A10-5800k bottleneck HD 7870??

[mkrosz]

Would an A10-5800k bottleneck HD 7870? I am just wondering before buying the 7870.. please post feedbacks/suggestions

 

[Johnny828]

Yes your 7870 will be bottlenecked. However, you can easily buy a quite cheap aftermarket cooler (Cooler Master EVO) to overclock the cpu from 3.8 to like 4.5, if not a bit more, to reduce the bottlenecking. If you don't have the A10-5800k yet, buy a 6 cores FX-6300 cpu from AMD for a similar price (and OC it for greater results) or a Core i3 3220 from intel.

Here's a good read about your cpu and bottlenecking:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6347/amd-a10-5800k-a8-5600k-review-trinity-on-the-desktop-part-2/6

EDIT: If you don't plan to overclock or to change cpu, I'd suggest a HD 7850 to not lose too much money over a video card which you can't fully benefit from.

 

[Duke Nucome]

Yup that CPU is not great for running games. Get a new one or suffer bottlenecking.

 

[mkrosz]

thanks for the fast response.. how about for the CPU? which would be the best upgrade from A10-5800k that would complement HD7870? FX-6300, i3 3220 or i5 2500?

 

[Johnny828]

thanks for the fast response.. how about for the CPU? which would be the best upgrade from A10-5800k that would complement HD7870? FX-6300, i3 3220 or i5 2500?

Well if you go for an intel cpu (i3 or i5) you have to buy a new motherboard too, which would cost you an additional 100-150$ I guess. If you only want a new cpu, go for a FX-8320 or 8350 for the best FX possible, otherwise if you're a bit limited on money, get a FX-6300 (and overclock it with an aftermarket cooler (Cooler Master EVO is only like 35$) for better results).

EDIT: I just realized that FM motherboards (for apus, which is what you have) don't support AM3+ (for FX processors), so you'd have to buy a new motherboard too if you want a FX processor. If you're on a limited budget, you have better value for your money with AMD. Otherwise, go for a i5-2500 or i5-3570 with a motherboard which supports LGA1155 socket.

EDIT 2: And if you get a FX-6300, I'd also personally recommend to OC it a bit to make sure it's not a bottleneck. The problem is that, while AMD cpus aren't as expensive as intel's ones, they tend to lack a bit in single thread performance (on which games rely), but OCing is a way to compensate for that. Are you comfortable with OCing or prefer not to?

 

[mkrosz]

my mobo is F2 A55-M LK plus. so is it wiser to get the FX8320/8350 than go with the i3/i5 plus an entry level mobo along with it? do the FXs require me to change my current mobo as well?

 

[Johnny828]

my mobo is F2 A55-M LK plus. so is it wiser to get the FX8320/8350 than go with the i3/i5 plus an entry level mobo along with it? do the FXs require me to change my current mobo as well?

Yes you have to buy a new mobo. I updated my post above. If you aren't too limited on money and don't want to overclock, go for an entry level mobo with a LGA 1155 socket and get an i5-2500 or 3570 (the 3570 being a year newer and being 5-10% faster). You'll have no problem with the video card.

EDIT: If you don't overclock, the i5-2500 will give you 15-25% higher performance in games (for the same video card) over the FX-6300, but it's more expensive. Check out this link for benchmarks comparing the two cpus, scroll down the page for gaming benchmarks:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/699?vs=288

 

[Duke Nucome]

thanks for the fast response.. how about for the CPU? which would be the best upgrade from A10-5800k that would complement HD7870? FX-6300, i3 3220 or i5 2500?

Any of those you mentioned are great. Imo get the FX 6300 because AMD has pimpin motherboards and chip sets.

 

[mkrosz]

okay. as much as possible i don't want to OC for it shortens the lifespan of the hardware (i assume).. so if i understand everything you said, the best choice i have is go with the i5 and an entry level mobo with the 7870? right? for the i5, would that be the 2500 or 3570? i read some of the opinions here that 2500 would be a better choice since its performance is not that far from 3570 considering its price

 

[Johnny828]

okay. as much as possible i don't want to OC for it shortens the lifespan of the hardware (i assume).. so if i understand everything you said, the best choice i have is go with the i5 and an entry level mobo with the 7870? right? for the i5, would that be the 2500 or 3570? i read some of the opinions here that 2500 would be a better choice since its performance is not that far from 3570 considering its price

You can have a reasonable OC on your cpu (4.3/4.5ghz, 3.3/3.4 being the stock ghz) if you buy an aftermarket cooler (Cooler Master EVO is 35$) without shortening its lifespan, because that cooler will keep its temps low and the reasonable OC won't make you have to crank the voltage up.

Yeah the difference in performance between the 2500 and 3570 isn't really noticeable, but I don't think the price is much higher for the 3570 either.

