Are AMD processors worth considering for mid to high end?

[Phynaz]

You can waste your money any way you see fit. But a dual core doesn't make economic sense for a gamer with common sense. Most people would prefer a CPU that can run everything, not just single threaded stuff.

Tom's Hardware:
Games, on the other hand, have taken longer to "get there." With a primary emphasis on graphics performance, it's not surprising that single-threaded engines still exist. However, spawning additional threads and utilizing a greater number of cores allows ISVs to implement better artificial intelligence or add more rigid bodies that can be affected by physics. Increasingly, then, we're seeing more examples of games exhibiting better performance when we use quad-core processor.

Eurogamer:
However, the rest of our titles show the challenge of running multi-threaded software on a dual-core processor. Curiously, it's not really the frame-rates that are the problem - as you can see from the results table, the Pentium puts in a respectable enough performance in many cases. The issue is one of consistency - games are now built typically with four threads or more in mind. Dropping down to two - no matter how fast they are - causes latency and stalling issues that manifest as highly unwelcome stutter during gameplay.

WCCF Tech:
The days of gaming on a budget seem to be coming to an end. More and more games now require quad core CPUs to perform efficiently or even start up for that matter.

http://wccftech.com/death-gaming-dual-core/
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-pentium-g3258-review
https://steamcommunity.com/app/209660/discussions/0/617320628288708612/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427.html

Lol, you just proved my point.

 

[crashtech]

HT just keeps getting better as Intel adds more execution resources to each core. Right now it looks like clock for clock, Skylake i3 versus Haswell Pentium gives around 40% increase in multithread, which is pretty close to an extra core's worth of throughput.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Back when I looked at all the frame time variance charts Tom's tested for that review, the G3258 actually beat the 750K 4 out of 7 times:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37175841&postcount=65

Well, the 860k has considerably better single threaded performance compared to the older 750K -- so that advantage probably evaporated.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Lol, you just proved my point.

I know, right. Engineers generally use facts to support a conclusion.

Another look at the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ4PP24dBXg

It's a nearly universal conclusion to nearly every comparison or video: Quad cores (i5) are probably the sweet spot for gaming right now. 6-16 thread CPU's are still
not being fully harnessed yet. Dual cores barely run some games, thus probably a waste of money for a serious gamer.

 

[cbn]

In GTA V, OC Athlon x 4 860K does better than OC G3258 in minimum frame rate, but its only by 3 FPS.

(Athlon x 4 860K @ 4.6 GHz = 18 min FPS, 21.6 avg FPS)
(Pentium G3258 @ 4.5 Ghz = 15 min FPS, 26.1 avg FPS)

With that mentioned, these are results with an AMD GPU, with a Nvidia GPU the minimum frame rate gap increases from 3 FPS to 10 FPS:

(Athlon x 4 860K @ 4.6 GHz = 25 min FPS, 29 FPS)
(Pentium G3258 @ 4.5 Ghz = 15 min FPS, 31.7 avg FPS)

 

[Phynaz]

What's a "serious" gamer? Is that like a "hardcore" gamer?

Let me guess, if you don't play shooters you aren't a "serious" gamer.

 

[cbn]

Well, the 860k has considerably better single threaded performance compared to the older 750K -- so that advantage probably evaporated.

I think it matters what GPU is being used as well (see post #230).

For example, Nvidia drivers are multi-threaded (in many games) while the AMD driver is single threaded.

Also, the GPU size has an effect on frame time variance:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-pentium-g3258-review

In the highlighted video, you can see that running the game at the high preset (that's one 'notch' down from the ultra-equivalent, very high) in combination with a GTX 760 results in a night-and-day performance differential between the i7 4790K and the Pentium. The additional fidelity in the game simulation, coupled with the immense increase in GPU set-up costs, sees the Anniversary Edition Pentium struggle horrendously to keep pace. What we're seeing here is a classic case of a lack of hardware balance: the G3258 simply can't feed the GTX 760 quickly enough to sustain a consistent frame-rate.

Now, compare and contrast with the secondary analysis, where we drop the GPU down to a far more modest GTX 750 Ti, and lower the overall quality preset to the medium level. In this case, for the most part it is the graphics card that is the bottleneck, and the overall performance level lowers the i7 advantage significantly.

 

[cbn]

Based on what I have written in post #230 and #232 (and also based on my own experience), the worst combination for a G3258 would be a large Nvidia card.

The best combination for G3258 would be a small AMD card.

