AMD Basic Information for a Noob

[CaptainJack1829]

I just built my first gaming PC. I am mainly a Mac user and I built this PC to use as a "console". Here is my build if you would like to see it (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nCptRB).

 

I went with Intel because thats what I know. It was easy for me to figure out what level of processor could do what I needed. I am ignorant to what AMD is or can do. Could someone explain their naming convention, what is good, what is bad, so that I can be more educated in my next build or more importantly with the computer I am going to help my friend build.

 

What I know:

• AMD = Less expensive
• They aren't Intel 

Also, if you could point me in the direction for good parts that work with it. My friend is on a tighter budget ($600-$800) and if I could build him a better bang for buck with AMD, I would like to do that.

 

I really appreciate your time for checking out this post. Thank you!

 

Zach

[wyattzx]

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices.) manufactures affordable CPUs which in the lower-end of the pricing spectrum are great performers for multi-threaded applications. You can purchase 8-core CPUs for as little as $150, which compare in performance to $230 Intel CPU.s In rendering and Multi-Threaded work specifically, however. They shine in their GPU,s as their mid-tier GPUs have almost no rivalries from NVIDIa, and so they've always been highly regarded in this area. However, a major drawback for their hardware is that they have a high power draw. A card from NVIDIA that uses 160watts will perform similar to a card that uses 280 from AMD. Even their CPUs have high power draw. Their 8-core FX series draws 60w more than Intel's high-end 4790k, which performs much better in every regard.

[Nup]

nice build alright

 

Before I forget, welcome to the forums and the fun that is pc building!

 

That is a great build. With a very good cpu, probably a little better at gaming then the AMD equivalent 8350 (i think, do correct me people) 

 

Later you can add a nice cpu cooler and get an overclock going on it. 

 

The only change I would make is that I would buy a 280x instead of the 960, as it does tend to do a good bit better, for more or less the same price. You can see what i mean here.

 

There is nothing wrong with AMD parts, its just that today, the Intel offering give better performance per dollar, for gaming anyhow. 

[CaptainJack1829]

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices.) manufactures affordable CPUs which in the lower-end of the pricing spectrum are great performers for multi-threaded applications. You can purchase 8-core CPUs for as little as $150, which compare in performance to $230 Intel CPU.s In rendering and Multi-Threaded work specifically, however. They shine in their GPU,s as their mid-tier GPUs have almost no rivalries from NVIDIa, and so they've always been highly regarded in this area. However, a major drawback for their hardware is that they have a high power draw. A card from NVIDIA that uses 160watts will perform similar to a card that uses 280 from AMD. Even their CPUs have high power draw. Their 8-core FX series draws 60w more than Intel's high-end 4790k, which performs much better in every regard.

Thank you! 

 

Could you tell me a little bit about the naming convention? Like what the numbers or the FX mean in comparison to Intel?

 

Zach

[harrynowl]

Well your rig is a pretty good choice, although I personally don't recommend the GTX960 over AMDs gpu offerings. Similarly priced and better performing cards from AMD are the R9 280 and the R9 280X.

 

Anyway for a little insight on AMD CPUs, in gaming:

 

On the CPU side, AMD CPUs are less expensive for their overall performance, but their real world application performance is often lacking- and an AMD platform can be quite expensive.

 

AMD "value" gaming build:

- FX6300

- Hyper 212

- Gigabyte 990FX-UD3 Rev4

 

Find here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/22xGXL

 

So $255 without rebates, $235 with them.

 

Intel "value" gaming build:

- i5 4440

- ASRock H97 Anniversary

 

Find here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rZsFCJ

 

$256 before rebates, $241 after rebates.

 

So in terms of performance, the i5 wins in pretty much every scenario.

 

It's the same price, and you could save more and get a cheaper H81 or B85 board but I went for something with similar features like USB3.0 ports and SATA6G etc.

 

But if you're rendering videos, if you get that 6300 to a nice clock speed (i.e. 4.7GHz) it will be faster for CPU based rendering.

 

You can save money on the AMD and get a cheap board and no cooling, but you won't be overclocking (which is where most of AMDs value comes from in the low end) and you won't get much in the way of features or reliability.

