i5 2500k vs FX 8350 for moderate gaming

yoadknux · Jun 11, 2016

Hello everyone,

I'm going to upgrade my PC with a new motherboard and processor. I have to choose between i5 2500k (+GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3) for $130 and FX 8350 (+990XA-UD3) for $220.

I plan on overclocking both, as well as pair them with a 680GTX SLI. I know that the AMD processor is much stronger since it has more cores, but is there a noticeable FPS difference between those two processors?

Thanks!

Janus67 · Jun 11, 2016

I would expect approximately the same fps from both cpus, you can likely find reviews comparing the two as well.

As an fyi, amd cpus tend to not do well with SLI scaling compared to Intel.

Tír na nÓg · Jun 11, 2016

AMD is not stronger gaming wise: its IPC is weak compared to the Sandy Bridge.

you can take almost any 2500k to 4.5GHz minimum with a 25euro cooler, while it takes a 8350 an AIO or a top end air to reach those.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/288?vs=697

The 8350 is fun to overclock though, but it is the only reason why I bought mine (and it was cheap too) last year.

wingman99 · Jun 12, 2016

Here is a video of i5 2500k vs FX 8350.

yoadknux · Jun 12, 2016

wingman99 said:
Here is a video of i5 2500k vs FX 8350.

Damn, from this video it appears the i5 kills the fx-8350, at least for gaming

wingman99 · Jun 13, 2016

The OC i5 2500k does not do to bad in gaming compared to the AMD FX-8350, here are some benchmarks for you to look at. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/697?vs=288

M@rk · Jun 13, 2016

Go with the 2500k and overclock it to atleast 4GHz, As you can see in the video above it beats the 8350 and you can get it for almost 100$ cheaper so go for it.

Soulcatcher668 · Jun 13, 2016

I5 2500K. It's cheaper for you and better.

yoadknux · Jun 24, 2016

Went with the 2500k. Very easy to OC and good performance. Thanks guys!

bob4933 · Jun 24, 2016

Tír na nÓg said:
AMD is not stronger gaming wise: its IPC is weak compared to the Sandy Bridge.

you can take almost any 2500k to 4.5GHz minimum with a 25euro cooler, while it takes a 8350 an AIO or a top end air to reach those.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/288?vs=697

The 8350 is fun to overclock though, but it is the only reason why I bought mine (and it was cheap too) last year.

You definitely don't need top end cooling to hit 4.5 for an 8350... If you do, you lost the silicon lottery harder than I've heard of since 2013... My old 8320 would do 5.1 in a 212evo...

More concerned with motherboard And case flow than cpu specific cooling on the am3+ stuff.

That aside, the 2500k should crush an 8350 in MOST at home user scenarios.

NewbieOneKenobi · Jun 25, 2016

I've just skipped a $150 deal on 8320 + mobo too.

How does the 2500k compare to getting something entry-level on Skylake/1151 (moving from a DDR2 platform, not DDR3), though?

wingman99 · Jun 25, 2016

Sandybridge to skylake is 25% improvement in productivity not gaming.

M@rk · Jun 25, 2016

NewbieOneKenobi said:
I've just skipped a $150 deal on 8320 + mobo too.

How does the 2500k compare to getting something entry-level on Skylake/1151 (moving from a DDR2 platform, not DDR3), though?

The i3 are beginning to show their power in gaming, you can play AAA titles with a i3 without problems if paired with a good but not too good GPU (to not bottleneck it).
Also you can buy a i5 6400 and over clock it with the bug to 4 GHz and be happy.

NewbieOneKenobi · Jun 26, 2016

wingman99 said:
Sandybridge to skylake is 25% improvement in productivity not gaming.

What kind of productivity? Would that include heavy-duty office usage, humongous .docx files with multiple XML errors plus macros and stuff like that?

M@rk said:
The i3 are beginning to show their power in gaming, you can play AAA titles with a i3 without problems if paired with a good but not too good GPU (to not bottleneck it).
Also you can buy a i5 6400 and over clock it with the bug to 4 GHz and be happy.

Would there much improvement over a Pentium G? I'm guessing multicore suppore would make a world of difference, as Pentiums could theoretically be outclassed by even a Core2Quad in some of the games, at least according to benchmarks I've seen (questionable methodology, though).

M@rk · Jun 27, 2016

NewbieOneKenobi said:
What kind of productivity? Would that include heavy-duty office usage, humongous .docx files with multiple XML errors plus macros and stuff like that?

Would there much improvement over a Pentium G? I'm guessing multicore suppore would make a world of difference, as Pentiums could theoretically be outclassed by even a Core2Quad in some of the games, at least according to benchmarks I've seen (questionable methodology, though).

