all the cores you throw at it is a real niche area, often reserved for content creation and calculations-not games. This niche area is where the FX processors really shine because those programs benefit from many cores able to execute highly repetitive tasks. Please note that not all content creation programs benefit from 8 cores, some programs do still prefer the strong cores of Intel, so please check and see if the program you specifically plan to use benefits from more cores, or stronger ones.

This is PCMark 7, it is a FutureMark benchmark that "is a complete PC benchmark that measures overall system performance during typical desktop usage across a range of activities such as handling images and video, web browsing and gaming. This is the most important test since it returns the official PCMark score for the system."

-PCMark 7

This shows that while the performance in daily workloads is similar, Intel is still ahead. Also consider that these are older generation Intel processors that have since been improved upon, only further increasing the result in Intel's favor for daily tasks. Think multi-tasking is better on the FX8 because of all those cores? Nope.

Some more productivity benchmarks for your enjoyment:

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The FX processors do have some strengths, just make sure that you are using a program that maximizes those strengths because as shown above, even in some multithreaded programs, the i5-4690k still comes out ahead. In my opinion the gaming benefits of a locked i5, far outweigh the productivity(certain programs) benefits of the FX8. You will have to personally weigh the pros and cons of what your priorities of your computer will be, and make your decision based on that, but if I'm building a gaming computer with a side of content creation, I will take the better gaming results over a 20 second(arbitrary number) shorter render time.

Sources:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8427/amd-fx-8370e-cpu-review-vishera-95w/2

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-4340-4330-4130_6.html#sect0

http://pclab.pl/art57691-12.html

I also want to throw in these power consumption graphs.

Top graph is power draw during Far Cry 3. This is a good example because Far Cry 3 hits both the CPU and GPU adequately. Some games will draw more power, some less, so this is a good middle of the road example.

The Below graph is during a x264 Encoding Benchmark with all processors at stock speeds. This is hitting the CPU to the max 100%, and you can see when both an i5 and FX8 are hit to the max, there is a 100W+ difference.

Power consumption is another aspect of the FX CPU that needs to be talked about. It draws so much more power than the Intel equivalent, that in just 2-3 years of use, the FX will end up costing you even more money. Of course some places it is less expensive for energy than others, but you cannot deny that there is a 100W+ difference between an FX8 and an i5. This power disparity only grows the further you overclock the FX.

I will use the average price of residential electricity in the U.S., which is $0.1294c per KWh according to EIA in September 2014. I wish I could exclude Hawaii, because the electricity there kinda skews things unfavorably, so for this example, we will assume the average price is a flat $0.12 per KWh. We will also assume that the overclocked FX power draw is 100W higher than the stock i5. Lastly, lets assume that the average gamer plays for two hours per day, with an additional 2 hours of regular use(non-gaming), so lets just call it 3 hours a day to make it easy.

Power Consumption = 100W

Hours of Use Per Day = 3

Energy Consumed Per Day = .3 KWh

Price Per Killowatt Hour = $0.12

Energy Cost Per Day = $0.036

Energy Cost Per Month = $1.08

Energy Cost Per Year = $13.14

With our quick and dirty calculation, we see that the difference between the FX and i5 is going to add up to over $10 per year, and that is a conservative, no-overclock estimate. With most of us wanting to keep our components as long as possible before having to upgrade, owning components for 2-3 years, and sometimes even longer, is not out of the question and that energy cost per year really starts to add up.

If you would like to calculate this for yourself, you will need to find out what the cost of energy is where you are located, and these two formulas:

Energy consumption calculation

The energy E in kilowatt-hours (kWh) per day is equal to the power P in watts (W) times number of usage hours per day t divided by 1000 watts per kilowatt:

E_(kWh/day) = P_(W) × t_(h/day) / 1000_(W/kW)

Energy cost calculation

The energy cost per day in dollars is equal to the energy consumption E in kWh per day times the energy cost of 1 kWh in cents/kWh divided by 100 cents per dollar:

Cost_($/day) = E_(kWh/day) × Cost_(cent/kWh) / 100_(cent/$)

Temperatures:

I hear the argument that AMD runs cooler than Intel, and this is a really silly misconception. I can understand why someone would think that it does, but the temperatures from AMD processors are inaccurate. They don't measure the cores, they measure the socket, cores tend to be hotter than the socket by a fair amount, and its an algorithm, not a direct measurement like with Intel. It is against the laws of physics for an FX processor to be less hot than an Intel one. The FX draws much more power. At stock, the FX8 draws 125W compared to 84/88W of an i5. The FX processor heats up the room much more as well. I know in my friends' house who owns the FX, his room is sweltering after just an hour of gaming.

"Concerning your question regarding the temperatures with your processor. The maximum temperature threshold is 62 Celsius which set for the internal die (core) temperature of the chip. The core temperatures have an equational offset to determine temperature which equalizes at about 45 Celsius thus giving you more accurate readings at peak temperatures. The hindrance in this is the sub ambient idle temperature readings you speak of.

The silicon and adhesives used in manufacturing these processors has a peak temperature rating of 97+ Celsius before any form of degradation will take place. The processor also has a thermal shut off safe guard in place that shuts the processor down at 90 Celsius.

The Cpu temperature is read form a sensor embedded within the socket of your motherboard causing about a 7-10 Celsius variance form the actual Cpu temperature, which may be what you are reading about on the net.

I hope I was able to answer your questions, If you have any more inquiries don't hesitate to contact us.

You can use an application called AMD overdrive, that will allow you to monitor your temperatures accurately.

As long as your core temperature has not exceeded the high side of the 60 degree mark for extended periods of time you should be ok. 62 degrees holds a generous safety net to begin with.

Thank You

Alex Cromwell

Senior Technology Director

Advanced Micro Devices

Fort Collins, Colorado

2950 East Harmony Road

Suite 300

Fort Collins, CO"

-Source

This is an excellent comparison done by Paulsterio of the forums. You should really read through the entire above link, it is a great and detailed read. Here is the conclusion in Paulsterio's words.

"Conclusion

If you've made it this far, congrats and thank you very, very much for reading. I appreciate it genuinely.

Okay, so let's conclude. Yes, Intel won 5-2, but that's meaningless. Looking at benchmarks for the sake of looking at benchmarks doesn't

help us. What helps us is seeing where the 4670K wins massively and where the 8350 wins massively.

