12 replies to this topic

[qbar24]

Hey guys, I'm about to upgrade my sister's desktop which is really old (an old Pentium Dual Core, GeForce 7800 and 1GB RAM). I'm on a budget and I have pretty much decided what to get - I'm sure it's going to be an HD7750 and either a 400w or 450w PSU. I already have the case, optical drive and the HDD.

The question is, though, which CPU shall I get? I'm torn between intel's G850 (2 cores, 2.9ghz, together with usb3/sata3 mobo it is around ~470PLN) and the new AMD Athlon x4 750k (3.4ghz, 4 cores, together with usb3/sata3 mobo it is ~550PLN). So far all the tests show that G850 is pretty much on par or a little bit better than Athlon x4 in terms of gaming, athlon has higher TDP as well.

The thing is, the rig is not going to be used in any games except for GW 2. And there are no specific tests that mention how Athlon copes with as CPU-hungry game as GW 2. I should also mention that the Athlon is unlocked, so the overclocking is possible. Tests show that it runs on 4.4ghz stable without increasing TDP a lot.

What would you guys choose?

PS. PLN - currency used in Poland. 1 euro = 4 pln, give or take.

Edited by qbar24, 24 November 2012 - 01:09 AM.

[Ghetto Medic]

I got an amd fx6100 for my cheap gaming system.  People say it's bad but I'm running games just fine with it, it's the best part of my system.

[Quaker]

The Pentium uses socket 1155, so it does have an upgrade path to an i3, i5, or i7 processor. However, the 1155 socket is due to be replaced next gen, so the current lineup of Ivy Bridge CPUs is as far as it would go.

The Athlon uses the new FM2 socket, which is mainly designed for APUs. The upgrade potential for FM2 is uncertain, but the Athlon is already one of the top chips for that socket. (That Athlon is based on the new Piledriver cores, btw.)

If you wanted to go with AMD and have a more certain upgrade path, you could price out an FX-4170 (or 4300)  and AM3+ motherboard. That gives you an upgrade path to the newer FX chips, such as the FX-8350, plus AMD has stated that they intend to stick with AM3+ for the next generation as well.

So, of the original 2 choices, I'd go for the Pentium, but if you add the FX-4170 option, it would be more of a toss-up, personal choice thing.

Edited by Quaker, 24 November 2012 - 05:06 PM.

[AlixIcebane]

GW2 demands a good cpu, check the technical support in the forums guys a lot of people were wondering why a G580 couldnt run GW2 on max and they saw that most of their problems were linked to cpus.

[qbar24]

The thing is that I'm not planning on upgrading anytime soon. FX4100 is probably a good choice but considering its price which is significantly higher (430PLN, with mobo it's around 680PLN) we're getting into the range of i3-2120 which is better, and the cycle repeats.

May I ask which of these 2 would you guys choose?

[Quaker]

If you're "not planning to upgrade anytime soon", then why bother to ask? At the pace that prices change and new products come out, any decision you make now could be voided by next month.

[qbar24]

Quaker, on 25 November 2012 - 04:54 PM, said:

If you're "not planning to upgrade anytime soon", then why bother to ask? At the pace that prices change and new products come out, any decision you make now could be voided by next month.

I'm not planning to upgrade it anytime soon AFTER getting the current upgrade. I meant not upgrading G850 to an i5 or Athlon x4 750k to any other processor. The parts I mentioned in the first post will be bought in 2 weeks time.

And yeah, if I "wasn't planning to upgrade anytime soon" at all I wouldn't be wasting your time. :-)

Anyway, thanks for your help guys.

Edited by qbar24, 25 November 2012 - 05:23 PM.

[Quaker]

I'd go for the G850.

[TGIFrisbie]

Currently AMD cpus have problems with a lot of games, so if it comes down to intel vs amd for gaming, I would go Intel.

[sutefunu]

Are you guys crazy.
The X4 750K is MUUUUUUCH better option than the G850.

OP you said it yourself at least you can overclock

[kozeljko]

Intel is always the way to go.

[qbar24]

So many different views.. Now I'm confused.

[typographie]

sutefunu, on 30 November 2012 - 02:24 PM, said:

OP you said it yourself at least you can overclock

There's a nasty tendency for AMD's chips to continue to underperform their default-clocked Intel competition in games even when overclocked. I'm not certain in this particular case in lieu of a specific benchmark, but I'm just saying that's a riskier assumption than one might guess. I'd expect them to be quite close, personally.

To be honest, I'm not sure either of these processors are going to do very well in GW2. I'd be much more comfortable recommending an i3 or even an FX-series CPU, but a budget is a budget.