AMD vs Intel - or - How I got my first build (+little what's what on PC parts)

[QwarkDreams]

Got my SSD in a few days ago. It's a Kingston V300, 120 GB in size. I wasn't looking to buy, but the seller on Amazon (HPP Electronics) had it accidentally marked down from $80 to $25, so I jumped on it. Now, I have to deal with backing up my media/files, then installing the SSD, then putting the OS on it, then re-connecting the HDD, then formatting the HDD to get the Windows stuff off. Ugh, too lazy.

Part of the reason is I don't have a disc drive, so I have to go pull my cousin's out and borrow it to do the install, and I'm not in the mood.

Really, REALLY don't wanna rain on your parade but I think you might wanna know why the price most likely dropped that much: Kingston recently changed their V300, making it performing slower.
:-(
AnandTech | An Update to Kingston SSDNow V300: A Switch to Slower Micron NAND

Make some performance tests, maybe you got an old one, that would be really great.

 

[Keith Wallace]

I know about that, this was a pricing error, though. They sent out things about how the business was trying ot get out of honoring the requests and stuff. Heck, I don't know that I care either way, though. I mean, even if it's a lower-quality drive, I spent less than one-third its normal price on it, so I can't say it matters.

 

[radmanvr]

Just built this guy recently. Mid range budget. OC CPU to about 4.2GHZ stable.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H75 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($151.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($129.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 1GB ACX Video Card ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser A31 Snow White ATX Mid Tower Case ($67.42 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Azza 650W ATX Power Supply ($58.10 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1025.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 11:39 EDT-0400

 

[QwarkDreams]

Just built this guy recently. Mid range budget. OC CPU to about 4.2GHZ stable.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H75 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($151.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($129.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 1GB ACX Video Card ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser A31 Snow White ATX Mid Tower Case ($67.42 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Azza 650W ATX Power Supply ($58.10 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1025.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 11:39 EDT-0400

Nice rig. The only thing that bothers me is the i5 + GeForce 750 combination. Why did you decide to get this GPU?

Also, your rig-specs might be better here ;-)
http://forums.windowscentral.com/pc-gaming/250969-6.htm

 

[radmanvr]

Nice rig. The only thing that bothers me is the i5 + GeForce 750 combination. Why did you decide to get this GPU?

Also, your rig-specs might be better here ;-)
http://forums.windowscentral.com/pc-gaming/250969-6.htm

Can you help me understand this better?

My choice of Intel vs AMD?
My choice of Nvidia vs AMD

or specifically the i5 4670k + GeForce 750 combination? as in why did I pair these 2 items together?

 

[Keith Wallace]

I wasn't sure if he meant brand choice or high-end CPU and mid-range GPU, since the vast majority of games are still GPU-bound.

 

[radmanvr]

I wasn't sure if he meant brand choice or high-end CPU and mid-range GPU, since the vast majority of games are still GPU-bound.

MMOs are more CPU heavy than GPU heavy. Also, It was for budget reason. My wife would not approve of me buying the Nvidia Titan Black.

I do not play FPS which are more GPU than CPU.

I hope this answers your question

 

[QwarkDreams]

MMOs are more CPU heavy than GPU heavy. Also, It was for budget reason. My wife would not approve of me buying the Nvidia Titan Black.

I do not play FPS which are more GPU than CPU.

I hope this answers your question

A Titan Black would've been overkill and most times doesn't even justify the money^^

I meant what Keith said, mid range CPU (or let's call it beginning of upper class) paired with an entry-level GPU. A R9 270 costs about 130-180$
With an i5 and 16GB RAM a 750 just stands out. That's what I wanted to say. It kinda seems too weak for a powerful (and OC'd) CPU like the i5.

 

[Keith Wallace]

When you consider the range of CPUs out there, I deem the 4670K high-end. The Ivy Bridge-E is exactly what it's called, enthusiast-class, not a real consumer product. The i7-4770K is the only CPU that'll REALLY beat it (an overclocked 3770K probably would as well), when you're talking legitimate consumer builds. When you've got the entry-level Pentium stuff and the AMD APUs, I'd start saying that the Haswell i3 and the AMD FX-6300 series and lower stuff is mid-range, while the AMD FX-8300 stuff and Intel i5/i7 to be upper-tier parts.

That's if we're sticking to the 3-tier ideal of low/middle/high. We could draw it up with as many tiers as we want, though.

 

[radmanvr]

My last rig:
AMD Phenom II x4 970 BE
HD Radeon 7700
16gb Ram

Wanted to try something new. Never owned an NVIDIA before my brothers i3 GTX 550 rig is still holding strong but my AMD rig has been lagging a lot.

Main reasons I opted for Intel + NVIDIA

 

[Keith Wallace]

I'm sure that had to do with the CPU gap. The 970's 3.5 years old. Intel was winning at that time. If your brother's i3 is Sandy Bridge or newer, it would make sense for it to be winning, especially at MMOs Intel's a good decision though, if you are doing WoW, as it's said to be single-thread friendly.