Besides, don't forget to get the 'k' (unlocked) version of the processor (like 2500k) if you plan to OC.

And yes, you'll be totally fine with an entry level mobo, a i5, and the 7870.

 

[mkrosz]

okay. as much as possible i don't want to OC for it shortens the lifespan of the hardware (i assume).. so if i understand everything you said, the best choice i have is go with the i5 and an entry level mobo with the 7870? right? for the i5, would that be the 2500 or 3570? i read some of the opinions here that 2500 would be a better choice since its performance is not that far from 3570 considering its price

You can have a reasonable OC on your cpu (4.3/4.5ghz, 3.3/3.4 being the stock ghz) if you buy an aftermarket cooler (Cooler Master EVO is 35$) without shortening its lifespan, because that cooler will keep its temps low and the reasonable OC won't make you have to crank the voltage up.

Yeah the difference in performance between the 3500 and 3570 isn't really noticeable, but I don't think the price is much higher for the 3570 either.

you provided me the answers i need in full details that some i need to read several times in order for me to really understand. hahaha. please know that i appreciate you for sharing your knowledge. and now i'm stuck between whether i would go for the fx6300 and apply the OC plus the EVO cooler or the i5 without the OC..

EDIT: and would an entry level mobo would be fine for OC?
EDIT2: ohhh!! so thats the "k" is all about. unlocked-can be OC. i see.

 

[Johnny828]

okay. as much as possible i don't want to OC for it shortens the lifespan of the hardware (i assume).. so if i understand everything you said, the best choice i have is go with the i5 and an entry level mobo with the 7870? right? for the i5, would that be the 2500 or 3570? i read some of the opinions here that 2500 would be a better choice since its performance is not that far from 3570 considering its price

You can have a reasonable OC on your cpu (4.3/4.5ghz, 3.3/3.4 being the stock ghz) if you buy an aftermarket cooler (Cooler Master EVO is 35$) without shortening its lifespan, because that cooler will keep its temps low and the reasonable OC won't make you have to crank the voltage up.

Yeah the difference in performance between the 3500 and 3570 isn't really noticeable, but I don't think the price is much higher for the 3570 either.

you provided me the answers i need in full details that some i need to read several times in order for me to really understand. hahaha. please know that i appreciate you for sharing your knowledge. and now i'm stuck between whether i would go for the fx6300 and apply the OC plus the EVO cooler or the i5 without the OC..

EDIT: and would an entry level mobo would be fine for OC?

I understand your dilemma, hehe!

For the info, it's simple. If you want i5, the mobo needs socket 1155. If you want the FX, you need mobo with AM3+ socket. This info should be displayed on the page you buy the mobo from, or at least it should say compatible with ivy bridge (the i5-3570) or sandy bridge (i5 2500) or FX. If you buy from newegg, you can search for mobos by selecting the right socket filter on the left side of the page. The i5 is a bit more expensive but more future proof, and it's a beast when overclocked. 😀 And it will also give better results with your video card, even if you would OC the FX-6300.

EDIT: Yes, an entry level mobo will be fine with a reasonable OC.

 

[mkrosz]

I understand your dilemma, hehe!

For the info, it's simple. If you want i5, the mobo needs socket 1155. If you want the FX, you need mobo with AM3+ socket. This info should be displayed on the page you buy the mobo from, or at least it should say compatible with ivy bridge (the i5-3570) or sandy bridge (i5 2500) or FX. If you buy from newegg, you can search for mobos by selecting the right socket filter on the left side of the page. The i5 is a bit more expensive but more future proof, and it's a beast when overclocked. 😀 And it will also give better results with your video card, even if you would OC the FX-6300.

EDIT: Yes, an entry level mobo will be fine with a reasonable OC.

thank you very much! with that being said, then i will go for the i5. maybe the 2500k since according to some of the threads here, it's not that far from the 3570k. or not? anyway, i will also just try to find an entry level mobo (cheaper) then OC it. of course you gave me the idea of buying the EVO cooler, so getting it would help the lifespan of the CPU. and maybe OC the 7870 as well. 😀 thanks again!

 

[Johnny828]

You're welcome! You're right, the 2500k isn't far from the 3570k, and it also overclocks more easily with lower temps.

EDIT: the EVO is a cpu cooler though, it doesn't cool your video card as well. If you want to OC your video card too, make sure you don't buy a a reference 7870. MSI's Twin Frozr 7870 is good for OCing, Asus's Direct CU too, among others. I suggest using a small application named MSI Afterburner to easily overclock the video card (and the program works on video cards from companies other than MSI too).

 

[nukemaster]

Duke Nucome, Please do NOT unselect an answer in a thread that is not your own.