should I abandon the AMD ship? (Updated)

[Maximilian]

The topic really got the attention of you guys. Thanks for all the feedback so far. I am still on the fence, the second 7970 will be here in a few hours for testing. I am looking at some i7 Z97 builds now, specifically i7 4790k & Asrock Z97 Extreme4 for 380 with a 15$ mail in rebate from microcenter. Still a lot of coin with unknown performance gains with my setup. Gota love upgrading

If you're looking at the 4790k it might be worth checking out the 5820k hexacore on socket 2011.

The chip itself isnt much more expensive, the DDR4 and motherboard prices might kill the deal though I havent checked.

 

[Schmide]

I'm sry. 1150 is not dead dudes!!! Especially when there is no current main stream alternative!!! This is just hyperbole.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

If you're looking at the 4790k it might be worth checking out the 5820k hexacore on socket 2011.

The chip itself isnt much more expensive, the DDR4 and motherboard prices might kill the deal though I havent checked.

Agreed -- if you are upgrading right now -- Socket 2011 is the best option as long as the budget allows for it.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

I'm sry. 1150 is not dead dudes!!! Especially when there is no current main stream alternative!!! This is just hyperbole.

It's the end of the road for pretty much everything running DDR3.... I don't think we have a Rambus situation where the future is unclear. It's pretty obvious that the mainstream will migrate to DDR4 platforms within 18 months -- and socket 1150 isn't invited.

As others have already mentioned, if the OP really feels the need to upgrade at the current moment -- it's probably wiser to step up to the i7 5820k, new motherboard and DDR4. That doesn't come cheap: $200 for the motherboard, $400 for the CPU and $100 for the memory -- but it's probably the smartest upgrade to "futureproof" his build. It will likely give his build a longer usable life by going with DDR4 and a larger performance gain over his existing setup. Socket 1150 really has shifted downward into the midrange now that LGA 2011-V3 is hitting the streets.

 

[Seba]

Anything you buy now will be obsolete in 18 months anyway. Even the DDR4 modules. Like DDR3-800 is obsolete now.

 

[Schmide]

No one is going to migrate until prices stabilize and performance justifies it.

The true reality is Intel will never eat its own, meaning they make sure they have a full segment of tiers to sell to the public.

History shows that memory technologies overlap for at least 3 years if not more. If you want to be an early adopter, go ahead, but do so at your own cost.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

No one is going to migrate until prices stabilize and performance justifies it.

The true reality is Intel will never eat its own, meaning they make sure they have a full segment of tiers to sell to the public.

History shows that memory technologies overlap for at least 3 years if not more. If you want to be an early adopter, go ahead, but do so at your own cost.

But the OP was talking about upgrading from an overclocked FX-6300.... There really is no way to justify the investment to migrating to socket 1150 for such minimal gains. At least moving to LGA 2011-V3 has actual benefits by moving him to the next generation memory standards. Plus he'd also be buying a motherboard that could support an 8 Core Intel CPU for a future upgrade. You can't do any of those things on 1150 -- which is why 1150 would be a pointless waste of money in his situation. Plus, The i7 5820K SIX core is actually one of the better values in the Intel lineup right now. It's only FORTY BUCKS more than the quad core 4790K.

Let me quote AnandTech now:
"The i7-5820K is on par with the i7-3960X at just over a third of the release cost. These two processors have the same core count and same frequency, but differ in their architecture, PCIe lane count and price. With the i7-5820K being two generations newer, it should afford a 10-15% performance improvement in CPU limited benchmarks. This is quite amazing if we consider the release price of the i7-3960X was $990 and the release price of the i7-5820K is $389."

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Anything you buy now will be obsolete in 18 months anyway. Even the DDR4 modules. Like DDR3-800 is obsolete now.

