Please could I get some advice on an Intel vs AMD build?

ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
I recently got a Corsair K70 Mk2 RGB keyboard (with Cherry MX Brown keys). It was based on recommendations on here and I'm very pleased with it.

I'm not a flashy lights guy either but I have the keyboard lights monitoring the CPU temp, so they change colour as the CPU warms up. I find that quite useful - and attractive. :)
 
T

Toto

Member
Thanks guys! I'll make sure to check out all your recommendations.

I've just put in the order and I'm really excited. A big thank you to all of you, especially @Scott . I'll probably get the monitor and keyboard by the end of this week (and the 49 inch Samsung monitor is looking really tempting).

Here's the final specs for anyone who's interested:

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 500D SE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 20 to 22 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £3,237.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/zwgQn9mUkc/
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I would probably go down the Corsair route, purely because I know them more than anything. Their high end stuff is absolutely fantastic. K70 is a great starting point, K95 would be another level again but it depends on what you want to spend and how much you use macros (K70 would be my choice as I'm not for mega amounts of Macros). For a keyboard, it's eye watering really. For high end gaming though, I think money well spent. Stunning too.

For the mouse I went with the M65 Pro. It's wired but absolutely fantastic. I think there's a wireless version too if that's preferred. The latency, I believe, is no issue nowadays. Dark core is highly rated, as is the Iron claw.

I don't have OCD but I like the idea of high end corsair RAM, Cooling, Case and peripherals all controlled via iCue :D
 
K

keithbeaks

Enthusiast
ubuysa said:
I recently got a Corsair K70 Mk2 RGB keyboard (with Cherry MX Brown keys). It was based on recommendations on here and I'm very pleased with it.

I'm not a flashy lights guy either but I have the keyboard lights monitoring the CPU temp, so they change colour as the CPU warms up. I find that quite useful - and attractive. :)
Click to expand...
Oh wow I think I can do this with my keyboard!! I didn't even realise until I read this 😂. Should really read the instructions
 
K

keithbeaks

Enthusiast
Toto said:
Thanks guys! I'll make sure to check out all your recommendations.

I've just put in the order and I'm really excited. A big thank you to all of you, especially @Scott . I'll probably get the monitor and keyboard by the end of this week (and the 49 inch Samsung monitor is looking really tempting).

Here's the final specs for anyone who's interested:

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 500D SE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 20 to 22 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £3,237.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/zwgQn9mUkc/
Click to expand...

Re the 49" monitor you should check the Odyssey G9...
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
You can do it with the fans etc as well. I would.... but I can't see it :ROFLMAO:
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I actually feel really sorry for my poor PC stuck in there. It's about 35 degrees in that cupboard as that's where I keep my AV Receiver and all my AV stuff as well (Cable box, modem, Shield TV, etc). It's a little hot-box so it is. The fact that my rig stays cool is really testament to how well the cooling solution works.
 
C

Cullwch

Member
I will be the devil's advocate here. I think the difference in longevity between Intel and AMD is overstated. As a general point, AMD supports a particular socket for longer, although this is obviously subject to market and technological forces. The main issue is the backward compatibility of older motherboards with new CPU socket formats. 10th generation Intel CPUs (Comet Lake) use the LGA 1200 format, and the next generation, Rocket Lake, is all but assured to use the same format. Gigabyte has confirmed that Z490 motherboards will support Rocket Lake, but 12th generation Alder Lake CPUs will move to the LGA 1700 format, which will not be compatible with preceding motherboards. Many estimates suggest that Alder Lake will launch Q4, 2021. As regards upgrade path, Intel gets two generations.

AMD's AM4 obviously had a remarkable life cycle, and I agree that AMD is to be lauded for their support for a lengthy upgrade path, but it is coming to an end. It is a complete moot point whether 5000 series CPUs will be compatible with the AM4 format, but it is likely that they will move to the AM5 format. They are expected to be released in 2022.

