Posts in Category: pc builds

AMD Ryzen vs. Intel Coffee Lake: Full System Comparison

A Ryzen CPU and an Intel CPU. Which system is a better value if we compare the full PC?

In the past few months, we have written comparison after comparison of AMD’s very successful Ryzen CPU series to Intel’s ultra-fast 8th generation Coffee Lake chips. (For a quick recap, here are a few: Ryzen 7 1700 vs Core i7-7700K and vs Core i7-8700K, Ryzen 5 1600 vs Core i5-7600K and vs Core i5-8600K.)

These processors are often comparable in terms of price and performance, but building a complete PC is a different story. In this article I will show the differences between two comparable Intel and AMD Ryzen systems, based on the i7-8700K and Ryzen 7 1700 respectively.

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Building a PC with the Intel i7-8700 and i7-8700K

Like the other new 8th Generation CPUs from Intel, the i7 CPUs have proven extremely popular, continuously selling out as soon as they come in stock. The i7-8700 and i7-8700K are a jump up to 6 core/12 thread chips, which represents a significant improvement over the previous generation’s 4 cores and 8 threads.

That jump in core count means major improvements to performance, which means new possibilities the workloads we can expect from a new PC build. If you can manage to find one of these new i7 chips your local store or online, let’s have a look at what you’ll be able to build with them.

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Building a PC with the AMD Athlon X4 940, X4 950 and X4 970

The final piece in AMD’s 7th generation CPU refresh for the AM4 platform comes in the form of three new Athlon processors: the X4 940, X4 950, and X4 970. Unlike the two sets of A-series CPUs (see our 35W and 65W builds), these new Athlons do not come with onboard GPUs.

The advantage, however, is that these are unlocked cores and can be overclocked much harder. So read on to find out exactly what you can build with the new AMD Athlon chips!

 

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Building a PC with the Intel Core i3-8100 and i3-8350K

Competition is great. If you can, think back to a year ago. AMD’s CPU selection consisted of several outdated options, and Intel were happy issuing small incremental improvements over the previous generation. What a difference a year makes! Like them or hate them, AMD has massively shifted the market with the release of the Ryzen architecture. That’s what brings us to today and the launch of the brand new 8000 series Coffee Lake processors from Intel — the biggest upgrade to the Intel lineup in years.

This article looks at the new Core i3 CPUs, which are lower-midrange chips still very capable of great performance for the price. What sort of PC should you build with the i3-8100 or i3-8350K? Read on to find out.

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Building a PC with the AMD A6-9500, A8-9600, A10-9700, and A12-9800

AMD recently refreshed their entry-level CPU range, and we’re quite happy with the results. We’ve already taken a look at their new 35W CPUs, and now we’d like to turn our attention to the more powerful (and power hungry) range from AMD. Interestingly enough, a number of these CPU’s have a configurable thermal design power (cTDP) of 45W from the default 65W.

This article will suggest a number of builds that could best utilize these new 65W CPUs. Prices for these builds come in between $313 and $424. So, read on to see for yourself!

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Building a PC with RX Vega 56 and 64

With AMD’s Threadripper CPUs tearing up the rule book on the processor market, it’s now the RX Vega’s turn to disrupt the GPU market. Now, the question is, are the new RX Vega 56 and Vega 64 graphics cards good, and what sort of PC should you build with them?

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Building a PC with AMD Ryzen 3

With the launch of Ryzen 3 1200 and 1300X, we finally have a full range of Ryzen CPUs to choose from. Before you get building, you need to know what these new Ryzen 3s can do, and that’s where I come in. So read on to view some awesome PC’s for a tiny cost!

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Building a PC with the RX 580 & RX 570

RX 580

This week we saw the release of the new RX 580 and RX 570 from AMD. While these graphics cards are rehashes of the RX 480 and 470 (with a ~5% overclock), they are still great GPUs worthy of consideration for mid-range PC builders.

Today, I take a look at their performance and match each of them with suitable parts to get the best bang for your buck with these new cards.

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