Gaming

In gaming, the 4670K wins. This is said by Linus, said by AnandTech, said by Bit-Tech, said by Tom's Hardware, said all around the internet

except for at Tek Syndicate. If you are going for a gaming PC, go with the 4670K.

Video Editing and 3D Rendering

Yes, there are benchmarks where the 8350 beats the 4670K, however, what is important is that these two are almost neck and neck.

Some sites have the 8350 ever so slightly faster, some have the 3570K/4670K as ever so slightly faster. At the end of the day, it's too close to call.

However, the extra IPC that Haswell offers should help in a wider variety of situations, so I would award this to the 4670K.

Calculations

This one goes to the 8350 which demonstrates a higher performance with calculations throughout due to its higher core count. It beats Intel convincingly

in most calculation benchmarks.

So, what does this mean?

This has been said in the introduction, but I will say it again. I am not an Intel fanboy, which is why I went out to research instead of screaming that Intel

is better. I have suggested AMD in the past, their Athlon 64 was better than the Pentium 4, their Athlon 64 x2 was better than the Pentium D. However,

I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts.

If you're an AMD fanboy, you're not going to like it, but Intel's 4670K is better than AMD's 8350. Regardless of however you look at it, in most situations,

the 4670K wins, but it isn't just that, its far superior IPC gives it such an advantage in most every day tasks, which are mostly still single-threaded.

The AMD 8350 is good for certain workloads, but apart from those workloads, it is simply terrible. Its IPC, which is weaker than the i7 920's, which is

5 years old, is simply too weak to put it as any sort of real competition to the 4670K.

I hope that this clears up some of the misconceptions here. Yes, AMD had their time, their Athlon 64 was better than the Intel Pentium 4, however,

those days are well and truly over. If, in this day and age, you recommend an AMD processor for any usage apart from calculations, you are either

being a fanboy or just plainly ignorant of the facts which say that the 4670K is superior.

Of course, this is not to say that nobody should use AMD, but, if you suggest an AMD build for someone else, especially if you suggest an 8350

against a 4670K, know that you are suggesting a worse option, especially for a gaming PC. To argue that the 8350 is competitive with the 4670K

across the board is delusional and just plainly wrong. Yes, you are wrong.

So that's it guys, for most people, the 4670K is the better option compared to the 8350 and the information shows it.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my little article. I hope I have helped you see what the statistics say about these two processors.

I appreciate you taking the time to read what I have written. Cheers :)"

This video is the most meticulous head to head comparison of the FX8 and i5. Its lengthy, but it is the most comprehensive and in-depth review of the FX8 and i5-4670k in a myriad of scenarios pitted against each other. Single player, multiplayer, 1080p, 1440p, power consumption, min/max/avg framerates, daily tasks, rendering, editing, streaming, mid level GPUs, high level GPUs, multi-threaded games, single core games, this video covers it all.

Also, when people say that the FX8 is a less expensive option, they are wrong. In order for the FX8 to be viable, it needs to be overclocked, which means you need a motherboard with at least 8+2 VRM phase design, and more expensive cooling solution. You can squeeze by on a 6+2, but you aren't going to get as consistent results as an 8+2, also overclocking results drop with the 6+2. This makes it cost the same, if not more than a locked i5 processor which will beat the FX8 in every single game, no matter how high the FX is overclocked. I'm not arguing that the processor is less expensive on AMD's side, but the ancillary components needed end up making it cost the same as a locked i5.

You can forget about small form factors because there are no AM3+ motherboards available with sufficient VRM phase design that are smaller than ATX. If you need to educate yourself on what VRMs are and why they are so important, please refer to this link about VRMs and Mosfets. That link is slightly dated, being last updated in 2012, but the basic educational information in it remains the same.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6JNdt6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6JNdt6/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($145.95 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock 970 Performance ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($83.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $229.94

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 15:50 EST-0500

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c7WWt6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c7WWt6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.98 @ OutletPC) <-- You could even save an additional $10 by going with a motherboard with only 2 DIMM slots, which is all you really need.

Total: $215.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-11 17:20 EST-0500

Germany:

PCPartPicker part list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/rzHNP6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/rzHNP6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (€160.82 @ Hardwareversand)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€42.49 @ Home of Hardware DE)

Total: €203.31

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:51 CET+0100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (€124.90 @ Caseking)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€79.78 @ Hardwareversand)

Total: €204.68

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:49 CET+0100

Australia:

Limited selection on PcP

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/WYvZcf

Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/WYvZcf/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ CPL Online)

Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.00 @ PLE Computers)

Total: $267.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 22:47 EST+1100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/MDtBGX

Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/MDtBGX/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($182.00 @ CPL Online)

Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($129.00 @ CPL Online) <-- Any less expensive motherboards only have 4+1 VRM phase design, which is not adequate.

Total: $311.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 11:52 EST+1100

New Zealand:

PCPartPicker part list: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/fZTrrH

Price breakdown by merchant: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/fZTrrH/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($272.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.44 @ PB Technologies)

Total: $344.44

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 13:53 NZDT+1300

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/MytJxr

Price breakdown by merchant: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/MytJxr/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($207.00 @ 1stWave Technologies)

Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($149.95 @ Computer Lounge)

Total: $356.95

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 13:52 NZDT+1300

Canada:

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/VCGVFT

Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/VCGVFT/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($186.96 @ Newegg Canada)

Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Memory Express)

Total: $226.95

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 06:52 EST-0500

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($157.90 @ DirectCanada)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($106.00 @ Vuugo)

Total: $263.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-26 19:53 EST-0500

United Kingdom:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£131.20 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£32.17 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £163.37

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 00:54 GMT+0000

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£103.00 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.54 @ Aria PC)

Total: £166.54

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 00:54 GMT+0000

Italy:

PCPartPicker part list: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (€173.38 @ Amazon Italia)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€41.17 @ Amazon Italia)

Total: €214.55

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 13:03 CET+0100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (€131.67 @ Amazon Italia)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€87.62 @ Amazon Italia)

Total: €219.29

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:55 CET+0100

Spain:

PCPartPicker part list: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (€163.00 @ Amazon Espana)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€42.20 @ Amazon Espana)

Total: €205.20

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:56 CET+0100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (€130.83 @ Amazon Espana)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€87.83 @ Amazon Espana)

Total: €218.66

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:55 CET+0100

Want to try and find a cheaper option for AMD? Be my guest. Here is the AM3+ Motherboard Phasing Guide. You need at least 6+2, but recommended 8+2.