Both socket formats fall outwith the practical usability of a well-chosen CPU. Whether you go with Intel or AMD, if you pick a high performance unit, it will last you beyond LGA1200 and beyond AM4, and if you are desperate for an upgrade, which is completely facultative at this stage, you can upgrade to the last generation for the pertinent socket. In fact, I would absolutely advise against upgrading every generation. Of course, Intel is Intel, just as AMD is AMD, and it is likely that AM5 will enjoy much longer support than LGA1700. I wouldn't expect their corporate predilections to suddenly change, but if you are looking at it from the perspective of the current generation of Intel and AMD CPUs, there isn't a great big gap between the viability of them.

The benchmarks reveal what the stereotypes of the past 5+ years have already confirmed - Intel is better in category for single core performance and AMD for multi-core performance. Practical activities and productivity tasks might benefit more from AMD's multi-core performance, such as when rendering a video or compiling something complex like stuff in Unreal Engine, and video games benefit more from single core performance. THIS IS ALL OVERSTATED, THOUGH. If you fall into the categories of people who can suffer no compromise on single or multi-core performance, well, you'd already probably know, right? The truth is that a high-performance Intel and high-performance AMD CPU will both COMPLETELY satisfy your requirements, and at the budget you're operating, the bang for buck difference is not astronomical. At £3500, you are going to have to replace your motherboard either way when you decide to upgrade beyond 2022 anyway, and you are really targeting the marginal gains in performance with such a pool of monetary resources.

Just ask yourself, do you want a negligible practical gain in single core/gaming performance vs a negligible practical gain in multi-core/productivity performance?
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Cullwch said:
I will be the devil's advocate here. I think the difference in longevity between Intel and AMD is overstated. As a general point, AMD supports a particular socket for longer, although this is obviously subject to market and technological forces. The main issue is the backward compatibility of older motherboards with new CPU socket formats. 10th generation Intel CPUs (Comet Lake) use the LGA 1200 format, and the next generation, Rocket Lake, is all but assured to use the same format. Gigabyte has confirmed that Z490 motherboards will support Rocket Lake, but 12th generation Alder Lake CPUs will move to the LGA 1700 format, which will not be compatible with preceding motherboards. Many estimates suggest that Alder Lake will launch Q4, 2021. As regards upgrade path, Intel gets two generations.

AMD's AM4 obviously had a remarkable life cycle, and I agree that AMD is to be lauded for their support for a lengthy upgrade path, but it is coming to an end. It is a complete moot point whether 5000 series CPUs will be compatible with the AM4 format, but it is likely that they will move to the AM5 format. They are expected to be released in 2022.

Both socket formats fall outwith the practical usability of a well-chosen CPU. Whether you go with Intel or AMD, if you pick a high performance unit, it will last you beyond LGA1200 and beyond AM4, and if you are desperate for an upgrade, which is completely facultative at this stage, you can upgrade to the last generation for the pertinent socket. In fact, I would absolutely advise against upgrading every generation. Of course, Intel is Intel, just as AMD is AMD, and it is likely that AM5 will enjoy much longer support than LGA1700. I wouldn't expect their corporate predilections to suddenly change, but if you are looking at it from the perspective of the current generation of Intel and AMD CPUs, there isn't a great big gap between the viability of them.

The benchmarks reveal what the stereotypes of the past 5+ years have already confirmed - Intel is better in category for single core performance and AMD for multi-core performance. Practical activities and productivity tasks might benefit more from AMD's multi-core performance, such as when rendering a video or compiling something complex like stuff in Unreal Engine, and video games benefit more from single core performance. THIS IS ALL OVERSTATED, THOUGH. If you fall into the categories of people who can suffer no compromise on single or multi-core performance, well, you'd already probably know, right? The truth is that a high-performance Intel and high-performance AMD CPU will both COMPLETELY satisfy your requirements, and at the budget you're operating, the bang for buck difference is not astronomical. At £3500, you are going to have to replace your motherboard either way when you decide to upgrade beyond 2022 anyway, and you are really targeting the marginal gains in performance with such a pool of monetary resources.

