AMD A10-6700 And A10-6800K Review: Richland Hits The Desktop

[sarinaide]

So basically whoever currently is using a Trinity based setup has absolutely no reason to upgrade to Richland. They are better off waiting for Kaveri.But then Kaveri will be on a new platform and am not sure unless AMD show some big improvements people are going to upgrade to Kaveri. Richland is just a filler artificially increasing the life of the FM2 platform. AMD should have skipped Richland altogether and had gone straight to Kaveri atleast for the desktop space.

Performance across the board improved but more the compute side and of course Richland overclocks well something Trinity does not do, overall Richland is a bigger upgrade from Trinity than Haswell is from Ivy. Would you skip on a chance to make money and sell off any silicon reserves? obviously not.

I assume you've checked some of the more serious overclocking reviews? Impressive scores!

We received a ES chip about 10 days ago and managed 5.3ghz on a H100i @ 1.575v and kept temps down, compared to my 5800K which overclocks like a dog it is a lot more fun and the performance you can get out of overclocking stable to 4.5ghz and ramping the iGPU up to 950mhz coupled with DDR3 2600 capability nets fantastic results, BF3 multiplayer is very playable at 1440x900 with medium textures and AA/HBAO netting around 40FPS. BF3 is also a game which utilises Dual Graphics well and was shocked at the reluctance to use it.

For the system I want to build, the new Gigabyte FM2A85XN iTX is out and a A8 6500 paired with a Bonaire HD7790 is just incredible for a HTPC/Gaming setup.

 

[demonhorde665]

don't get me wrong I like AMD , hell I just built a system with a fx 8350 and a radeon 7870 in it. However I see no reason what so ever to be excited about amd's apu's until they really release something that competitive with their own discreet cpu and gpu lines. granted this is likely to never happen I could see APU's being exciting to the ahrrdx core crowd if AMD closed discreet gpu's down and started making super monster APU's with 8 pile driver (or steamroller) cores and a vid chip that is at least as strong as a 7950. then I might be more interested in the APU world.

 

[Allan_is_pro]

Do we know around which month we'll get Kaveri?

 

[Wes Young]

This is dumb. Still 6670 max card for dual graphics. Disappointing.

No, since driver 13.1 even the 5800k was able to run dual graphics with a HD 7750. I am typing on a system with that exact setup right now. I am not sure if the 6800k will allow anything above the 7750 though. When I tried a 7770 with the 5800k I wasn't given the option to enable dual graphics.

Hurry call amd tech support and tell them you have managed to accomplished what there high paid engineers have been unable to do.
I have no doubt that ccc is saying dual graphics option enabled but when you run benchmarks with it enable and disabled they are the same.

Sorry, but you are simply wrong. Below are results with the 7750 in Dual graphics. I started testing this shortly after the first guy made his youtube post abut it. I was skeptical, but instead of saying it doesn't work I actually tested it.

3DMARK Vantage: P12274, Graphics 13015, CPU 10485
Tomb Raider Bench: 1080p, default settings with AA Min 46.6, Max 66.0, Avg 58.4
Metro 2033: 1680x1050 DX10 High smoothly at 39.88

I am certianly willing to look at what ever you put forward but reserve that right to call BS all the way. First where is your monitor plugged into running dual graphics the 7750 or the motherboard ? Second what is the igpu setting in bios, integrated, pcie or peg ?

I call the first BS now

I will be happy to post screens this evening of just the IGP, just the 7750 and both running in dual. The HDMI cable is running to the port on the mobo. The BIOS is set to onboard. The fan on the Gigabyte 7750 doesn't even spin until you fire up something that pushes graphics. I do understand folks being skeptical, as was I...and lord knows AMD hasn't given any updated info.

I do see why some folks would say they tried but it didn't work. You have to install the driver/software package for the APU first and then you have to do the catalyst install for the 7750. Once you do that then the option for Dual is there. If you just take the driver Windows installs you don't have the option.

 

[MajorLeague]

I will be picking up a 7750 tomorrow and will report back with results

 

[Wes Young]

This is dumb. Still 6670 max card for dual graphics. Disappointing.

No, since driver 13.1 even the 5800k was able to run dual graphics with a HD 7750. I am typing on a system with that exact setup right now. I am not sure if the 6800k will allow anything above the 7750 though. When I tried a 7770 with the 5800k I wasn't given the option to enable dual graphics.

Hurry call amd tech support and tell them you have managed to accomplished what there high paid engineers have been unable to do.
I have no doubt that ccc is saying dual graphics option enabled but when you run benchmarks with it enable and disabled they are the same.