If you don't like numbers and want pure user experience without benchmarks and stats, check out Suika's 30 Day Journal of his experience going from an FX8350 + GTX 780 to an i7-4790k + GTX780. Like many others on this forum, he noticed that he was being held back in many games with his FX8, and his expensive GPU wasn't being fully utilized. Here is a pure experience based review from a forum member on his experience going from FX to Intel.

Suika is one of many users here on LTT who were previously using FX processors with high end GPUs thinking it was a good match, only to realize in the end that it was not a good balance.

Here is another member, UnbendingNose who was told on this very forum to buy an FX8 because it won't hold back an R9 290, and an ASRock Extreme 3 wont throttle his CPU. Both of which are false. Here are his two posts, the one where he is asking for advice on what to buy, and the 2nd where he is unhappy with his FX8320s performance because of bottlenecking and throttling. He finally ended up buying an i5, which is what he should have done in the first place, and miraculously, to the surprise of no one, his performance in every single game improved, most notably minimum fps.

I am aware that an i7 is much more expensive than an FX8, but the performance in games between an i5 and i7 is nearly identical, especially when at the same clock speed.

With the AM3+ platform, there is nothing to upgrade to. Going from an FX6 to FX8 to FX9 doesn't yield much performance gains because they all use the same architecture, which has horrible single core performance. If you tried to go from FX8 to FX9, you're going to have to spend even more on super high end 990FX motherboard, and at least a $60 CPU Cooler. Just throwing money at a bottomless pit of poor gaming performance. Basically, you're stuck with what you have if you decide to go FX.

With Intel, upgrading is easy. You can go from an i5 to an i7 or Xeon, even if you're on one of the less expensive, and older motherboards. All that is necessary is a BIOS update, which is easy to do as long as you already have a Haswell processor, which you would have if you went this route. Even the soon to be released Broadwell processors should be compatible with H81 motherboards. They are going to be compatible with Devil's Canyon motherboards, which are also LGA1150, so they will fit in the same socket as these motherboards, so in theory all that is necessary is a BIOS update. Going this route, you won't be able to overclock using the multiplier, but you can always squeeze an extra 1-300Mhz by BCLK overclocking. Good thing Intel processors at stock already blow the doors off the highest overclocked FX chip out there. At least the option for truly increased performance is there with Intel, unlike with AMD.

Referring to the FX as the budget option, or good for its price needs to stop. $225 equals $225 but the performance of one does not equal the other in games.

Don't buy a Z87 motherboard with an i7-4790k unless Microcenter guarantees you that the Z87 has an updated BIOS and is compatible with the i7-4790k out of the box. Ideally, you want a Z97 that is SLI capable. Something like ASRock Extreme 3/4, Asus Z97-AR, MSI Z97-Gaming 5, etc.. Microcenter has excellent deals on CPU + mobo combos.

Demorthus · February 21, 2015

^ Post above me nailed it.

Also, worth noting... If you'd like to gain a little bit more performance I think you're just going to have to wait a while for new drivers that will help optimize the games with SLI, not to mention game patches. I know this has been mentioned before but it's still worth noting.

CoolaxGaming · February 21, 2015

I'm sorry, but this is exactly why I'll be waiting for someone who is of a higher age to speak to.

Most people on this forum are under 18...

D2ultima · February 21, 2015

AMD FX 8350 @ 4.3 GHz

Dragon Age: Inquisition @ Ultra 2x MSAA 60+FPS sometimes tipping below 60 and never below 50. (On HDD)

Battlefield 4 @ Ultra 4x MSAA 100% Resolution Scaling 60+ fps sometimes tipping below 60 as in during explosions and heavy particles. (On SSD)

Total War: ATTILA @ "Maximum Quality" setting, 60 FPS never below 50.

Tomb Raider @ Ultra 200+ FPS

Evolve @ "High" 30 FPS max, microstuttering, tearing, flickering

Dying Light @ "High"/"Medium" 30-50 FPS sometimes 10-20, microfreezing, missing textures

Heroes of the Storm @ "High" 30 fps (most of the time), tearing, flickering, microstuttering

PlanetSide 2 @ High/Ultra 30-40 FPS, dipping to 15-20 FPS, no microstutters, but sometimes just bad FPS.

Arma3 @ Any settings 40 FPS in SP, 15 in Multiplayer... (120 player servers, King of the Hill / Wasteland)

Overclock that shit or buy an intel CPU

Normal

Underperforming; I could put it on ultra on my laptop and never go below 60fps at 1080p

Sounds normal

Normal

Something is

Normal CPU bottleneck

No idea, sorry.

CPU at "work"

CPU says "hello"

http://www.tweaktown.com/tweakipedia/55/amd-fx-8350-powering-gtx-780-sli-vs-gtx-980-sli-at-2560x1440/index.html

I'm just going to say I trust a reputed website more than hear-say if you're not willing to show me better factual information with proven benchmarks.

I'm not going to argue that you're wrong because I honestly do not have the deep technical knowledge needed, but I've seen multiple sites showing that the 8350 should not heavily bottleneck the 9xx series.

Please remember: The higher the resolution you go, the more it forces a GPU bottleneck. An FX-8350 would be a LOT better if playing a game at 4K than at 1080p, and at 720p it might very well bottleneck any gaming GPU made in 2013 or later if you leave the framerate unlocked. Remember, CPUs render first then push to GPU, and then if GPUs can render frames faster than the CPU can feed it, you run into a bottleneck. If CPU can feed faster than the GPU, it's another bottleneck; albeit one that does not happen often these days (unless you're playing at 4K etc).

Yeah, it's really weird though - because some games (IE Dragon Age) I'm using higher load (which I actually thought was bad, lol) but then some use.. 36% like BF4.

Let me break it down for you with an explanation of how CPUs work and how they work in some games that I made a while ago on this forum.

Here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/305918-multi-cores-in-gaming/#entry4158245

Read it all through and you'll understand why some games use less and some use more etc.

kendirect · February 21, 2015

Couple things:

I know you're upset that SLI isn't working, but change your attitude towards those trying to help you.

Your CPU is a massive bottleneck, even for a single 970 in most titles, an FX8 is not enough to push that card to 100% utilization.

People think they are getting a good deal when they buy an FX for gaming, and they are not.

