3570k or 8350 guide

[Kilmer02]

Hi guys! I've decided to make a thread that may help you answer a very tough decision. I went through this same choice when I was building my gaming rig and i figured that since I see countless threads on the forums about this choice, i'd make a guide pertaining to this topic. I'm going to be AS unbiased as possible. But I'm going to be honest with you. I went with the 3570k. If you wish you may take that into account if you're trying to determine bias in this guide. But I can assure you i'm doing this without bias.

Now instead of listing the ways that one processor is not as good as the other, I'm going to list specific usage situations where one IS better then the other. In order for this guide to be effective you must take into account the purpose behind your rig that you will be building.

So without further adieu, lets get started.

Usage scenario #1

General gaming, not focused on one specific game.

Winner: 3570k.

Reasoning: There is a common misconception that the more cores you throw at a game the better it will run. The AMD might have 8 cores, but the games that you play will most of the time not be optimized to run on more then 2 cores. And in this situation, the 3570k's 4 very strong cores when compared to the AMD 8 core's less powerful core architecture wins. Linus has done a video on this.

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Scenario 2

Gaming rig built for specific games that are optimized to use 4/6+ cores.

Winner: Tie:4 core optimization. With slight intel advantage due to architecture. Winner 6+cores optimization: 8350

Reasoning 4 core optimization: Intel's 4 cores in the 3570k are still better in this situation by reasoning of the more advanced and efficient core architecture. Thats just a fact.

Reasoning 6 core optimization: Obviously if a game is optimized to allow for the use of more then 6 cores the 8350's 6 cores will outdo the intel's 4 cores even though they have better architecture.

Scenario 3:

Going for the most kergigahertz possible in extreme overclocking (I mean like LN2 overclocking)

Winner: 8350

Reasoning: It holds the records [url=http://valid.canardpc.com/records.php]http://valid.canardpc.com/records.php[/url=http://valid.canardpc.com/records.php]

Scenario 4:

Heavily threaded programs such as encryption, video editing, image rendering.

Winner: 8350

Reasoning: Look at almost any graphs comparing the two in this usage scenario. The 8 cores that AMD is able to throw at the application will outdo the 3570k's core architecture.

Scenario 5

Value gaming rig aimed at non-specific games.

Winner: 8350

Reasoning: Even if the 8350's core architecture is not as strong as intel's, an 8350 is more then enough to play 99% of games at max settings. I will also site reasoning for this in my conclusion.

Conclusion:

So as you can see there are very specific usage scenarios where the cheaper AMD 8 core will outdo the 3570k. But there is one big thing that i'd like to make a note of. Modern games do not use as much CPU power as they do GPU power. If you are on a tight budget, go with the 8350 and spend the savings on the GPU. Your CPU is not as important for high end gaming as your GPU. Hopefully this will help you decide on your buy. I'm open to criticism on this so if you've got any shoot it at me. and I'll do my best to respond. This guide is still a work in progress because it was written in school. There will be more graphs posted and evidence posted to back up my statements so don't worry. And please keep in mind this is my opinion backed up with some facts. This is not an official guide nor is it a perfect guide.

And please, don't start gpu wars on here.

[Wats]

Pretty good lil guide!

Some of your links aren't 'right'. Just copy and paste the URL without the [url=.

[Nit3Rid3R]

Hmm, interesting how you say that they 8350 is the winner in the video encoding etc etc side. Because from what I've seen and tested, the 3570k encodes video quicker most of the time. Mainly because of the use of Intel's Hyper threading technology.

But again, the 8350 is a beast of an overclocker, with a good cooler you'd hit 5Ghz quite easily, where's the 3570k starts struggling after 4.7Ghz ish.

[Dim]

Hmm, interesting how you say that they 8350 is the winner in the video encoding etc etc side. Because from what I've seen and tested, the 3570k encodes video quicker most of the time. Mainly because of the use of Intel's Hyper threading technology.

But again, the 8350 is a beast of an overclocker, with a good cooler you'd hit 5Ghz quite easily, where's the 3570k starts struggling after 4.7Ghz ish.

But the 3570K doesn't have hyperthreading?

[Nit3Rid3R]

Hmm, interesting how you say that they 8350 is the winner in the video encoding etc etc side. Because from what I've seen and tested, the 3570k encodes video quicker most of the time. Mainly because of the use of Intel's Hyper threading technology.

But again, the 8350 is a beast of an overclocker, with a good cooler you'd hit 5Ghz quite easily, where's the 3570k starts struggling after 4.7Ghz ish.

Wait...what...

*facepalm* Damn...so...much...fail...I'm going to hide in a hole now.

[Kilmer02]

Hmm, interesting how you say that they 8350 is the winner in the video encoding etc etc side. Because from what I've seen and tested, the 3570k encodes video quicker most of the time. Mainly because of the use of Intel's Hyper threading technology.

But again, the 8350 is a beast of an overclocker, with a good cooler you'd hit 5Ghz quite easily, where's the 3570k starts struggling after 4.7Ghz ish.

its ok, you pointed out a flaw of my own you can come out.

[Travianw135]

I agree with this guide. Also, how well does Hyper-Threading actually work in video editing and rendering?

[Huntsman]

I how well does Hyper-Threading actually work in video editing and rendering?

3570k doesn't support hyperthreading. But if you absolutely need to know, hyperthreading is a technology which allows one core to be seen as 2 to the OS. The reasoning behind this technology according to intel is that it will allow full use of cores since most applications doesn't fully utilize a core. splitting it into 2 will allow the OS to use "both cores" while in reality, the OS is just making full use of a single core.

how does that affect video editing and rendering? well, the process of video rendering and editing is actually very optimized for as much cores possible. so with hyperthreading, you split 4 cores into 8 cores(they are called threads technically) and instant more cores to boost video editing and rendering.

note: after the microsoft patch, 8350 is seen as 4 cores with 8 threads though. which fits somewhat since 8350 is 4 sets of cores but each set shares resources so its technically not 8 cores at all

[WitzTech]

Thank you! Someone actually pointing out that in the real world, it really comes down to GPU not CPU power, and that either of these processors are perfectly fine choices. If you can get a good deal on a 8350, then get that. If you can get a good deal on the 3570K, get that.

Two more point I'd like to point out:

Power consumption: The Intel CPU makes more sense if you are upgrading a system and you have limited wattage to work with (or want a lower power system).

Motherboard costs: AMD motherboards SEEM to be better value than their intel counterparts. take ASUS' Sabertooth line of products for example:

[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=sabertooth&bop=And&SrchInDesc=Motherboards&Page=1&PageSize=20]http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=sabertooth&bop=And&SrchInDesc=Motherboards&Page=1&PageSize=20[/url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=sabertooth&bop=And&SrchInDesc=Motherboards&Page=1&PageSize=20]

The AMD "version" is 60 dollars less and has:

more SATA3 connections (8 vs 4)

more USB ports

IS 60 FREAKING DOLLARS LESS! Is that "heat shield" really worth 60 dollars?