AMD FX-4170 or FX-8350?

A

alexmfishburn

Member
Hi Guys.
I'm stuck deciding on a processor.
AMD is definitely the route i want to take, as comparable Intel processors generally cost more.
The most demanding program I will be running is MS Flight Simulator X. The problem is that FSX doesn't make much use of multiple cores.
This creates a problem because, faster processors generally require more cores.. I saw the FX-4170, and even though it only has 4 cores, it has a clock speed of 4.20GHz and 4MB Cache. the 8350 has a clock speed of 4.00GHz and 8MB of cache.
Am i right in thinking that the clock speed is the speed of all cores added together? I.E. 4.20GHz / 4 cores = 1.05 GHz per core?
I have a general understanding of how PCs work, but not an intricate knowledge of details such as processor clock speeds etc..
Any advice on which processor to choose?

Here's the rest of the spec, if it helps:
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3 (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 3Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7870 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe AMD CPU Cooler (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Hi,
Is it only between FX-4170 or FX-8350? Depending on your budget you could consider the i5-3570 which I think is almost the same price as the FX-8350.
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
alexmfishburn said:
Hi, it's the clock speed that I'm most focused on, the i5-3570 only has 3.4GHz right?
Click to expand...

With turbo boost it could go up to 3.8ghz, the FX-4170 has a clock speed of 4.2 but the i5 will outperform it for gaming and more cpu intensive applications.
 
A

alexmfishburn

Member
Hmm.. using the i5 would push up the cost.. would it be worth the performance increase?
Pardon me for asking, but why does it outperform it even though the clock speed is much lower? (just curious)

thanks :)
 
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Wolvo7

Wolvo7

Bright Spark
The clock speed is not everything, you could overclock an older generation i7 to reach 3.5Ghz and you wouldn't get the same performance as an i7 3770k. The 3570k even outperforms the FX 8350 in a lot of tasks.

Core for core Intel is better than AMD. Not to say that AMD is not good, they offer good performance for a smaller price. That's why people say that AMD is best for a bang for buck solution ie if you have a lower budget.

Regarding which CPU is better, the i5 is. Here are 2 articles

- Gaming CPU hierarchy http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
- i5 3570k vs FX 8350 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/697?vs=701
 
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A

alexmfishburn

Member
Hmm.. So the extra cost really could be worth it after all!
Regarding video cards, is there much of a difference between the HD7870 and its nVidia counterpart?
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
alexmfishburn said:
Hmm.. So the extra cost really could be worth it after all!
Regarding video cards, is there much of a difference between the HD7870 and its nVidia counterpart?
Click to expand...

It depends on which Nvidia gpu, GTX 660 ti? It also depends on the games you are planning to run.
 
A

alexmfishburn

Member
Pretty much only FSX. Also Minecraft. config tweaks have to be made to allow FSX to use all available VRAM but i don't mind taking a week or so to find the best settings. Would an i5 3570K paired with a GTX 670 outperform an FX-4170 paired with a HD 7870?

Thanks for your help by the way, it is much appreciated!
 
A

alexmfishburn

Member
Thanks. :) I'm not terribly keen on overclocking, I don't want to spend a fortune on liquid cooling if i can avoid it. Looking on intel's website, it says the CPU can "turbo boost up to 3.8GHz". What exactly is turbo boost? is it related to overclocking? and will i need high end cooling for it?

thanks again,

A.
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
For turbo boost you don't need liquid cooling, when stressed the cpu will go to 3.8Ghz. If you are not planning in overclocking your cpu then you could get the i5-3570 (non-k) instead + triple copper heatpipe cpu cooler.
 
A

alexmfishburn

Member
Ok. thanks :) I'm not planning on overclocking, however, i would probably use the "Turbo-Boost" feature. What exactly is that, by the way?
Cost wise, I think the 660Ti is a more viable option for me over the 670. I will have to decide..
 
P

PlayKitten

New member
The i5-3570 is definitely a good choice, would have been my choice if it had not been for the fact that my phenom platform was much cheaper to upgrade than buying a new motherboard and cpu.
Anyways, why not still consider the hd 7870 as your graphics solution? The processor you have decided on is of the generation that has support for pci-e 3.0 (dependent on motherboard selection).
my previous card was an HD4870, and I currently use an HD6870, both have been very good graphics solutions, so it wouldn't be a bad choice as far as I can see.
 
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