If you enjoy games like MMOs(ArcheAge, WoW, Guild Wars2, World of Tanks, Planetside2 etc..) DayZ, ARMA2, ARMA3, Dead Rising 3, Indies, RTS, Emulators, etc.. the FX will fall WAY behind the equally priced Intel processors, and in some instances, become unplayable unless you are fine with 15-20fps when the action starts.

Then there are other games that are playable, but no where near as fluid as they would be on Intel because minimum framerates(which are the most important), drop much more significantly with FX processors. A few examples are: Starcraft, Skyrim, Civilization V, Assassin's Creed, etc..

Then there are a lot of games where the FX will perform similar to Intel, provided you're using a 60Hz Monitor and don't see the bottleneck happening.

For the majority of games, the FX will be fine. But why would you want to spend more or the same amount of money on an old, and inferior product, when you can get a new and superior product for the same amount of money. Why play 4 out of 5 games well, when you can play 5 out of 5 games well, with no bottlenecking, lower energy costs, and future upgrade paths. That is what Intel provides. You will see below that even the less expensive Intel i3 is outperforming the FX8s in many games, and the locked i5 is running away with it.

I always advocate the right tool for the job, and for some jobs, the FX processor is the best tool for the job, but you need to be aware of what your priorities are when building your machine. If your priority is gaming, then Intel is the clear winner regardless of price point. I don't hate AMD, and I have experience with both processors, and have owned both Intel and AMD.

My goal here is to help others by avoiding costly mistakes that so many before them have made. I see so many users on this forum complaining about their gaming experience with FX processors that it is time to put a stop to it, and the best way to do that is nip it in the bud and recommend the correct tool for the job.

The most common problems are unsatisfactory results in certain games, VRM throttling, and GPU bottlenecking. In my links below I will show you many different, yet conclusive results compiled from respected hardware reviewers and other members of this forum. I hope to paint a picture as to why the FX processor is the inferior option and why it is a bad choice for a gaming machine.

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Even this supposedly very good multi-threaded game, Call of Duty:Advanced Warefare runs better on an i3 than an FX9

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Really pitiful when modern games are playing so much better on an i3 than an FX9.

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You have to OC an FX8 to 5Ghz just to match an i5-4440 at stock in BF4 multiplayer with an R9 290X.

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Even Mantle doesn't bridge the gap. Too bad they don't show the minimums in this above graph.

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This one above is Witcher 2

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These are just a few games, and obviously skewed towards Intel, but my point is to try and illustrate that some games run very poorly on the weak cores on FX processors. If you can find benchmarks from multiple sources that show something else, please share because in all of my research, I have not found any. What benchmarks fail to show is in-game performance. There is no substitute for actually playing these games on both processors. Now, I will admit I haven't played all of the games listed above, but in the games I did play, there was a noticeable stutter that would happen. It didn't happen in all games, but it happened often enough for me to be displeased with it. My friend who owns the FX8 simply said "You get used to it" Now...why buy a processor that can only play 4 out of 5 games, when you can pay the same and play 5 out of 5 games without issue? In the 18 gaming graphs above that show both the FX8 processor and the 4th Gen Intel i3, the i3 is performing better than the FX8 in 16 of the games! In not a single game does the i5 perform worse than the FX8. A locked i5 + H81/B85 motherboard can be purchased for less than the cost of an FX8 + 8+2 VRM Phase Motherboard. I will show that below in another spoiler.

Look through all of these sources... the i3 is handing it to the FX8s and FX9s in so many games!

Benchmarks:

http://www.hardcorew...-4340-review/2/

http://www.hardwarep...8-games-tested/

http://www.tomshardw...cpu,3929-7.html

http://www.anandtech...w-vishera-95w/3

http://techreport.com/review/23750/amd-fx-8350-processor-reviewed/14

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fgamegpu.ru%2Ftest-video-cards%2Figry-2014-goda-protiv-protsessorov-test-gpu.html

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpclab.pl%2Fart57842.html

"To put it nicely, the FX-8370E is a true middle-of-the-road CPU. Using it only makes sense as long as the graphics card you choose comes from a similar performance segment.

Depending on the game in question, AMD’s new processor has the potential to keep you happy around the AMD Radeon R9 270X/285 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or 660 Ti level.

A higher- or even high-end graphics card doesn’t make sense, as pairing it with AMD's FX-8370E simply limits the card's potential."

"This is a huge result – it wasn’t until we used a Haswell core CPU that the R9 280X was able to deliver consistent frame times and a 60 FPS frame rate in Assassin’s Creed IV. All three AMD CPUs we used – even the FX 8350 – and the Ivy Bridge Core i3 would deliver a sub 60 FPS frame rate, with frame spikes throughout the benchmark run.

In this case, the Core i3 4340 allows the R9 280X GPU to run at maximum potential, just like the Core i5 (and Core i7 would)."

"Pop over to the gaming scatter, though, and the picture changes dramatically. There, the FX-8350 is the highest-performance AMD desktop processor to date for gaming, finally toppling the venerable Phenom II X4 980. Yet the FX-8350's gaming performance almost exactly matches that of the Core i3-3225, a $134 Ivy Bridge-based processor. Meanwhile, the Core i5-3470 delivers markedly superior gaming performance for less money than the FX-8350. The FX-8350 isn't exactly bad for video games—its performance was generally acceptable in our tests. But it is relatively weak compared to the competition.

This strange divergence between the two performance pictures isn't just confined to gaming, of course. The FX-8350 is also relatively pokey in image processing applications, in SunSpider, and in the less widely multithreaded portions of our video encoding tests. Many of these scenarios rely on one or several threads, and the FX-8350 suffers compared to recent Intel chips in such cases. Still, the contrast between the FX-8350 and the Sandy/Ivy Bridge chips isn't nearly as acute as it was with the older FX processors. Piledriver's IPC gains and that 4GHz base clock have taken the edge off of our objections.

The other major consideration here is power consumption, and really, the FX-8350 isn't even the same class of product as the Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors on this front. There's a 48W gap between the TDP ratings of the Core i5 parts and the FX-8350, but in our tests, the actual difference at the wall socket between two similarly configured systems under load was over 100W. That gap is large enough to force the potential buyer to think deeply about the class of power supply, case, and CPU cooler he needs for his build. One could definitely get away with less expensive components for a Core i5 system."

"The FX-8370E stretches its legs a little in terms of minimum frame rates, particularly in SLI, however it is handily beaten by the i3-4330."