DDR3 was introduced 7 years ago -- not 18 months.
I'm also willing to bet that DDR4 2133 will still be pretty good a year and a half from now if you bought it today

 

[Seba]

DDR3 was introduced 7 years ago -- not 18 months.
I'm also willing to bet that DDR4 2133 will still be pretty good a year and a half from now if you bought it today

Correct. I should have said "like DDR3-800 modules were obsolete after 18 months since their introduction".

 

[crashtech]

X99 is just not a cost effective upgrade for most people at this time. Takes about $850 for an entry level 5820K setup, I know because I am currently looking into it and not liking what I see.

And LGA1150 is not a dead-end platform. There are even some upcoming Broadwell CPUs slated for use in 9 series models in 2015. It's the platform of choice for high performance on a sane budget.

So distressing so see the hyperbole and lies of omission. I think standards have fallen even in my brief time here.

 

[Cerb]

X99 is just not a cost effective upgrade for most people at this time. Takes about $850 for an entry level 5820K setup, I know because I am currently looking into it and not liking what I see.

And LGA1150 is not a dead-end platform. There are even some upcoming Broadwell CPUs slated for use in 9 series models in 2015. It's the platform of choice for high performance on a sane budget.

So distressing so see the hyperbole and lies of omission. I think standards have fallen even in my brief time here.

If you got a i7-4790k now, what sort of upgrade would Broadwell be, even if your board could support it? Unless you got a low-end CPU, any platform may as well be dead as soon as your system using it POSTs. Non-platform-level CPU upgrades rarely make sense. These days, less than 3 generations worth of upgrading generally don't, much of the time.

 

[Leyawiin]

I am wanting to update my primary rig. AMD FX 6300 @ 4.6ghz, gigabyte 990FXA-ud3, 8gig ddr3 1600, 2x840 evo ssds, Corsair TX750 PSU, and Sapphire 7970 (second in the mail for crossfire).

I recently sold an FX-6300 @ 4.5 Ghz rig and built an i5-4690K/ASUS Z97-A computer. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. Even with a fairly healthy overclock the FX-6300 can't compare to the stock performance of the i5-4690K. Not to mention the Intel uses far less power and keeps the office room cooler as a result. If you can swing the extra cost I'd suggest doing exactly what I did. AMD is not worth bothering with if you're serious about gaming (and this is coming from someone who has never own Intel in 11 years of building PCs).

 

[Cheesesticksandbeer]

I recently sold an FX-6300 @ 4.5 Ghz rig and built an i5-4690K/ASUS Z97-A computer. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. Even with a fairly healthy overclock the FX-6300 can't compare to the stock performance of the i5-4690K. Not to mention the Intel uses far less power and keeps the office room cooler as a result. If you can swing the extra cost I'd suggest doing exactly what I did. AMD is not worth bothering with if you're serious about gaming (and this is coming from someone who has never own Intel in 11 years of building PCs).

Good point, i feel that if I purchase the i5/Z97 combo it would provide a substantial increase and upgrade path to broadwell. If I was to get the i7 an upgrade to broadwell might be a waste. i5 upgrade would be cost effective at around 260$ for MB/CPU and I could more then likely recover about $150 on my current MB/CPU.

My only issue wigh an i5 is, when games use more and more cores, in theory a game that uses 6-8 cores I would think an 8350 oc might beat an i5. That really is an important issue with me. I think some of the benches I have seem tend to support that as well.

 

[crashtech]

If you got a i7-4790k now, what sort of upgrade would Broadwell be, even if your board could support it? Unless you got a low-end CPU, any platform may as well be dead as soon as your system using it POSTs. Non-platform-level CPU upgrades rarely make sense. These days, less than 3 generations worth of upgrading generally don't, much of the time.

Regardless of any hair-splitting we might do, Skylake is a year away, and probably won't offer more than a modest increment. So 1150 is going to remain viable for quite some time, similar to the way that 1155 is still a relatively high performing option.

 

[Maximilian]

Why is it bad to run a dead end platform anyway? :|

Its not like any amazing gains are ever had from future "upgrades". Maybe the few pentium 4 boards that could take a core2 but apart from that...

