# Amd a6-3500/ intel i5 2500



## Shrutesh (Dec 14, 2011)

Hi,
about a week back I was about 2500 Vs 2500k. Then I was convinced on buying an Intel i5.then I had considered buying an amd f1 3500 but decided on an i5 cause it costs about the same andI performs twice as much as the amd.

But I just accidentally stumbled upon 3500 on an online store now it is retailing for ~6.5K   
The price had halved in just a few months
I guess amd's strategy is working   

Now what to do should I go for the expensive I5 OR go for AMD 3500?

Requirements : light gaming, htpc(HD movies ),a bit of 3d editing,sql server, visualstudio,etc

What I have
Gfx: amd 4350 1gb xfx passively cooled 
HDD. WD 1TB + Seagate 350gb
PSU 500W VIP (Should be good for 400 I guess)
Cabinet with ample ventilation (120mm x2 front back )
Dvdr drive benq(planning on upgrading to a bdvd but later)
Budget 15 to 20k

Suggest a configuration (CPU,mobo,ram)
Yes I am open to any suggestions 
Thanks


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## Cilus (Dec 14, 2011)

if 15K is the budget for only CPU + Processor + Ram then here is the suggestion from my side:
AMD Llano A8-3850 (2.9 GHz, 4MB L2 cache, HD6550 Graphics)@ 7.5K
MSI A75MA-G55   @ 5.5K
Gskill RipjawX 4GB 1600 MHz CL9 Ram X 2@ 3.1K

Total 16.1K. Price can be reduced by going for a single 4GB ram for now. 
This config have the following advantages:-
1. The CPU is in the same league of a Phenom II X4 840. So good for gaming as well as multi-tasking and entertainment purpose
2. The integrated GPU is way powerful than your low end HD 4350 Graphics card and will offer decent gaming performance.
3. Power consumption is lower here.


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## vickybat (Dec 14, 2011)

*@ Shrutesh*

Hello and welcome to tdf mate.

Yes llano makes sense here. i5 2500 will be overkill and you need a powerful gpu to gel well with that cpu which you don't really require.

So stick with llano as suggested by cilus. You can add a discrete gpu later when you wish. But don't even think of installing that ancient 4350 because the integrated gpu in llano is 5570 class which is way better than 4350. Doing so will disable the integrated gpu.


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## Shrutesh (Dec 14, 2011)

Guys,
As u can see am not a gamer who wants super3d performance...

All I want is a good processor now all the reviews that I see say amd is good for gaming as compared to intel hd gfx but will I not have a much more solid pc with i5 2500 + 4350 instead of amd3850 

And by the looks of the reviews if u really want a gfx performer 3850 alone isnt good enough and has to be coupled with a discrete gfxcard any way

So will i5 2500 + 4350 be more future proof  than 3850 alone
With my pockets being ~3k lighter tho  
So won't that 3k be worth it


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## coderunknown (Dec 14, 2011)

i5 2500 + HD4350 will be the worst combo ever. i always say, build a pc always try to build it balanced to get max performance out of it. 

for general use you won't notice much difference. yes, 2500 will compress a 1Gb file a few seconds sooner than the A8. and wrong, for gaming a fast GPU is required. A8 got a fast inbult GPU but still not fast enough to replace discrete GPU and hence not targeted at gamers. A8 got a moderately fast proccy & usable GPU which will run most games smoothly or can be put for other similar uses if gaming is not on the list.


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## Shrutesh (Dec 14, 2011)

Sam said:


> i5 2500 + HD4350 will be the worst combo ever. i always say, build a pc always try to build it balanced to get max performance out of it.
> 
> for general use you won't notice much difference. yes, 2500 will compress a 1Gb file a few seconds sooner than the A8. and wrong, for gaming a fast GPU is required. A8 got a fast inbult GPU but still not fast enough to replace discrete GPU and hence not targeted at gamers. A8 got a moderately fast proccy & usable GPU which will run most games smoothly or can be put for other similar uses if gaming is not on the list.



Dude all I was saying that for the pc to be a bit future proof if i get a 2500 now and get a discrete gfxcard (~5k worth) in an year or so it could be better (I left that part out) than 3850 + discrete gfx card

Do u agree?


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## Cilus (Dec 14, 2011)

If you want to add a good discrete GPU later and currently wanna use your existing Gfx card then here is my suggestion:-

*INTEL BASED*
Intel Core i5 2400 @ 10K
Intel DH67BL-B3 @ 5.2K
Corsair 4GB 1333 MHz CL9 Value DDR3 @ 1.2K(H67 doesn't support Ram speed more than 1333 MHz)
*Total: 16.4K*

*AMD Based*
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE (3.2 GHz, Turbo Boost to 3.7 GHz, 6MB L3) @ 9.2K
Asus M5A78L-M-LX PLUS  @ 3.4K
Gskill RipjawX 1600 MHz 4GB X 1 @ 1.6K

*Total*: 14.2K

Now if you take my suggestion then go with the AMD config. Obviously i5 2400 will deliver better gaming performance but not by a considerable margin. Please go through the points below:-

1. For light gaming both the processors are almost in the same league. So go with the cheaper one.
2. Apps like* bit of 3d editing,sql server, visualstudio,etc* are very much multi-threaded and a 6 core 3GHz+ AMD will deliver better performance here. You can check the Anandtech CPU bench where almost all multithreaded apps, 1090T is faster than 2400
3. As 1090T is a Black Edition CPU, it is a very good overclocker and people are able to run it (me too) at 3.6 GHz speed with the stock cooler. With a standard aftermarket cooler you can hit 4GHz without any issue. And at that speed it actually challenges even the mighty Core i7 990 Extreme 6 core CPU. This feature enables to you fetch couple of doller extra from an existing sytem, completely missing in i5 2400.