Sorry, but you are simply wrong. Below are results with the 7750 in Dual graphics. I started testing this shortly after the first guy made his youtube post abut it. I was skeptical, but instead of saying it doesn't work I actually tested it.

3DMARK Vantage: P12274, Graphics 13015, CPU 10485
Tomb Raider Bench: 1080p, default settings with AA Min 46.6, Max 66.0, Avg 58.4
Metro 2033: 1680x1050 DX10 High smoothly at 39.88

I am certianly willing to look at what ever you put forward but reserve that right to call BS all the way. First where is your monitor plugged into running dual graphics the 7750 or the motherboard ? Second what is the igpu setting in bios, integrated, pcie or peg ?

I call the first BS now

Okay, as promised links below of Vantage ran with just IGP, just 7750 and IGP+7750.

IGP Alone
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9028/igpalone.jpg

7750 Alone
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/5563/7750alone.jpg

IGP and 7750
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/5121/igpand7750.jpg

 

[technoholic]

Intel did a good job with Haswell and their iGPU especially in compute stuff. But if AMD can implement HSA (hUMA) and integrate Steamroller in 1 package and do better in software side (with drivers etc) and minimize power consumptions AND if they can actually do it all good, tables will turn in every aspect. A lot of "if"s though...

 

[mcx2500]

The other reviews sites have PCMark 8 and the new $100-150 Richlands are neck and neck with the $325+ Haswell i7-4770K.

Other people are posting Computerbase.de CPU+GPU results and they show the new AMD Richlands easily outperform high priced Intel Haswells in most of the multi benchmarks.

 

[hasten]

Tourist. Calm down. First its Unigine Heaven. And his CPU score isn't gaining enough to be concerned. I've run 3DMark multiple times using identical settings and have had larger fluctuations (less than 3 times isn't a large enough sample when benching).
Wes - I have no experience with the subject, but have read elsewhere of many people achieving this. Good luck proving it though.

 

[Wes Young]

Tourist. Calm down. First its Unigine Heaven. And his CPU score isn't gaining enough to be concerned. I've run 3DMark multiple times using identical settings and have had larger fluctuations (less than 3 times isn't a large enough sample when benching).
Wes - I have no experience with the subject, but have read elsewhere of many people achieving this. Good luck proving it though.

I am calm, in fact cool and confident that the rest of tech world would have already discovered this and made headlines. Not to mention the fact that i have tried myself with a msi ddr3 7750 with no luck.

It would bust my ego if he got it working and i could not.

Regardless of whether you run dual graphics with a 7750 or a 6770 the results will show 7660DX some number...usually 3 because the system counts the 7660d, the 7750 and the dual graphics which shows 7660d+7700.

I have given you screens and if you run benches you know there is some fluctuation on each run especially in a situation where you changing the throughput of a part like we're doing with a APU by changing from single to dual to off chip for graphics. You also see in the pics from earlier the clock and memory speeds.

I really can't can't give you anymore...between this and the guy on youtube who filmed doing this to his system. Every game I have tested has benefited from dual graphics. You either believe what you're looking at or ignore it.

 

[jamsbong]

I've bought Pentiums, Pentium-II, Pentium 3, Celeron, Then the big switch... AMD Thunderbird then thoroughbred. Then back to Intel with Core-2 Duo and Core-2 Quad. NOW I am using the i5-2500K which I reckon will be many more years before it needs replacing.
My point is that
1. AMD has always been less successful in selling CPU to me.
2. The Desktop CPU 'need for upgrade' has diminished. It is a shrinking market.

 

[silverblue]

Thanks Wes.

 

[baubau Z]

Why don't you add a Lr benchmark?

 

[sarinaide]

Tourist. Calm down. First its Unigine Heaven. And his CPU score isn't gaining enough to be concerned. I've run 3DMark multiple times using identical settings and have had larger fluctuations (less than 3 times isn't a large enough sample when benching).
Wes - I have no experience with the subject, but have read elsewhere of many people achieving this. Good luck proving it though.

I am calm, in fact cool and confident that the rest of tech world would have already discovered this and made headlines. Not to mention the fact that i have tried myself with a msi ddr3 7750 with no luck.

It would bust my ego if he got it working and i could not.

You know what they say, go back and try harder. Those images don't look photoshopped and I have heard more and more about this anomaly. I have personally ordered a 7750 for testing so as to confirm this myself either way he has not don anything that would not be done with a HD6670 enabling the same feature.

