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Difference between I7 cores and AMD cores?

post #1 of 14
2/26/13 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
What is the major difference between the cores? Which one is better for gaming overall or is it mainly just prefrence?
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post #2 of 14
2/26/13 at 11:34pm
This is pretty vague and isn't making a fair comparison. The only i7 worth looking at is the $300 3770. This is $100 more than the most expensive consumer AMD chip at $200. Which performs better? The one that costs 50% more, obviously. Which GPU performs better, the $200 GTX660, or the $300 GTX670?

Start with telling us what you have now, what you want to do, and how much you want to spend. Then we can give you information that actually has value instead of just stabbing in the dark as we would be currently.
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post #3 of 14
2/27/13 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
I am not upgrading at the moment, but I want to next year or so. I was just trying to find out which cpu is better for gaming. That way I can start looking at what path I will be taking. Don't have a real price range probably under $400 for the CPU or mobo CPU combo. There is a lot of Tech savy people here and my hardware side isn't strong so I figured I would get a recommendation for which direction to head.

But here is what I have just so you know. And I primarly play Strategy games but the current games I am playing are Star Craft 2, Civ, Diablo 3, C&C, and Skyrim. Not sure what other information you need. To be honest the only upgrade for me that I feel I will need in the next year or two is a new CPU. Will probably go with the I-3770k since my Motherboard supports it, and I won't have to replace that as well unless I can get a mobo and CPU AMD for around the same.

Gigabyte Intel Z77 CrossfireX ATX MB is $80 value now
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40 GHz LGA1155 CPU is $220 value now
Corsair High Perform Vengeance 16GB DDR3 $115 value now
EVGA Geforce GTX 660 Ti Superclocked $299 Value now

Don't think anything else is really of note.
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post #4 of 14
2/27/13 at 9:43am
Generally the more expensive i5's and i7's are 'better' than the AMD's. How much so in gaming? That is to be debated. It really comes down to your budget. Do you need to save $100 somewhere? Go with the AMD. Can you spare $100 on a cpu? Get the Intel.

Just by looking at the kind of games you play, I would opt for the i7 processor personally. All of those games heavily CPU dependent.
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post #5 of 14
2/27/13 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Thanks price isn't a big worry I get a bonus in Feb so I can upgrade if I feel like it. Havn't had any issues with my games so far so might wait till next Feb to get a new processor. I just see a lot of people talk about the AMD processors so I wasn't sure which was better for gaming in general.
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post #6 of 14
2/27/13 at 11:07am
Clock per clock, in gaming, they are nearly identical. This is why most just opt for the AMD to save a buck. I personally just like i7's in general. I believe they are superior processors overall and why not use the best, right? biggrin.gif

However, you could get an AMD that is stock 3.6ghz or something and overclock it beyond a stock Intel and in that case the AMD could very well be faster in games. Especially those RTS type games.

It's a general question you've asked but there are a lot of answers for it and one could skew the the discussion towards either brand.
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post #7 of 14
2/27/13 at 12:19pm
"Will probably go with the I-3770k since my Motherboard supports it"

That is the exact kind of information that is of value when asking "What's better for me?". A motherboard costs a hundred dollars. Moving to AMD would be $200 CPU + $100 mobo, or you can just spend that $300 on a CPU that fits in your current mobo and end up with a quicker system overall. If you had said that you were running an AM3+ mobo, I'd tell you to drop in a $200 FX-8350 and call it a day. By the same token, it's real hard to find the $100 difference in a $200 i5-3570 and a $300 i7-3770. That $100 is probably better spent somewhere else, like a new keyboard, or chair, or fancy garbage can for your office.

Since the upgrade in question isn't until next year though, this is all wanking for the sake of wanking. I'm fairly certain that none of us here are precognitive and the correct answer today means nothing a year from now.
Edited by darklordjames - 2/27/13 at 12:29pm
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post #8 of 14
2/27/13 at 12:20pm
Thread Starter 
If the difference isn't massive I will stick with what my Mobo for now can use. Just make it simple. I don't have liquid cooling or anything so I tend to never overclock anything. I don't have a high bar set for most things. The only game I have issues with ever is Diablo 3, but I am positive that is purely from server lag.
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post #9 of 14
2/27/13 at 12:30pm
Reading the above again


Wait...

You're already running an i5 3570? There is no CPU that you can buy that will make a human-noticeable difference in your performance. If you want a better experience, sell your 660ti and spend that $300 toward a GTX680. Or drop in another 16GB of ram so you can precache more items so you don't have to wait for data to load in from drives as often. Or get a 500GB Samsung 840 SSD to use exclusively for your Steam library.
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post #10 of 14
2/27/13 at 1:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
That is the exact kind of information that is of value when asking "What's better for me?".

Sorry Darklord I was vague because I wasn't really worrying much about now. I just assumed there was maybe a chipset that was better geared for gaming. It seems they are similar enough it doesn't matter. I was just looking for general knowledge I don't have. It seems it is more of choice or cost. I will try to pin down more specifics in the future to create less of an annoyance.
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You're already running an i5 3570? There is no CPU that you can buy that will make a human-noticeable difference in your performance.

That is good then. I will just worry about getting a new Mobo and CPU in a year or two.
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Or drop in another 16GB of ram so you can precache more items so you don't have to wait for data to load in from drives as often. Or get a 500GB Samsung 840 SSD to use exclusively for your Steam library.

Do those SSD make that big a difference?
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post #11 of 14
2/27/13 at 1:54pm
Yes they do!
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post #12 of 14
2/27/13 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnvsimpson View Post

Do those SSD make that big a difference?

For the OS, definitely.
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post #13 of 14
2/27/13 at 5:39pm
Even my girl's "Chrome and iTunes only" machine runs an SSD now for the OS. They are a great place to spend $100 on a machine.
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post #14 of 14
2/28/13 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
Well I may do that now since a dental bill I thought I was suppose to pay got covered by my insurance. Bonus $800 for me.
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