"Average frametimes did not do AMD’s processors any justice either. As we already said the game was fluid with i7 and i5’s, and somewhat playable with the i3 processor line. When we switched to FX CPUs not only did we have worse framerate but the gameplay was simply put, laggy."

The Bulldozer architecture was released in 2011, but it had been in development for many years. It basically reused an old architecture that had already been phased out years ago. They reused it, and marketed it well to trick users into thinking it was something spectacular. "How could an 8 core, 4Ghz CPU possibly be bad?" One word: Architecture. This CPU is not good now, and it wasn't even good when it was released. Please give this article a read because it does a much better job of explaining this than I will ever be able to. Analyzing Bulldozer

The architecture behind the FX CPUs cannot keep up with high end graphics cards that require strong cores to consistently feed the card. Monitor your GPU load in your games and you will quickly see that your GPU is not running at 90%+ if you own a high end graphics card paired with an FX processor. Use an FX with a mid range GPU all you want, that is fine and you won't limit the card's potential and makes for a much more balanced rig. If you get into the upper echelon of GPUs, that is when you are holding your card back by the FX. This also doesn't bode well for the future because as GPUs get more powerful, the FX will simply not be able to keep up with even mid-range GPUs. As of now, the highest end GPU I would pair with an FX that won't limit its potential is an R9 280/GTX770.

There are very few games that are very well multithreaded, and even in those games, such as CoD:AW, an i3 is still beating out an FX9. The reason behind this is because games typically have one main thread, Core #0. When this main thread is being choked by poor single core performance, the rest of the threads struggle. So even in these really well multithreaded PC port games, we are still seeing Intel processors beating out FXs because their poor IPC simply can't give as good as results on that main thread.

When AMD sends out R9 290Xs for review, or release new drivers they send out Intel i7s along with them because they know their FX processors can't power their high end GPUs to their max potential. That's a big red flag.

-Source

Check out LTT's own Cinebench Scores:

-LTT's Cinebench Database

These FXs are overclocked to 4.8Ghz and 5.3Ghz! and still fall well behind Intel's offerings.

Even when you pair the FX with a mid range GPU, it doesn't change the fact that some games are largely CPU bound and require strong IPC. Parallelism doesn't exist in games. There are not many, if any highly repetitive calculations going on in games that the CPU can guess what is coming next like in video editing or rendering. They have tricked you into thinking that more cores and higher Ghz is what matters for your CPU, when it all comes down to the architecture and instructions per cycle.

Websites like cpubenchmark.net have a suite of synthetic benchmarks that they run each processor through to spit out a score. Going by this, the FX8 outperforms the i5 because those synthetic tests are highly repetitive calculations that benefit from more cores. People see that result and automatically think "Oh, the FX8 is a much stronger processor than the i5." And in some tasks it is, gaming is just not one of them.

A man(Faa) who knows a lot more about this than me did some research and found, to the surprise of no one, that games just aren't using more than 4 threads, and the ones that do, aren't benefiting as much as you would think from those extra cores/threads. I'm going to link you over to his research that shows how cores/threads have an impact on gaming performance. It is a great read with a lot of interesting information, as well as a few links to other more reputable review websites doing testing on many popular mainstream games. For the most part, games are using 2-4 threads. And the few that can take advantage of more threads, aren't really benefiting from them. Of course in some games, the FX8 is going to do much better than the FX4, but looking over benchmarks from the gaming graphs above, and all of the links in the i3 > FX8 spoiler, the FX4,6,8 processors are mostly lumped together with very little difference between them. An example: For every game that the FX8 actually does a lot better than the FX4, there are 5 games that only show a ~10% improvement.

Gaming performance aside, the vast majority of daily tasks are single threaded. Everything you do on your desktop, booting up your computer, loading a simple program such as iTunes is going to be faster on Intel because these are single threaded tasks and the performance per core is so much more powerful which results in a more snappy overall experience. There are very few tasks that benefit from 8 cores. A program that really benefits from all the cores you throw at it is a real niche area, often reserved for content creation and calculations-not games. This niche area is where the FX processors really shine because those programs benefit from many cores able to execute highly repetitive tasks. Please note that not all content creation programs benefit from 8 cores, some programs do still prefer the strong cores of Intel, so please check and see if the program you specifically plan to use benefits from more cores, or stronger ones.

This is PCMark 7, it is a FutureMark benchmark that "is a complete PC benchmark that measures overall system performance during typical desktop usage across a range of activities such as handling images and video, web browsing and gaming. This is the most important test since it returns the official PCMark score for the system."

-PCMark 7

This shows that while the performance in daily workloads is similar, Intel is still ahead. Also consider that these are older generation Intel processors that have since been improved upon, only further increasing the result in Intel's favor for daily tasks. Think multi-tasking is better on the FX8 because of all those cores? Nope.

Some more productivity benchmarks for your enjoyment:

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The FX processors do have some strengths, just make sure that you are using a program that maximizes those strengths because as shown above, even in some multithreaded programs, the i5-4690k still comes out ahead. In my opinion the gaming benefits of a locked i5, far outweigh the productivity(certain programs) benefits of the FX8. You will have to personally weigh the pros and cons of what your priorities of your computer will be, and make your decision based on that, but if I'm building a gaming computer with a side of content creation, I will take the better gaming results over a 20 second(arbitrary number) shorter render time.

Sources:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8427/amd-fx-8370e-cpu-review-vishera-95w/2

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-4340-4330-4130_6.html#sect0

http://pclab.pl/art57691-12.html

I also want to throw in these power consumption graphs.

Top graph is power draw during Far Cry 3. This is a good example because Far Cry 3 hits both the CPU and GPU adequately. Some games will draw more power, some less, so this is a good middle of the road example.

The Below graph is during a x264 Encoding Benchmark with all processors at stock speeds. This is hitting the CPU to the max 100%, and you can see when both an i5 and FX8 are hit to the max, there is a 100W+ difference.

Power consumption is another aspect of the FX CPU that needs to be talked about. It draws so much more power than the Intel equivalent, that in just 2-3 years of use, the FX will end up costing you even more money. Of course some places it is less expensive for energy than others, but you cannot deny that there is a 100W+ difference between an FX8 and an i5. This power disparity only grows the further you overclock the FX.

