AMD or Intel for desktop gaming?

[Wambo]

I want to build a budget gaming PC and was wondering what is better. I do not play many games at all but want a gaming PC that I can use for media and stuff too.

 

[KuJoe]

If you're on a budget, go with AMD. I <3 my FX-6300, only $90 last time I checked on Newegg.

 

[Wambo]

Thanks. Anyone else have anything to share?

 

[Nikki]

Intel's single thread performance is absolutely crazy (which is what you really need for gaming, seeing as most games aren't multithreaded, at least very well), and AMD is having trouble keeping up with it. I'm not saying AMD is bad, they make decent processors still, but if you want performance Intel all the way. If you're on a budget, you can go with AMD like @KuJoe mentioned, and it'll still do very well for gaming. That being said, E3s, i5s, etc are all in the mid $200 range, double what you'd pay for AMD, but would likely run cooler and have better performance.


https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

 

[sterile]

Intel is always better if you have the money, I recently sold my Intel PC so I can buy an AMD based machine to see the difference.

 

[InfinityDaniel]

For a budget for sure AMD is going to be better, But in my opinion Intel is better if you can spend the extra money!  

 

[RosenHost]

AMD seems to be more budget friendly around here. For a few less fps, you can save a lot of bucks

 

[KuJoe]

Another thing to note is that, while most games only take advantage of a single CPU core, a lot of other software can utilize more than one core. That means while the performance of a game might be lower with an AMD CPU, getting a cheaper 6 or 8 core AMD CPU will be beneficial in other applications (or if you do a lot of multitasking, streaming, VoIP, or virtual work) compared to the more expensive 4 core Intel CPU.

 

[Criot]

I agree with all the other points, but it entirely depends upon your budget, Intel is more likely to outperform AMD in terms of single threaded performance, but AMD is better in terms of budget. Consider the recommended minimum specifications for the games that you play and then decide, as some are more resource intensive than others.