Just ask yourself, do you want a negligible practical gain in single core/gaming performance vs a negligible practical gain in multi-core/productivity performance?
Click to expand...
There is also of course the inherent problem in Intel's hyperthreading implementation (Spectre/Meltdown etc.) that can really only be mitigated by turning hyperthreading off and killing multitasking performance dead.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
ubuysa said:
There is also of course the inherent problem in Intel's hyperthreading implementation (Spectre/Meltdown etc.) that can really only be mitigated by turning hyperthreading off and killing multitasking performance dead.
Click to expand...
Plus the premium you pay for the intel platform ie, motherboard, cpu, cooling and PSU, all astronomically higher than required on AMD.

And I’d argue, negligible single threaded gain on Intel - granted

Negligible gain in multithreaded on AMD? Urm, no.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Also Rocket Lake is still the 14nm architecture. It's still not going to be anything like an upgrade. As much as the Z490 is rumoured that it will support, it's going to be a chipset behind so to upgrade to it would be very much a side step. Until Intel upgrade their architecture there's going to be next to no meaningful bump in performance.

I wouldn't recommend anyone changes chip with every iteration either (unless absolute cutting edge is required), having the opportunity to drop in a cutting edge chip in 2022 would be nice though.
 
T

Toto

Member
Hi all, your advice on the PC was extremely helpful, so I just wanted to ask your opinions on 1440p 144hz 30+ inch monitors.

I've been thinking about waiting for the new Samsung Odyssey G9 but it still hasn't been released in the UK yet and I've read on Reddit that some people in the US have had their monitors recalled due to issues. I'm also unsure whether the 49 inches will fit on my current desk.

What are your thoughts on the new Odyssey G7? It's in stock and looks great. The link is at: https://www.samsung.com/uk/monitors/monitor-cg75/LC32G75TQSUXEN/
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
G9 is the mecca, G7 is a fantastic monitor. The G9 is the future, for AAA games you're looking at the next gen 3080Ti to make proper use out of it. There's no real down side with it though, other than if you have the desk space :D

If you can fit 2 27" monitors on your desk though, it should be fine.
 
K

keithbeaks

Enthusiast
Toto said:
Hi all, your advice on the PC was extremely helpful, so I just wanted to ask your opinions on 1440p 144hz 30+ inch monitors.

I've been thinking about waiting for the new Samsung Odyssey G9 but it still hasn't been released in the UK yet and I've read on Reddit that some people in the US have had their monitors recalled due to issues. I'm also unsure whether the 49 inches will fit on my current desk.

What are your thoughts on the new Odyssey G7? It's in stock and looks great. The link is at: https://www.samsung.com/uk/monitors/monitor-cg75/LC32G75TQSUXEN/
Click to expand...

You can find both G7's much cheaper elsewhere. I have the 32" and it's great
 
T

Toto

Member
Cheers guys, especially @Nursemorph , that deal for the G7 looks really good. I think I'll wait to see if the G9 comes out this month and, if not, likely will go with the G7 and upgrade later to the G9 along with my GPU in a couple years.
 
T

Toto

Member
What are your thoughts on the difference between 100hz and 144hz monitors and VA and IPS panels (specifically whether the 144hz and IPS are significantly better than their counterparts)? I've read @Oussebon 's helpful monitor guide and I've decided against getting the Odyssey G7 as the 32" has the same number of pixels as the 27" at 2560 x 1440p so images will not appear as sharp on the 32".

I'm probably going to go down the route of an ultrawide 34" monitor at 3440 x 1440p. Here are the options I'm considering:

(1) The Acer Predator X34P is currently discounted at £749 at Currys here and seems a good buy with an IPS panel but only a 100hz refresh rate. This is probably the one I'm most interested in but I wonder whether a 100hz refresh rate is a significant downgrade on 144hz, and whether the IPS panel is worth the extra premium.

(2) The MSI Optix MPG341CQR here for a VA panel at 144hz but at £860 I'd rather save the money and grab the 49" G9 later down the line.

(3) The Lenovo G34w-10 here with a VA panel at 144hz and at a very reasonable £480.

(4) The AOC 34" here is 144hz at £479.99 but with a VA panel.

Cheers.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I would go with the Predator personally. It overclocks to 120hz and has G-Sync to fill the gaps. It's a decent price and ticks all the boxes.

IPS will be better to look at, it's just often more expensive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top