I will use the average price of residential electricity in the U.S., which is $0.1294c per KWh according to EIA in September 2014. I wish I could exclude Hawaii, because the electricity there kinda skews things unfavorably, so for this example, we will assume the average price is a flat $0.12 per KWh. We will also assume that the overclocked FX power draw is 100W higher than the stock i5. Lastly, lets assume that the average gamer plays for two hours per day, with an additional 2 hours of regular use(non-gaming), so lets just call it 3 hours a day to make it easy.

Power Consumption = 100W

Hours of Use Per Day = 3

Energy Consumed Per Day = .3 KWh

Price Per Killowatt Hour = $0.12

Energy Cost Per Day = $0.036

Energy Cost Per Month = $1.08

Energy Cost Per Year = $13.14

With our quick and dirty calculation, we see that the difference between the FX and i5 is going to add up to over $10 per year, and that is a conservative, no-overclock estimate. With most of us wanting to keep our components as long as possible before having to upgrade, owning components for 2-3 years, and sometimes even longer, is not out of the question and that energy cost per year really starts to add up.

If you would like to calculate this for yourself, you will need to find out what the cost of energy is where you are located, and these two formulas:

Energy consumption calculation

The energy E in kilowatt-hours (kWh) per day is equal to the power P in watts (W) times number of usage hours per day t divided by 1000 watts per kilowatt:

E_(kWh/day) = P_(W) × t_(h/day) / 1000_(W/kW)

Energy cost calculation

The energy cost per day in dollars is equal to the energy consumption E in kWh per day times the energy cost of 1 kWh in cents/kWh divided by 100 cents per dollar:

Cost_($/day) = E_(kWh/day) × Cost_(cent/kWh) / 100_(cent/$)

Temperatures:

I hear the argument that AMD runs cooler than Intel, and this is a really silly misconception. I can understand why someone would think that it does, but the temperatures from AMD processors are inaccurate. They don't measure the cores, they measure the socket, cores tend to be hotter than the socket by a fair amount, and its an algorithm, not a direct measurement like with Intel. It is against the laws of physics for an FX processor to be less hot than an Intel one. The FX draws much more power. At stock, the FX8 draws 125W compared to 84/88W of an i5. The FX processor heats up the room much more as well. I know in my friends' house who owns the FX, his room is sweltering after just an hour of gaming.

"Concerning your question regarding the temperatures with your processor. The maximum temperature threshold is 62 Celsius which set for the internal die (core) temperature of the chip. The core temperatures have an equational offset to determine temperature which equalizes at about 45 Celsius thus giving you more accurate readings at peak temperatures. The hindrance in this is the sub ambient idle temperature readings you speak of.

The silicon and adhesives used in manufacturing these processors has a peak temperature rating of 97+ Celsius before any form of degradation will take place. The processor also has a thermal shut off safe guard in place that shuts the processor down at 90 Celsius.

The Cpu temperature is read form a sensor embedded within the socket of your motherboard causing about a 7-10 Celsius variance form the actual Cpu temperature, which may be what you are reading about on the net.

I hope I was able to answer your questions, If you have any more inquiries don't hesitate to contact us.

You can use an application called AMD overdrive, that will allow you to monitor your temperatures accurately.

As long as your core temperature has not exceeded the high side of the 60 degree mark for extended periods of time you should be ok. 62 degrees holds a generous safety net to begin with.

Thank You

Alex Cromwell

Senior Technology Director

Advanced Micro Devices

Fort Collins, Colorado

2950 East Harmony Road

Suite 300

Fort Collins, CO"

-Source

This is an excellent comparison done by Paulsterio of the forums. You should really read through the entire above link, it is a great and detailed read. Here is the conclusion in Paulsterio's words.

"Conclusion

If you've made it this far, congrats and thank you very, very much for reading. I appreciate it genuinely.

Okay, so let's conclude. Yes, Intel won 5-2, but that's meaningless. Looking at benchmarks for the sake of looking at benchmarks doesn't

help us. What helps us is seeing where the 4670K wins massively and where the 8350 wins massively.

Gaming

In gaming, the 4670K wins. This is said by Linus, said by AnandTech, said by Bit-Tech, said by Tom's Hardware, said all around the internet

except for at Tek Syndicate. If you are going for a gaming PC, go with the 4670K.

Video Editing and 3D Rendering

Yes, there are benchmarks where the 8350 beats the 4670K, however, what is important is that these two are almost neck and neck.

Some sites have the 8350 ever so slightly faster, some have the 3570K/4670K as ever so slightly faster. At the end of the day, it's too close to call.

However, the extra IPC that Haswell offers should help in a wider variety of situations, so I would award this to the 4670K.

Calculations

This one goes to the 8350 which demonstrates a higher performance with calculations throughout due to its higher core count. It beats Intel convincingly

in most calculation benchmarks.

So, what does this mean?

This has been said in the introduction, but I will say it again. I am not an Intel fanboy, which is why I went out to research instead of screaming that Intel

is better. I have suggested AMD in the past, their Athlon 64 was better than the Pentium 4, their Athlon 64 x2 was better than the Pentium D. However,

I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts.

If you're an AMD fanboy, you're not going to like it, but Intel's 4670K is better than AMD's 8350. Regardless of however you look at it, in most situations,

the 4670K wins, but it isn't just that, its far superior IPC gives it such an advantage in most every day tasks, which are mostly still single-threaded.

The AMD 8350 is good for certain workloads, but apart from those workloads, it is simply terrible. Its IPC, which is weaker than the i7 920's, which is

5 years old, is simply too weak to put it as any sort of real competition to the 4670K.

I hope that this clears up some of the misconceptions here. Yes, AMD had their time, their Athlon 64 was better than the Intel Pentium 4, however,

those days are well and truly over. If, in this day and age, you recommend an AMD processor for any usage apart from calculations, you are either

being a fanboy or just plainly ignorant of the facts which say that the 4670K is superior.

Of course, this is not to say that nobody should use AMD, but, if you suggest an AMD build for someone else, especially if you suggest an 8350

against a 4670K, know that you are suggesting a worse option, especially for a gaming PC. To argue that the 8350 is competitive with the 4670K

across the board is delusional and just plainly wrong. Yes, you are wrong.

So that's it guys, for most people, the 4670K is the better option compared to the 8350 and the information shows it.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my little article. I hope I have helped you see what the statistics say about these two processors.

