AMD or Intel for $500 Budget

[DontUSASme]

I was wanting to build a console priced gaming PC for around $500-550. From what I've been hearing, AMD's APU is the way to go, but won't see any real performance benefit until Kaveri comes around. That in mind, I was thinking about Intel's Haswell Core i3 when it launches. So basically, what would do better, an AMD APU, possibly Hybrid Crossfire later with an appropriate card, or getting a Haswell i3 and a GTX 760? Thanks for your responses.

[calebp123]

amd

[Eddyall]

i3 with 760, APU isn't enough as is hybrid CF.

[Godlygamer23]

Better GPU support if you go with the i3 and 760, as you won't have to do deal with any multi-GPU issues with some games.

[Coombzy]

i3 if you buy that it gives you room to upgrade if you ever wanted to and the 760 is a good card not sure if there would be any bottlenecking but I assume no.

[DontUSASme]

Thanks for the fast responses. I'd have no idea what motherboard to get, however. I'm not to familiar with Haswell just yet. 

[GamerDad]

Your answer depends on what your specific needs are.

 

Is space an issue? Depending on your PC case, if space is an issue then I suggest you got for an AMD APU. With it, you won't need the space that a proper GPU will require.

 

With that said, the fact you specifically want a PC "console" indicates that going the Intel + GPU route would be your best option. Especially if you intend to use the GTX 760 that you're looking at, you'll get better gaming value out of it with the coming Shadowplay features as well as compatibility with nVidia Shield.

If I were you, I'd get an overclockable cpu to get the most out of your games. I don't see why an I3 wouldn't suit your needs, but the currently available i5 4670k is a great processor!
 

[Godlygamer23]

i3 if you buy that it gives you room to upgrade if you ever wanted to and the 760 is a good card not sure if there would be any bottlenecking but I assume no.

Most likely no bottlenecking.

[Godlygamer23]

Your answer depends on what your specific needs are.

 

Is space an issue? Depending on your PC case, if space is an issue then I suggest you got for an AMD APU. With it, you won't need the space that a proper GPU will require.

 

He was going to do Hybrid Crossfire, so he would add in a discrete card.

[TechFan@ic]

I would not recommend an i3 for gaming , especially now that games are going to require more threads, an i3 will not give playable frame rates.

http://gamegpu.ru/action-/-fps-/-tps/crysis-3-the-lost-island-test-gpu.html

I would recommend getting an FX 6300 from AMD & a dedicated GPU, it will cost you the same as an i3 but will provide significantly better performance in the long run.

I would also recommend getting an HD 7950 over a 760, it performs significantly better when both are overclocked & has a larger frame bugger (3GB as compared to the 760's 2GB)

HD 7950 @ 1100mhz, GTX 760 @ 1230mhz

 

 

[DontUSASme]

According from Tech of Tomorrow, they are within a couple FPS.

 

 

 

 

Also, a lot of cards I see from the red camp come around $200. If I'm on a tight budget, I'd rather save a couple bucks and put that into something else.

 

EDIT: Most 760's are around $150.

[asusfan]

for around $500 it would be very difficult to build a small gamer system with any decent performance. especially if you need to buy everything like monitor, keyboard, operating system.

 

what do you have now? or is this budget for everything?

[Ultimate_PIMP]

According from Tech of Tomorrow, they are within a couple FPS.

 

I haven't looked at the benchmark elric did of this, but looking at those scores i'm guessing he probably didn't overclock the cards.

It is VERY easy to overclock a gpu, you literally just move a slider in afterburner.

That being said, the 7950 is an insane overclocker. therefore i would much lean toward a 7950.

From what I've seen the gtx 7xx series cards arent very good at overclocking.

 

Also definitely consider an fx-6300/fx-6350. I posted a thread here showing the fx-6300's benchmarks in cinebench.

Even a mild overclock can get you near the performance of a stock 3570k. (And it only costs $100)

[Shrubpig]

i3 if you buy that it gives you room to upgrade if you ever wanted to and the 760 is a good card not sure if there would be any bottlenecking but I assume no.

An i3 barely bottlenecks a 690 so... lol

[Fetzie]

Why are you guys suggesting he buy an HD 7950 when that would blow half the budget?

 

Something like an A8-5600K, Asrock FM2A55M-DGS with an HD 7850, 2x2GB RAM, Antec VP450 PSU and a WD Caviar blue in a Fractal Core 1000 or Corsair 200D would be around 500 dollars.

[Cobalt]

From what I've heard Richland is pretty competitive in single GPU solutions.

If you are not planning APU, why not a FX-4300?? benches show it better than an i3.

[Reno2792]

From what I've heard Richland is pretty competitive in single GPU solutions.

If you are not planning APU, why not a FX-4300?? benches show it better than an i3.

Also, AMD platforms (Mobo and CPU) are generally less expensive than Intel platforms.