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## ico (Dec 14, 2011)

There is nothing future proof. Buy what suits your requirements now.

If you are buying both of them to work on spreadsheets, yeah...they will last 10 years.

So, mention which _applications_ exactly you are going to use. Bit of 3D editing yes? but which application?

From the looks of it, i5-2500 suits you. But that doesn't mean it is future proof.

Also, 6.5k for AMD A6-3500 is very high.


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## Shrutesh (Dec 15, 2011)

ico said:


> So, mention which _applications_ exactly you are going to use. Bit of 3D editing yes? but which applion...



Apps like autodesk,cs...
Its like a home PC so a lot of people use it one is an artist, accountant of sorts, a wannabe programmer, a retire...

I know nothing is future proof God knows Samsthe r some other chinese firm might buy the 
 Patent(if they know what that means) for quantum electronics and make an akash tablet out of it  

I just wanted a PC which will serve my current needs. With a bit of headroom 
That's all
(My pc is dead so (Seriously) typing this on a touch phone is ridiculous hope tablets don't replace PC's )
Thanks all


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## ico (Dec 15, 2011)

If you want a general use PC in a budget and don't plan to add a discrete graphic card later.

AMD A8-3850 @ 7400
Gigabyte GA-A75-D3H @ 5800
4 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 Mhz DDR3 @ 1600
Corsair CX430v2 @ 2400
DVD Writer @ 900
CM Elite 330 @ 1500

Total = 19600

---

Intel i5-2400 @ 9800
Intel DH67CL @ 6200 (I am not in favour of DH67BL as it is not a full ATX motherboard. Go for CL.)
4 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 Mhz DDR3 @ 1600
Corsair CX430v2 @ 2400
DVD Writer @ 900
CM Elite 330 @ 1500

Total = 22900

Optional: AMD Radeon HD 5570 @ 3600

Total = 26500

---

Hard disk has not been included by me. So, add extra. I don't care if this exceeds your budget or not. Balanced configurations are future proof. That's all I know.

CPU wise, i5-2400 is 40% faster than A8-3850. But for gaming performance equal to or better than A8-3850, you need to add a graphic card like HD 5570 to i5-2400. i5-2400 + a crappy GPU like HD 4350/5450/6450 is a joke.

i5-2400 CPU is very strong. If you are going to run 3ds Max and Maya heavily, then it is worth getting it. If you are a casual user, then I don't think it makes much sense.

I'd have gone for Intel though if I was sure it won't be overkill for me. I only tend to suggest A8-3850 over i3-2100, compared to it A8-3850 is a much better deal - both CPU wise and built-in GPU wise. But i5-2400 + discrete GPU is better than A8-3850 if you can spend.



Shrutesh said:


> PSU 500W VIP (Should be good for 400 I guess)


*Caution:* You really need to read this: **www.thinkdigit.com/forum/power-sup...89-power-supply-blacklist-thread-newbies.html*


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## Shrutesh (Dec 15, 2011)

Cilus said:


> If you want to add a good discrete GPU later and currently wanna use your existing Gfx card then here is my suggestion:-
> 
> *INTEL BASED*
> Intel Core i5 2400 @ 10K
> ...




Dude thanks for opening my eyes to the x6 seroius muscle there...
Can i go for 1055 insted and put an aftermarket cooler in it ?(Please recommend)

Dont mean to be a party pooper but i read somewere that X6 is actually a 3 core with 2 subcores each which do most(frequently needed) tasks as against intel cores that are independent core ...

Cool bit the technical jargon aside X6 is a winner i will go for it i guess ....


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## vickybat (Dec 15, 2011)

I too vouch for intel if *op* is agreeing to add a discrete class gpu later to gel well with cpu performance.

But if general usage is all what *op* desires then A series apu's make sense because they already have an inbuilt lower midrange discrete class gpu.


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## Techguy (Dec 15, 2011)

The AMD CPU has better graphics than the i5, but for gaming and other CPU tasks (except mutithreaded), the i5 is better...


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## Cilus (Dec 15, 2011)

Shrutesh said:


> Dude thanks for opening my eyes to the x6 seroius muscle there...
> Can i go for 1055 insted and put an aftermarket cooler in it ?(Please recommend)
> 
> Dont mean to be a party pooper but i read somewere that X6 is actually a 3 core with 2 subcores each which do most(frequently needed) tasks as against intel cores that are independent core ...
> ...



You read it wrong or you are mixing it up with the AMD's GPU architecture.

Phenom II X6 does have 6 discrete cores. Each have all the units they need.


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## comp@ddict (Dec 19, 2011)

For your purpose, go for the AMD  APU.


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