Confusion! cpu and mobo

Hardware Build a PC
1

Hey everyone, things have been going wrong in my very old gaming system and I feel i need an upgrade, I was thinking going AMD as i have always been intel But i have read that an i5 2500k would outperform a FX-8120 in games. I have even heard an i3 would be giving the amd cpu a run for its money.

Here are my two systems that i have in mind, please leave any personal opinions, factual advice about the two setups comparrasion wise and value for money.

AMD:

AMD FX-8120 Black Edition Eight Core 3.1 GHz http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_345&products_id=18658

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Motherboard http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17527


Intel:

Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz Quad Core http://greenboxit.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=33149&products_id=46765

ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Performance Motherboard http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19868


Im really confused as what would be better and the intel one is a little more pricey but i wouldnt wanna get the AMD if it is just going to be needed to get upgraded. Please leave any remomendations also about what you would get if you had that kind of price range ($300+-) Something to consider also is that i have a 500GB Samsung HDD and i just purchased a Samsung 830 128GB SSD and i wanted to run both in my PC and if a cheap motherboard had an option of SSD cahceing that could also be a consideration. 

Thanks guys 

2

Or for the Intel option is the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard a better way to go?

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19867

3

go for an AMD FX-8350, with a noctura nh-d14 cooler or thermalright silver arrow, then oc to 5ghz.

mobo, go for the asrock AMD 990FX Fatal1ty or and asus sabertooth or crosshair. the sabertooth or asrock are about $190, the crosshair is $220

4

For me it is either the Sabertooth or the Crosshair, But they both dont have pcie 3.0 only 2.0 is that going to matter much?

5

you will be very happy with that i5 and no it wont matter that much GPUS didnt even use all the bandwith available for 2.0

6

Thanks Transit

7

Go with the i5. Intel is better for gaming at the moment. Commissar just has a mad boner for AMD and suggests Piledriver for any and every application. AMD is the way to go for cheap rendering builds and sub $500 builds right now. Intel destroys any AMD CPU when it comes to gaming right now.

8

On the AMD side, for straight gaming I don't recommend going higher than the FX6300, since your not going to get any real performance boost in games from the extra two cores on the FX8350. But my chip recomendations are always relative to what your budget is, if you can afford the i5 without having to make any real sacrifices then thats the way to go. The FX8350 makes short work of the i5s in well threaded applications, but games are not well threaded, and the i5's superior single core performance gives it the advantage in games.