Plus its not like the supply of old parts dries up quickly. Want some SDRAM for that bollocks old rig you got? Ebay!

 

[escrow4]

Good point, i feel that if I purchase the i5/Z97 combo it would provide a substantial increase and upgrade path to broadwell. If I was to get the i7 an upgrade to broadwell might be a waste. i5 upgrade would be cost effective at around 260$ for MB/CPU and I could more then likely recover about $150 on my current MB/CPU.

My only issue wigh an i5 is, when games use more and more cores, in theory a game that uses 6-8 cores I would think an 8350 oc might beat an i5. That really is an important issue with me. I think some of the benches I have seem tend to support that as well.

The 8350 is a quad core. It has 8 modules that have atrocious single threaded performance which games need. Move to a 4790K and there is no competition.

 

[crashtech]

The 8350 is a quad core. It has 8 modules that have atrocious single threaded performance which games need. Move to a 4790K and there is no competition.

I don't think it is fair to use the word "atrocious." It's just that you have to overclock the snot out of an 8350 to then get ST performance about in line with a stock clocked Sandy Bridge CPU. Basically it's a design that should have been superseded already but hasn't due to lack of R&D funds.

 

[Cheesesticksandbeer]

The 8350 is a quad core. It has 8 modules that have atrocious single threaded performance which games need. Move to a 4790K and there is no competition.

One, I agree on the i7 point. However, my understanding is the 8350 has 8 cores which shares resources. My point is still 100% valid if I am correct. And yes I understand the single thread performance, but a program that fully uses the 8350 potential "should" beat the i5 in certain sitations.

I am in no way saying overall the 8350 is better, but you must admit the 8350 has the potential if fully utilized to hold its own and in some sitations best the i5.

 

[Rvenger]

OP, if you move to an FX 8350 and plan on overclocking to similar speeds you will need to probably upgrade your PSU which you won't have to for a 4690k or 4790k setup. The 2nd HD 7970 may put you over the edge with the 8 core overclocked.

 

[Ramses]

Buy once cry once. If you're gonna do it, I wouldn't jerk around with an I5, suck it up for as much i7 and as new a chipset board as you can. Pick a percentage increase in performance you want across the board to make it worth it and do some math from reviews online. If the percentage isn't there for what you are willing to spend, wait till it is. Also bare in mind you are apt to be sick of crossfire in a couple months and need to blow a small fortune on a good single vid card. It's great when it works but it's still finicky in my couple months worth of experience. Plenty fast, just finicky.

 

[crashtech]

One, I agree on the i7 point. However, my understanding is the 8350 has 8 cores which shares resources. My point is still 100% valid if I am correct. And yes I understand the single thread performance, but a program that fully uses the 8350 potential "should" beat the i5 in certain sitations.

I am in no way saying overall the 8350 is better, but you must admit the 8350 has the potential if fully utilized to hold its own and in some sitations best the i5.

That is correct. But I would direct you to the Cinebench 11.5 thread, which shows many different CPUs and how they perform fully loaded. There is an FX in there that is clocked at 5.34GHz, I believe.

 

[Leyawiin]

Buy once cry once. If you're gonna do it, I wouldn't jerk around with an I5

I'd hardly call it jerking around. I'm practically dancing in the streets from my i5-4690k and a Z97 board.

 

[Ramses]

I say jerking around in the most loving way possible.

 

[crashtech]

In Cinebench 11.5 all cores loaded, one Intel Haswell core w/o HT is roughly equal to two Piledriver cores (or one module).

Really the only time Piledriver is worth it is if you KNOW you are going to be using those cores hard all the time.

 

[SlowSpyder]

That is correct. But I would direct you to the Cinebench 11.5 thread, which shows many different CPUs and how they perform fully loaded. There is an FX in there that is clocked at 5.34GHz, I believe.

There sure is a 5.34GHz FX.

Well, I have nothing to do tonight, so let's see if we can't get 5.4Ghz...