AMD or Intel Route

[Protoluz]

Hello all

I'm trying to decide on a upgrade for my pc. I mainly use my pc for gaming with a bit of photoshop. I know i need to change the mobo/cpu but i'm undecided if i should go for a AMD or Intel. Sure i've read enough reviews and benchmarks to see the clear winner is Intel, my 2 options are i3:3220/fx6300, the i5 is still outside my price range. I live in Brazil and it's import tax is crazy...
Anyway i was reading a post over on tom's hardware that the AMD fx can match the i3 in most tests and the fx can be overclocked really easy, and some suggest that games will be better optimized for multithreading with the next gen consoles using AMD tech?
So i could go for the AMD AM3+ mobo that will give me future upgrade path with very high chance that Piledriver will use the same socket. I seriously doubt that Intel will stick with the LGA1155 when it launches it's next cpu which would kinda give me a dead end if i pick the i3 route.
So can anyone help me decide?

My Current system:
AM3 Mb Won't accept fx
AMD x2 250 cpu
4gb ddr3
3r iceage 450w psu
AMD 6850 Gpu

Thanks for any advice.
Oluz

[vesseblah]

If any MMORPGs are priority (WoW, GW2, Rift, SWToR) then Intel processor performs better. If you're sure you can and want to overclock, or are not playing MMOs then FX-6300 is better. No idea if you can use current AMD boards with their next processors, but it's sure you can't use current Intel boards with their next processors. Socket 1150 boards come out in about two months.

Old PhenomII x4 965 isn't much worse than FX-6300 and probably works on your current motherboard which would be the cheapest upgrade. To be honest it's more like life support than upgrade since the 965 is already years old, but if you overclock it, it's still decent upgrade and probably better use of money than either of the options you've been looking into. PhenomII x6 1090T would also be nice option that probably fits your old board, but it's lot harder to find.

[Ieyasu]

my current spec is a FX 4100 overclocked to 4gHz with a GTX 660 ti and a friend have a FX8100 with a radeon 7950, we both have around 30 fps in sanctuary(on the terrace). An other friend just acquired a new pc with a i5 3570k and a GTX 660, he have 90ips in sanctuary with the same setting than us(and same place). If you mainly play wow, take the intel one.

[Lathais]

If any MMORPGs are priority (WoW, GW2, Rift, SWToR) then Intel processor performs better. If you're sure you can and want to overclock, or are not playing MMOs then FX-6300 is better. No idea if you can use current AMD boards with their next processors, but it's sure you can't use current Intel boards with their next processors. Socket 1150 boards come out in about two months.

Old PhenomII x4 965 isn't much worse than FX-6300 and probably works on your current motherboard which would be the cheapest upgrade. To be honest it's more like life support than upgrade since the 965 is already years old, but if you overclock it, it's still decent upgrade and probably better use of money than either of the options you've been looking into. PhenomII x6 1090T would also be nice option that probably fits your old board, but it's lot harder to find.

I have a 965 BE and am actually looking to upgrade out of it as it just isn't quite cutting it in Rift anymore. I can play on Ultra and get decent (30ish) FPS by myself. In a 5-man it'll drop to 15ish. In a raid or a world event with 100s of people there it chokes. Even turning all graphic settings down and low quality renderer on I get 5-15 FPS. My GPU is a Radeon 6850, so not the best there either, but still decent. In WoW Cata with same setup I could pull modified Ultra (some settings turned down, like shadows) sometimes, but raids I still went to medium/high. With MoP I doubt those settings would hold.

That said, I have not yet OCed the chip and am thinking of picking up a Hyper 212 EVO and OCing it a bit to see what it does for me. I was going to upgrade to a 3570k but the budget just would not allow it, maybe next year, if my 965BE holds out that long.

[constantduty]

Take Tom's and the other guides out there with a grain of salt. The benefit to the FX6300 is that you can upgrade to steamroller later on next year. If you hop into an i3 now you'll be looking at updating your cpu and mobo if you want to upgrade. You can't compare the Piledriver (FX x3xx) to Bulldozer (FX x1xx). Performance is simply better with Piledriver.

The Intels are going to win if you're just building a rig to play WoW and the like. If you want a little more rounded performance (your rig is built for more than MMOs - perish the thought) the FX x3xx series can offer a nice alternative.