 

In terms of graphics, AMD is pretty much my go-to graphics vendor for most budgets as they just offer more performance for the price, this is true from R7 260X all the way through to 290X which can currently be had at killer prices. The exception being if you want/need nvidia specific features like shadowplay, physx, gamestream or CUDA acceleration.

 

 

AMDs naming convention

 

On the FX side we have:

 

8 Cores:

 

- FX9590

- FX9370

- FX8370

- FX8370E

- FX8350

- FX8320

- FX8320E

- FX8310

 

These are all the same CPU with different clock speeds, in order of performance it's highest -> lowest (generally lower the number the weaker it is). But the highest I usually recommend is the 8320 as the other ones come too close to Intel pricing territory and the Intels are just plain better.

 

6 Cores:

 

- FX6350

- FX6300

 

The 6350 is an overclocked 6300.

 

4 Cores:

 

- FX4350

- FX4300

 

The 4350 is an overclocked 4300.

 

For APUs it's currently a bit confusing.

 

FM2+:

 

- A10 7850K

- A10 7700K

- A8 7600

 

There are more, but these are the main 3 that people are buying. The 7850k is the fastest and has the most GPU cores, the 7700K has less GPU cores. And the 7600 is a 45/65W configurable TDP (changes clock speed based on choice) and has the same GPU core count as the 7700K at a lower clock. They're all quad cores.

 

We also have some CPUs, which don't have integrated graphics.

 

FM2+:

 

- Athlon 860K

 

It's just a 7850K with no GPU cores, good value for triple A gaming on a budget IMO.

 

FM2:

 

The older last gen platform, it saw 2 generations, which was really just an overclocked version of the first gen.

 

- A10 6800K

- A10 5800K

- A8 6600K

- A8 5600K

- A6 6400K

- A6 5400K

 

In terms of clock speeds and GPU cores it's lowest to highest, the 6xxx series are the 2nd gen (more of a refresh) which bumped clocks but same GPU/CPU core counts and architecture.

 

And there was some CPUs like the 860K

 

- Athlon 760K

- Athlon 750K

 

The 760K was an overclocked 750k.

[Opcode]

If he's got the same budget as you why not build a similar rig? This rig will be a bit stronger than yours in gaming.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($215.00 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($60.95 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.00 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card  ($212.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.98 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $729.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-24 07:11 EST-0500

[CaptainJack1829]

 

Wow, that was really helpful! Thank you so much! 

 

It sounds like the i5 is the way to go for the power, performance, and future gaming. Could you tell me a little bit about the difference between the GTX's and the Radeon's? (Naming convention, bang for buck, etc.) Like Intel's naming convention, GeForce's is easy to figure out with the [9]60 being the newer model and the 9[60] being the power. 

 

Thanks again!

 

Zach

[harrynowl]

Wow, that was really helpful! Thank you so much! 

 

It sounds like the i5 is the way to go for the power, performance, and future gaming. Could you tell me a little bit about the difference between the GTX's and the Radeon's? (Naming convention, bang for buck, etc.) Like Intel's naming convention, GeForce's is easy to figure out with the [9]60 being the newer model and the 9[60] being the power. 

 

Thanks again!

 

Zach

Well on AMDs side there's this:

 

R(Tier) (Gen)(Level of power)

 

E.g.

 

R9 290X which is currently their highest end card.

 

And I'd expect the highest end card next gen to be...

 

R9 390X.

 

The tiers are 7 and 9 (because AMD)

 

I'll list some nvidia cards and the similarly priced amd alternatives

 

GTX750 - R7 260X

GTX750ti - R9 270

GTX760 - R9 270X

R9 280

GTX960 - R9 280X

R9 290

GTX970 - R9 290X

 

However inbetween price points there's cards like R9 290 and R9 280 which are still very good value if you can't quite get up to the next nvidia tier, I've included them in the table without any GTX competition.

[CaptainJack1829]

 

Thank you so much! You have helped me greatly.

 

Zach

[JustCallMeVlad]

Updated for you. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4M8Fqs