FX-6300 or Core i3-6100 for gaming?

[TwOne]

So, I have been saving up and wanting to buy a new CPU, motherboard and some RAM for a while now.

 

 

However, I don't know what to decide on, with Mantle and DX12 around the corner offering great CPU core utilization, and the FX-6300 performing on par with the i3, and having some OC headroom. But the i3 is pretty much unbeaten in single-threaded workloads, plus has better upgrading path, DDR4 support and some other cool stuff like M.2, SATA Express, USB 3.1 and USB-C (stuff I probably won't use in the coming 5 years).

 

I've paved out two options, I can take the FX-6300 with a CPU cooler, budget motherboard (that covers what I need) and 8GB DDR3-1866 RAM. Or, I can go the i3 route, H110 motherboard and 4GB DDR4-2133, and upgrade to 8 or even 16GB later.

 

Here are the combos I am thinking of: (I can only spend about €225, and I live in the Netherlands)

 

option A (AMD):

AMD FX-6300 (€108,90)

Scythe Shuriken Rev. B (€26,80)

Asus M5A78L-M LX3 (€42,95)     I had my doubts on this one, but people have reported to get 4.4-4.6GHz on it

Kingston HyperX Fury blu HX318C10F/8 (€44,90)

total: €223,55

 

option B (Intel):

Intel Core i3-6100 (€135,50)

Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H (€59,80)

Crucial Ballistix Sport BLS4G4D240FSA (€26,50)

total: €221,80

 

 

Most demanding games I will be playing are Battlefield 4, Grand Theft Auto V and Cities: Skylines. I want something that'll hold me over for a while without having to upgrade much later. I currently have the GeForce GTX 750 Ti.

[don_svetlio]

you need a cooler for the i3

[Memories4K]

6100, hands down the better performer and value in a majority of games.

[Aniallation]

What's the price difference between an H110 board + i3-6100 + DDR4 vs an H81 board + i3-4160 + DDR3?

[Aytex]

are you palying games+ video editing/rendering??

 

if yes then fx is your choice

 

if mainly gaming then i3

[niofalpha]

i3, it has a strong iGPU that you could use to put off getting an actual GPU for awhile so you can save up for a better one

[Memories4K]

you need a cooler for the i3

Why would he need a cooler?

[Aniallation]

you need a cooler for the i3

What's wrong with the cooler it comes with? It's not like it will be OC'd

[don_svetlio]

Why would he need a cooler?

Skylake doesn't come with stock coolers

[don_svetlio]

What's wrong with the cooler it comes with? It's not like it will be OC'd

no included cooler IIRC

[niofalpha]

you need a cooler for the i3

You don't...

Only for K series...

[TwOne]

i3, it has a strong iGPU that you could use to put off getting an actual GPU for awhile so you can save up for a better one

I already have a 750 Ti, so I am fine there.

[Memories4K]

Skylake doesn't come with stock coolers

Only K-series Skylake chips don't come with the stock coolers.

[Enderman]

Skylake doesn't come with stock coolers

http://wccftech.com/intel-skylakes-k-series-no-thermal-solution-tdp-95-w/

 

"K series"

[TheRandomness]

EDIT: Ninja'd by @niofalpha :C

[Nergybrahh]

I opted for the route of AMD simply because it was cheaper and able to run the games I needed which are the same as yours however in terms of wanting to upgrade the only real option for me is to go towards intel which means switching out the motherboard aswell and since im going for skylake I will need to get DDR4 RAM so in short term and cost effectiveness i would go for AMD but if you want to be able to upgrade in the future then Intel is the better option

[Aniallation]

no included cooler IIRC

[Enderman]

I would get the i3, because then you can upgrade easily to an i5 or i7 in the future without having to change your motherboard, reinstall windows, change drivers, etc...

 

swapping the CPU is extremely easy and just works

[Amazingasian]

no included cooler IIRC

It actually does.

[TwOne]

What's the price difference between an H110 board + i3-6100 + DDR4 vs an H81 board + i3-4160 + DDR3?

About €10.

[niofalpha]

I already have a 750 Ti, so I am fine there.

Still it'll perform better in CPU tasks, so it'll be better than the 6300.

 

I opted for the route of AMD simply because it was cheaper and able to run the games I needed which are the same as yours however in terms of wanting to upgrade the only real option for me is to go towards intel which means switching out the motherboard aswell and since im going for skylake I will need to get DDR4 RAM so in short term and cost effectiveness i would go for AMD but if you want to be able to upgrade in the future then Intel is the better option

It's not cheaper tho... ,_,

[NeatSquidYT]

About €10.

Get the i3 then.

[TwOne]

Still it'll perform better in CPU tasks, so it'll be better than the 6300.

 

It's not cheaper tho... ,_,

It is. To get Skylake into budget I had to cut the RAM from 8GB to 4GB.

[niofalpha]

It is. To get Skylake into budget I had to cut the RAM from 8GB to 4GB.

Didn't see the 4GB of Ram difference, sorry...

You should probably put something other than the serial number for future reference...

[Memories4K]

It's not cheaper tho... ,_,

AMD's definitely cheaper than Intel.

Just not a better value compared to Intel, so you get much less for your money.