 

[radmanvr]

Currently, playing Wild Star, they seem to have similar graphic demand as WoW.

Wild Star is not very optimized currently and I am see performance issues. Spikes and dips from high 20's to 60 FPS. Once It's optimized I will decided to either SLI by GTX 550 or go for GTX 760, as the 760 price is not omgwtf. (wife would not approve of price higher than the price for 760)

 

[Keith Wallace]

Currently, playing Wild Star, they seem to have similar graphic demand as WoW.

Wild Star is not very optimized currently and I am see performance issues. Spikes and dips from high 20's to 60 FPS. Once It's optimized I will decided to either SLI by GTX 550 or go for GTX 760, as the 760 price is not omgwtf. (wife would not approve of price higher than the price for 760)

I'd look around and see what people say about SLI on that game. I don't know if it's one, but many games have issues with SLI, so a new, single-card setup might be better.

Also, do you have VSync off?

 

[radmanvr]

VSync is per application and I have it off for Wild Star.

Been doing a little reading its not the GPU that is the problem its the game itself. People with GTX 780 and i7 4770k are getting FPS dips into the low 20's. SLI works according to one Dev. At this point making any improvements in hardware will not land me an improvement in performance.

 

[QwarkDreams]

Currently, playing Wild Star, they seem to have similar graphic demand as WoW.

Wild Star is not very optimized currently and I am see performance issues. Spikes and dips from high 20's to 60 FPS. Once It's optimized I will decided to either SLI by GTX 550 or go for GTX 760, as the 760 price is not omgwtf. (wife would not approve of price higher than the price for 760)

Both, your GTX 750 and the GTX 550, don't support SLI (according to nVidias support list). You should only go for SLI if you already own one of the GPUs and buying a second one is cheaper and offers the same performance as a single card. That is to say: SLI = 2 or more GPUs = more power consumption = more heat.

If you have to get 2 new GPUs to run SLI you should rather look for a single card that offers the same performance for about the same/cheaper price.

 

[Blacklac]

SLI can often be a pain in the ****, too (glitches, driver & game support). I'd always opt for a single, powerful card over SLI.

 

[QwarkDreams]

SLI can often be a pain in the ****, too (glitches, driver & game support). I'd always opt for a single, powerful card over SLI.

Yep, the bugs and driver issues (especially in games) are said to be real annoyance.

Also, as I already mentioned: the additional powerconsumption is huge. A GTX 750 Ti has usually even on load very low power consumption. But with a second one in SLI the power consumption goes straight up. You can check it out yourself here -> eXtreme Power Supply Calculator (love this site for wattage calculation, offers more options than others).

 

[Keith Wallace]

VSync is per application and I have it off for Wild Star.

Been doing a little reading its not the GPU that is the problem its the game itself. People with GTX 780 and i7 4770k are getting FPS dips into the low 20's. SLI works according to one Dev. At this point making any improvements in hardware will not land me an improvement in performance.

I know it's per-application, I meant in the game.

It's likely that those people are either cranking everything to max (something that would hurt high-end CPUs in WoW as well), or the game's just a mess, from a coding perspective. I'd say find settings that'll keep you around 60 FPS without the severe dips. In a busy area (like 25-man WoW raiding), the dips will always be there, I imagine, but it shouldn't be crippling your system if you lower the settings. Of course, if you find settings that'll hold the FPS up and look like crap, then you might consider new hardware.

 

[radmanvr]

They just released another optimization patch for Wild Star. It's a bit better than before I am able to achieve 40FPS stable with Shadows off and FXAA off.

On WoW I was always 80FPS regardless of what I am doing except when I am going through dark tunnels which I will have about 120 FPS.

Edit* I will most likely get a 750 ti or hell even 780 ti...... in a few years sigh them things are expensive.

 

[QwarkDreams]

So, now that the second new PC is assembled and Windows 8.1 installed I ran into a little problem: CPU/APU temps.

I know that AMD's products get hotter than others (be it CPUs or GPUs). But 45-55?C on idle with frequent peaks of 68-75?C while only installing programs or browsing the web are quite too much. Also AMD doesn't seem to be able to implement temp-sensors/monitors that actually work. I already disabled Turbo and enabled Cool n Quiet but still no changes in temps. Another thing: the temps I get while "under load" (seriously, if web browsing is "heavy load" according to the temps then I don't know).....I'm kinda worried. Maybe today or tomorrow I'll replace the TIM with the one I ordered with the PC parts (Noctua NT-H1) but my expectations that it will work are not really high. An aftermarket CPU cooler would only be an option if it is mounted like the stock cooler (MoBo-to-MoBo tray-clearance seems insufficient and it doesn't have a cutout).

Any ideas?