 

[adamantine.me]

Yes, this is the consensus. There are still fanboys from both camps, though. When I first started researching what parts to build with, I was drawn to AMD because of the lower cost. But after reading many reviews with bench tests and so on, the cost/performance ratio is decidedly in Intels favor, especially if your electricity is expensive

 

[cbn]

Yes, this is the consensus. There are still fanboys from both camps, though. When I first started researching what parts to build with, I was drawn to AMD because of the lower cost. But after reading many reviews with bench tests and so on, the cost/performance ratio is decidedly in Intels favor, especially if your electricity is expensive

One thing I do like about the Athlon x 4 860K is that the stock clocks are much better than G3258

Also, the A88X chipset (found on affordable FM2+ motherboards) supports eight SATA 6 Gbps ports.

Kaveri also supports IOMMU, while G3258 does not.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Kaveri also supports IOMMU

Its not called IOMMU, Its called AMD-Vi.

 

[cbn]

Its not called IOMMU, Its called AMD-Vi.

AMD-Vi is the name for AMD's implementation of IOMMU.

VT-d is the name for Intel's implementation of IOMMU.

 

[TheELF]

Hell, i get the same performance with the A8-7600 on the iGPU at 1080p Low (Scale 60%).

So you get the same FPS on a quad as a celeron,great argument!

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

What's a "serious" gamer? Is that like a "hardcore" gamer?

Let me guess, if you don't play shooters you aren't a "serious" gamer.

There is a distinction between a Casual gamer and a Serious/Hardcore gamer.
Casual gamers bought the Wii. Serious/Hardcore gamers bought a PC or PS3/Xbox 360.

A dual core is probably good enough for the Wii crowd.

 

[Phynaz]

I have a PC, Playstation and a Wii U, what does that make me in your classification?

Saying that somebody is a serious gamer based upon the hardware they use is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

 

[2is]

I have a PC, Playstation and a Wii U, what does that make me in your classification?

Saying that somebody is a serious gamer based upon the hardware they use is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Not quite as dumb as your sig quote though. :sneaky:

 

[mysticjbyrd]

I have a PC, Playstation and a Wii U, what does that make me in your classification?

Saying that somebody is a serious gamer based upon the hardware they use is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

You are pushing the semantics bait hard. Please don't derail the thread with this meaningless argument.

 

[AtenRa]

So you get the same FPS on a quad as a celeron,great argument!

I was with the iGPU and you had the GTX650

 

[TheELF]

I was with the iGPU and you had the GTX650

That is problem with all the tests you do, you are always gpu bottlenecked so you never show true potential but only what you want to show.
Show us the maximum performance of the CPU and not the GPU.

 

[AtenRa]

That is problem with all the tests you do, you are always gpu bottlenecked so you never show true potential but only what you want to show.
Show us the maximum performance of the CPU and not the GPU.

Are you trolling or what ???

Your Dual Core Celeron + GTX 650 at 720p LOW , which i hardly call GPU heavy, produces the same performance as the A8-7600 with its own iGPU.

Either the R7 iGPU of the A8-7600 is as fast as the GTX650 (i highly doubt that) or your CPU is inadequate for the game and you need a quad core or more.

choose which one is it

 

[Magic Carpet]

I have a PC, Playstation and a Wii U, what does that make me in your classification?

You are more of a gamer than me, I stopped all the console gaming around 1996, and hardly game on PC nowadays. Prefer action and outdoor activities for the most part.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

I have a PC, Playstation and a Wii U, what does that make me in your classification?

Saying that somebody is a serious gamer based upon the hardware they use is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

No more dumb than targeting the casual gamer exclusively for a business plan (which explains why the Wii U flopped).

Second, it's not my classification -- The gaming industry has established games targeted for casual gamers versus core gamers. Right now, mobile platforms are considered casual games. Owning modern dedicated gaming hardware would generally distinguish a core gamer. Fruit Ninja was definitely developed for a different audience than Fallout 4.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming...stake-in-abandoning-core-audience-for-casual/

 

[TheELF]

Are you trolling or what ???

Your Dual Core Celeron + GTX 650 at 720p LOW , which i hardly call GPU heavy, produces the same performance as the A8-7600 with its own iGPU.

Either the R7 iGPU of the A8-7600 is as fast as the GTX650 (i highly doubt that) or your CPU is inadequate for the game and you need a quad core or more.

choose which one is it

650 is at 60-80% max you can see it in gpu-z which is running in the background,the problem is with you not showing what your cpu can do.
If you think your cpu can do better than show it,don't just talk about it.