I appreciate you taking the time to read what I have written. Cheers :)"

This video is the most meticulous head to head comparison of the FX8 and i5. Its lengthy, but it is the most comprehensive and in-depth review of the FX8 and i5-4670k in a myriad of scenarios pitted against each other. Single player, multiplayer, 1080p, 1440p, power consumption, min/max/avg framerates, daily tasks, rendering, editing, streaming, mid level GPUs, high level GPUs, multi-threaded games, single core games, this video covers it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26UKz42uQ1Y

Also, when people say that the FX8 is a less expensive option, they are wrong. In order for the FX8 to be viable, it needs to be overclocked, which means you need a motherboard with at least 8+2 VRM phase design, and more expensive cooling solution. You can squeeze by on a 6+2, but you aren't going to get as consistent results as an 8+2, also overclocking results drop with the 6+2. This makes it cost the same, if not more than a locked i5 processor which will beat the FX8 in every single game, no matter how high the FX is overclocked. I'm not arguing that the processor is less expensive on AMD's side, but the ancillary components needed end up making it cost the same as a locked i5.

You can forget about small form factors because there are no AM3+ motherboards available with sufficient VRM phase design that are smaller than ATX. If you need to educate yourself on what VRMs are and why they are so important, please refer to this link about VRMs and Mosfets. That link is slightly dated, being last updated in 2012, but the basic educational information in it remains the same.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6JNdt6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6JNdt6/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($145.95 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock 970 Performance ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($83.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $229.94

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 15:50 EST-0500

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c7WWt6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c7WWt6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.98 @ OutletPC) <-- You could even save an additional $10 by going with a motherboard with only 2 DIMM slots, which is all you really need.

Total: $215.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-11 17:20 EST-0500

Germany:

PCPartPicker part list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/rzHNP6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/rzHNP6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (€160.82 @ Hardwareversand)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€42.49 @ Home of Hardware DE)

Total: €203.31

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:51 CET+0100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (€124.90 @ Caseking)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€79.78 @ Hardwareversand)

Total: €204.68

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:49 CET+0100

Australia:

Limited selection on PcP

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/WYvZcf

Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/WYvZcf/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ CPL Online)

Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.00 @ PLE Computers)

Total: $267.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 22:47 EST+1100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/MDtBGX

Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/MDtBGX/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($182.00 @ CPL Online)

Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($129.00 @ CPL Online) <-- Any less expensive motherboards only have 4+1 VRM phase design, which is not adequate.

Total: $311.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 11:52 EST+1100

New Zealand:

PCPartPicker part list: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/fZTrrH

Price breakdown by merchant: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/fZTrrH/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($272.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.44 @ PB Technologies)

Total: $344.44

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 13:53 NZDT+1300

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/MytJxr

Price breakdown by merchant: http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/MytJxr/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($207.00 @ 1stWave Technologies)

Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($149.95 @ Computer Lounge)

Total: $356.95

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 13:52 NZDT+1300

Canada:

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/VCGVFT

Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/VCGVFT/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($186.96 @ Newegg Canada)

Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Memory Express)

Total: $226.95

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 06:52 EST-0500

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($157.90 @ DirectCanada)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($106.00 @ Vuugo)

Total: $263.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-26 19:53 EST-0500

United Kingdom:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£131.20 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£32.17 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £163.37

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 00:54 GMT+0000

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£103.00 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.54 @ Aria PC)

Total: £166.54

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 00:54 GMT+0000

Italy:

PCPartPicker part list: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (€173.38 @ Amazon Italia)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€41.17 @ Amazon Italia)

Total: €214.55

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 13:03 CET+0100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://it.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (€131.67 @ Amazon Italia)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€87.62 @ Amazon Italia)

Total: €219.29

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:55 CET+0100

Spain:

PCPartPicker part list: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/f39ZZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (€163.00 @ Amazon Espana)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€42.20 @ Amazon Espana)

Total: €205.20

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:56 CET+0100

Vs.

PCPartPicker part list: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://es.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZhVQD3/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (€130.83 @ Amazon Espana)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€87.83 @ Amazon Espana)

Total: €218.66

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 01:55 CET+0100

Want to try and find a cheaper option for AMD? Be my guest. Here is the AM3+ Motherboard Phasing Guide. You need at least 6+2, but recommended 8+2.

If you don't like numbers and want pure user experience without benchmarks and stats, check out Suika's 30 Day Journal of his experience going from an FX8350 + GTX 780 to an i7-4790k + GTX780. Like many others on this forum, he noticed that he was being held back in many games with his FX8, and his expensive GPU wasn't being fully utilized. Here is a pure experience based review from a forum member on his experience going from FX to Intel.

Suika is one of many users here on LTT who were previously using FX processors with high end GPUs thinking it was a good match, only to realize in the end that it was not a good balance.

Here is another member, UnbendingNose who was told on this very forum to buy an FX8 because it won't hold back an R9 290, and an ASRock Extreme 3 wont throttle his CPU. Both of which are false. Here are his two posts, the one where he is asking for advice on what to buy, and the 2nd where he is unhappy with his FX8320s performance because of bottlenecking and throttling. He finally ended up buying an i5, which is what he should have done in the first place, and miraculously, to the surprise of no one, his performance in every single game improved, most notably minimum fps.

I am aware that an i7 is much more expensive than an FX8, but the performance in games between an i5 and i7 is nearly identical, especially when at the same clock speed.

With the AM3+ platform, there is nothing to upgrade to. Going from an FX6 to FX8 to FX9 doesn't yield much performance gains because they all use the same architecture, which has horrible single core performance. If you tried to go from FX8 to FX9, you're going to have to spend even more on super high end 990FX motherboard, and at least a $60 CPU Cooler. Just throwing money at a bottomless pit of poor gaming performance. Basically, you're stuck with what you have if you decide to go FX.

With Intel, upgrading is easy. You can go from an i5 to an i7 or Xeon, even if you're on one of the less expensive, and older motherboards. All that is necessary is a BIOS update, which is easy to do as long as you already have a Haswell processor, which you would have if you went this route. Even the soon to be released Broadwell processors should be compatible with H81 motherboards. They are going to be compatible with Devil's Canyon motherboards, which are also LGA1150, so they will fit in the same socket as these motherboards, so in theory all that is necessary is a BIOS update. Going this route, you won't be able to overclock using the multiplier, but you can always squeeze an extra 1-300Mhz by BCLK overclocking. Good thing Intel processors at stock already blow the doors off the highest overclocked FX chip out there. At least the option for truly increased performance is there with Intel, unlike with AMD.