[KneesWeak]

a10 5800k's are actually pretty decent with dedicated gpus after u disable onboard video, I'd buy one a those and build a decent basic rig around that and later when u can afford it, plop in a gtx 760 or something and u might be set, also if u can get ur budget up 8320's can be bought for $140 a good 970 board for $80 and maybe a 7870 or 7850

[Darell3]

I was wanting to build a console priced gaming PC for around $500-550. From what I've been hearing, AMD's APU is the way to go, but won't see any real performance benefit until Kaveri comes around. That in mind, I was thinking about Intel's Haswell Core i3 when it launches. So basically, what would do better, an AMD APU, possibly Hybrid Crossfire later with an appropriate card, or getting a Haswell i3 and a GTX 760? Thanks for your responses.

For budget constraints and best bang for you buck i would go AMD.

[Saan Koneri]

I was wanting to build a console priced gaming PC for around $500-550. From what I've been hearing, AMD's APU is the way to go, but won't see any real performance benefit until Kaveri comes around. That in mind, I was thinking about Intel's Haswell Core i3 when it launches. So basically, what would do better, an AMD APU, possibly Hybrid Crossfire later with an appropriate card, or getting a Haswell i3 and a GTX 760? Thanks for your responses.

Try to find used 2500K & Z68 mobo with it, that would be best bang for buck if you can't then 3570K or 4670K with Z77 or Z87 mobo. For GPU used GTX 680, you can save a lot of money if you buy used components, from a reliable seller and in mint condition of course.

[Guest GRRigger]

CPU-AMD FX 8320 160$
RAM-G.SKILL ripjaws 4GB Ram(2X4GB) 72$
GPU-SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7850 140$
Asus M5A97 68$
HDD-Western Digital WD Blue 500 GB 60$
Case-NZXT Source 210 30$
PSU-Corsair CX 430 20$ ( mail rebate )   80+ bronze

perfect 550$ and build that will last you till volcanic islands, then you sell 7850 for 130$ bucks and buy gpu that is more powerful, 2gb of vram, and consume less electricity, so something like 9770 or even 9750, depends how much powerful will shrinken node and more transistors will be.

 

8320 can be OCed to 8350 with a hyper 212 or something, that is similar to i5 in performance, but has 4 more cores, so core for core is weaker, but future games will take those 6 / 8 cores so not to worry

 

graphic card is very powerful for its price, but its 1 gig so it will bottleneck down the road, so obvious choice is to upgrade when 9000 series comes out. and its super cheap and overclockable, and you will be able to sell it for definitly more than 120$ in october / november / december when new card of your choice comes out

 

tell me what you think

 

this build is perfect for 720p mid / high next gen gaming, but because 1 gig vram, 1080p is not suitable

anymore. had to cut some out, and i did it at graphic card. because that is the easiest way to replace it, becuase prices are dropping so fast, and cpu power is no bottleneck, so no need to change it at all

 

newegg <- retailer

[TechFan@ic]

8320 can be OCed to 8350 with a hyper 212 or something, that is similar to i5 in performance, but has 4 more cores, so core for core is weaker, but future games will take those 6 / 8 cores so not to worry

Actually, I got my FX 8320 from 3.5 to 4.4Ghz on stock voltage with the stock cooler, but the cooler does get loud under load max temp is 52c though, which is super cool.

My top 2 CPU picks are definitely the FX 8320 & the FX 6300 for more budget friendly builds.

[slasher0161]

Get the above build but hold fire on gpu, save a few more bucks and slap in a 7950 and oc it. Will destroy most things you throw at it at 1080p.

[Guest GRRigger]

Actually, I got my FX 8320 from 3.5 to 4.4Ghz on stock voltage with the stock cooler, but the cooler does get loud under load max temp is 52c though, which is super cool.

My top 2 CPU picks are definitely the FX 8320 & the FX 6300 for more budget friendly builds.

yep, anything lower than i5 or 6 core amd is buying previous-gen processors. if new games are indeed optimized toward 6 cores or even 8, better buy now, or 4 core AMD or dual cor i3 will struggle -work but bottleneck.

 

nice OC btw, those temps you got are godly. guess you have well ventilated case and good processor sample?

[TechFan@ic]

yep, anything lower than i5 or 6 core amd is buying previous-gen processors. if new games are indeed optimized toward 6 cores or even 8, better buy now, or 4 core AMD or dual cor i3 will struggle -work but bottleneck.

 

nice OC btw, those temps you got are godly. guess you have well ventilated case and good processor sample?

I'm not entirely sure, but I think I might have won the silicone lottery, can't tell if I did because I haven't tried to OC it any further, will do so once the 140mm brackets for my Noctua NH C14 arrive, so I can install the NF A14 fans on it & finally use it.

I did load my CPU using prime95 for about 20 minutes, it was stable with temps of about 50c jumping occasionally to 51-52, the cooler does get obnoxiously loud though.

It's worth noting though that generally speaking AMD FX CPUs operate under significantly lower temperatures than Ivy bridge or Haswell CPUs,

The maximum allowed temp allowed for the 8 core FX CPUs is 68c, after that the CPU starts cycling cores to avoid damage.