About productivity, Yes it includes heavy-duty office use and all that.(If im not mistaking)
About Improvement over pentium, Yes there will be improvement, But there will be more improvement from the Pentium to the core i5 than from pentium to core i3, I suggest you buy the core i5 6400 and OC it to 4GHz, If you dont want to OC then go with the core i3.
And about pentium being less powerful than C2Q, In most cases it isnt true anymore, I saw some benchmarks that show the C2Q 6600 OC'd to the max (About 3.2GHz i think it was) and Pentium G3258 OC'd to max too (4GHz or something like that) and the Pentium won the benchmark!
(Talking about Haswell pentium)
If you overclock, Go with Core i5 6400 or Core i5 2500K and overclock them.
If you dont overclock, Go with the Core i3(A Skylake one)

NewbieOneKenobi · Jun 27, 2016

M@rk said:
About productivity, Yes it includes heavy-duty office use and all that.(If im not mistaking)
About Improvement over pentium, Yes there will be improvement, But there will be more improvement from the Pentium to the core i5 than from pentium to core i3, I suggest you buy the core i5 6400 and OC it to 4GHz, If you dont want to OC then go with the core i3.
And about pentium being less powerful than C2Q, In most cases it isnt true anymore, I saw some benchmarks that show the C2Q 6600 OC'd to the max (About 3.2GHz i think it was) and Pentium G3258 OC'd to max too (4GHz or something like that) and the Pentium won the benchmark!
(Talking about Haswell pentium)
If you overclock, Go with Core i5 6400 or Core i5 2500K and overclock them.
If you dont overclock, Go with the Core i3(A Skylake one)

Thanks. Yeah, I would expect a serious Pent G to eat a C2quad alive based on pure single-core awesomeness alone, and with Has' that'd be 3 gens coming in between.

Between benchmarks and prices of used stuff here in Poland, 4570 seems to be an even better choice than 2500K, because it's only a little more expensive while being some 10% faster in games, followed by 3570 (or 3770, depending on the day). Prices of Ivies and Sandies seem to finally be giving in, while Has' is a coin flip. The 2500K seems to have stabilized at roughly $120 (conv. from PLN), but 3570 or even 3770 and in some cases a high 4--- i5 can be found for less, whereas the 2500K doesn't really get lower. Non-k does, though, as does 2400, but that's the range where I wouldn't be making savings. Moving straight out of C2D (e8600 lapped @ 4 GHz + Ultra) and DDR2, I would ideally skip DDR3 altogether and feel tempted to wait till Nextlake & Zen go banzai on each other. However, that's gonna be unpredictable, as prices may go up according to demand as crowds of people start to eventually upgrade their rigs. DDR4 prices, in particular, could go up, in my not very educated opinion. I'm still tempted to get a Xeon 5460/70 and wait till then.

M@rk · Jun 27, 2016

NewbieOneKenobi said:
Thanks. Yeah, I would expect a serious Pent G to eat a C2quad alive based on pure single-core awesomeness alone, and with Has' that'd be 3 gens coming in between.

Between benchmarks and prices of used stuff here in Poland, 4570 seems to be an even better choice than 2500K, because it's only a little more expensive while being some 10% faster in games, followed by 3570 (or 3770, depending on the day). Prices of Ivies and Sandies seem to finally be giving in, while Has' is a coin flip. The 2500K seems to have stabilized at roughly $120 (conv. from PLN), but 3570 or even 3770 and in some cases a high 4--- i5 can be found for less, whereas the 2500K doesn't really get lower. Non-k does, though, as does 2400, but that's the range where I wouldn't be making savings. Moving straight out of C2D (e8600 lapped @ 4 GHz + Ultra) and DDR2, I would ideally skip DDR3 altogether and feel tempted to wait till Nextlake & Zen go banzai on each other. However, that's gonna be unpredictable, as prices may go up according to demand as crowds of people start to eventually upgrade their rigs. DDR4 prices, in particular, could go up, in my not very educated opinion. I'm still tempted to get a Xeon 5460/70 and wait till then.

Don't get the 5460/70 unless its a less than 50$ combo(CPU+Mobo)
Its like getting a good C2Q..
You can get a 8core ivybridge Xeon 1241 for about ~75$

NewbieOneKenobi · Jun 27, 2016

M@rk said:
Don't get the 5460/70 unless its a less than 50$ combo(CPU+Mobo)

Just CPU. Got a P5Q-E with an OEM Win 7 strapped to it. Otherwise I wouldn't have stuck with the platform so long.

Its like getting a good C2Q.

X5460 seems to be on par with QX9650 & 20% better than 9550, but I was pining for a 5470 to max out the socket (5480/90 being a bit too expensive).
You can get a 8core ivybridge Xeon 1241 for about ~75$[/QUOTE]

M@rk · Jun 27, 2016

NewbieOneKenobi said:
Just CPU. Got a P5Q-E with an OEM Win 7 strapped to it. Otherwise I wouldn't have stuck with the platform so long.

X5460 seems to be on par with QX9650 & 20% better than 9550, but I was pining for a 5470 to max out the socket (5480/90 being a bit too expensive).

If you do get the 5460/70 Overclock it!

wingman99 · Jun 27, 2016

NewbieOneKenobi said:
What kind of productivity? Would that include heavy-duty office usage, humongous .docx files with multiple XML errors plus macros and stuff like that?

Would there much improvement over a Pentium G? I'm guessing multicore suppore would make a world of difference, as Pentiums could theoretically be outclassed by even a Core2Quad in some of the games, at least according to benchmarks I've seen (questionable methodology, though).

I don't know if you have seen this benchmark? http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1554?vs=287

i5 2500k vs FX 8350 for moderate gaming

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