Referring to the FX as the budget option, or good for its price needs to stop. $225 equals $225 but the performance of one does not equal the other in games.

Don't buy a Z87 motherboard with an i7-4790k unless Microcenter guarantees you that the Z87 has an updated BIOS and is compatible with the i7-4790k out of the box. Ideally, you want a Z97 that is SLI capable. Something like ASRock Extreme 3/4, Asus Z97-AR, MSI Z97-Gaming 5, etc.. Microcenter has excellent deals on CPU + mobo combos.

I had a perfectly accepting attitude in this thread. There was a kid who was being a kid and wasn't being helpful but just kept saying things without linking or helping at all and I mentioned that, that's all.

Anyway, I ended up with an ASUS Sabertooth Z97 (had the Sabertooth 990FX and liked it for AMD) and a 4790k. I figured I'd rather have a better CPU and 1 less GPU for now (once I sell my 8350 and some other old parts I can move back to SLi, but I don't know if I will without a bit more research this time). I actually got 60$ off the CPU/Mobo combo, so that's awesome.

Thank you for posting that about the FX8350. I'll take a read at it tonight, I really like learning about architecture and why X works but Y doesn't.

Most people on this forum are under 18...

Okay.

@D2ultima. Thanks for the post, I'll read that guide tonight too! I ended up returning the second 970 so that I could get a 4790k and a Z97 board, but I still love to learn.

D2ultima · February 21, 2015

@D2ultima. Thanks for the post, I'll read that guide tonight too! I ended up returning the second 970 so that I could get a 4790k and a Z97 board, but I still love to learn.

Pshh, that post doesn't have enough information to be called one of my guides . But do feel free to read any of my guides if it interests you. You'd end up knowing a lot more than a lot of people here that's for sure. I hope the post I linked however does indeed help clear things up about why people bitch at AMD cards so much.

CoolaxGaming · February 23, 2015

I had a perfectly accepting attitude in this thread. There was a kid who was being a kid and wasn't being helpful but just kept saying things without linking or helping at all and I mentioned that, that's all.

Anyway, I ended up with an ASUS Sabertooth Z97 (had the Sabertooth 990FX and liked it for AMD) and a 4790k. I figured I'd rather have a better CPU and 1 less GPU for now (once I sell my 8350 and some other old parts I can move back to SLi, but I don't know if I will without a bit more research this time). I actually got 60$ off the CPU/Mobo combo, so that's awesome.

Thank you for posting that about the FX8350. I'll take a read at it tonight, I really like learning about architecture and why X works but Y doesn't.

Okay.

@D2ultima. Thanks for the post, I'll read that guide tonight too! I ended up returning the second 970 so that I could get a 4790k and a Z97 board, but I still love to learn.

Dude you're memory clock ia 3500, it should be about 7000...

Razzaa · February 23, 2015

Dude you're memory clock ia 3500, it should be about 7000...

3500 x 2 = 7000....

CoolaxGaming · February 23, 2015

3500 x 2 = 7000....

Usually using it like 1700 and is multiplied into 7000? Like my 290x is 1650mhz and is 7000effective

Nikolithebear · February 23, 2015

All the games you play require very good single threaded performance. Your 8350 is bottlenecking bad. Especially in games like dying light , planetside and arma. Get an I5 Asap. Also at 1080p why did you get 970 sli? A single 970 would have been enough. Anyways the 8350 is known to bottleneck a single 970 let alone two.

I second that ^ my 8350 bottlenecked my cards BAD.

Razzaa · February 23, 2015

Usually using it like 1700 and is multiplied into 7000? Like my 290x is 1650mhz and is 7000effective

It is just reading that way in Afterburner. DDRx2

D2ultima · February 23, 2015

Usually using it like 1700 and is multiplied into 7000? Like my 290x is 1650mhz and is 7000effective

It is just reading that way in Afterburner. DDRx2

GPU-Z reads actual memory clock (For a GTX 680, it'd show 1500)

nVidia Inspector and some OC programs read doubled clock (For a GTX 680, it'd show 3000)

Some programs (though rare) show effective clock (For a GTX 680, it'd show 6000)

JustCallMeVlad · February 23, 2015

8350 is the issue. What did you expect pairing 700 dollars worth of video cards with a 150 dollar processor?

i_build_nanosuits · February 23, 2015

FX8350@4.6ghz bottleneck single gtx780 in many or most games at 1080p...had to upgrade to a better cpu.

AMD FX is good for low-end and mid-range gpu's:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-fx-8370e-cpu,3929-7.html

To put it nicely, the FX-8370 is a true middle-of-the-road CPU. Using it only makes sense as long as the graphics card you choose comes from a similar performance segment.

Depending on the game in question, AMD’s new processor has the potential to keep you happy around the AMD Radeon R9 270X/285 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or 660 Ti level.

A higher- or even high-end graphics card doesn’t make sense, as pairing it with AMD's FX-8370 simply limits the card's potential.

OP: the AMD FX cant even max out a single GTX970...let alone two of them...

A Banana :D · February 23, 2015

wait for broadwell desktop, skylake desktop would most likely be near Q4 2015 or H1 2016

Texhnlyze · February 23, 2015

Throw away that AMD stuff and get an Intel and a Z97 board or you can just wait until Zen comes up.

Kinda Bottlenecked · February 23, 2015

I had a perfectly accepting attitude in this thread. There was a kid who was being a kid and wasn't being helpful but just kept saying things without linking or helping at all and I mentioned that, that's all.

Honestly for someone one who is trying to ask for help, you were being quite rude to people who offered help. I get that you were offended when

you were asked whether you were asked "Are you actually serious or just trolling?", but slapping someone's post as mere "hear-say" ??? And since

when does age equate to experience and knowledge?

Calling someone as a "kid who was being a kid" doesn't make you all that mature either. Your attitude for the most part was alright. It does not require

deep technical knowledge to know that FX8 processors would bottleneck high-end graphics cards.

Offering you help right now would be pointless since you have already found your answer. Getting rid of your fx processor for an intel processor would

allow you to sli 970s however you want.

But also consider this when you SLI the 970s:

The vram issues in the 970s when you play at higher resolution.

But if you've decided that this does not bother you then you can ignore this as its not as serious as people make out to be :B

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Not getting the performance out of SLi that I would expect, could use some help.

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