 

[ericjohn004]

I have been waiting on this processor to come out for about a month now and now that it's arrived, I'm a bit disappointed. It's basically the EXACT same CPU and iGPU as before only with higher clocks. I sure hope it overclocks better.
I already had some parts so I figured I'd complete the build, and with a 6800k you get a competent CPU and a good enough iGPU to play some games.
I was expecting IPC improvments, maybe a slightly different iGPU. But all I got was clock speed increases and maybe a 2% decrease in power consumption. And when I looked at the the F12 racing game(or whatever it's called)benchmark it made me think of gettings an i3 instead. The i3, with the SAME discrete card got almost twice the FPS. Maybe I should hold off and just wait for the i3's to come out.
Come on AMD, your suppose to be better than this. I guess the 6800k was just like the FX4350's and FX6350's. Nothing but a different name and clock speed increase.
I definitely want an AMD in my new budget rig and I can't wait 6 months, so I may just get a 6350.

 

[ericjohn004]

so... you tested a chip that supports ddr3 2400 ram with ddr3 2133 ram... and no overclocking data? the A10-5800k already supported 2133 (maybe not officially, but it worked), the a10-6800k supports and works with ddr3 2400 ram, as other reviewers have noted elsewhere.

Isn't this a tech enthusiast site? The few reviews I've seen out there claim Richland overclocks better, cooler and higher then Trinity. Furthermore, they claim the overclocked igpu performs at the level of a 6670... which is a huge jump in performance... as the 5800k, even overclocked and with fast ram, was only about 70% a HD 6670.

where is the beef? Seriously i expected more from this site.

Maybe you missed this, but Tom's does state that the 6800k's iGPU matches or beats a 6670 in it's stock state. Did you even read the review? Tom's totally gave the 6800k a fair review.

And as for using 2400mhz RAM... What, should they use 2400mhz RAM with the 4770k just because it can take 2400mhz RAM? NO, they use 1600mhz because that's what it OFFICIALLY supports. Of COURSE they're not going to use 2400mhz RAM. It would be stupid if they did. This is just another excuse from people that's in bed with AMD. I want a 6800k and I'm probably getting one. So I LIKE AMD. But you, you just make no sense at all and are looking for something to bitch at even though nothings there.

What was so unfair about this review? They didn't overclock it? They'll do that in another review later on. This was a great review and I trust no other benchmark numbers than Tom's because they do it the RIGHT way.

 

[ericjohn004]

The other reviews sites have PCMark 8 and the new $100-150 Richlands are neck and neck with the $325+ Haswell i7-4770K.

Other people are posting Computerbase.de CPU+GPU results and they show the new AMD Richlands easily outperform high priced Intel Haswells in most of the multi benchmarks.

Some people, man they just don't get it. EXACTLY what is a 6800k better at than a 4770k? Are you talking about the iGPU? Sure, it's batter, barely. Who in their right freaking mind buys a 4770k for the iGPU? It's just there to be disabled. You comparing apples to oranges. What point are you trying to make? Are you trying to say that a 6800k is better than a 4770k? Boy, some fans are completely clueless.

Edit: And PCMark7 as well as PCMark8 are both terrible benchmarks. This is why many people don't use them when reviewing CPU's. An Intel 3770k CPU with HD4000 scores like 1000 points better than one with a GTX680, simply because of Quick Sync. That makes no sense at all. Do you think HD4000 is better than a GTX680? If you want to compare REAL benchmarks why don't you try Cinebench, Fritz Chess, Passmark8, Handbreak, iTunes, Lame, Photoshop, as well as some games and THEN do your comparisons. Tom's Hardware has BEEN written off PCMark7 as a worthless benchmark. They even state that in one of their articles. The only part of PCMark7 that's shows the CPU's true potential is the "Computation Suite". And if you check the scores there the 4770k will cripple the 6800k.

 

[Fierylongshot]

so does this mean you can crossfire the built in gpu with a 7000 series card ???

 

[aibenq]

This is dumb. Still 6670 max card for dual graphics. Disappointing.

No, since driver 13.1 even the 5800k was able to run dual graphics with a HD 7750. I am typing on a system with that exact setup right now. I am not sure if the 6800k will allow anything above the 7750 though. When I tried a 7770 with the 5800k I wasn't given the option to enable dual graphics.

Hurry call amd tech support and tell them you have managed to accomplished what there high paid engineers have been unable to do.
I have no doubt that ccc is saying dual graphics option enabled but when you run benchmarks with it enable and disabled they are the same.

Sorry, but you are simply wrong. Below are results with the 7750 in Dual graphics. I started testing this shortly after the first guy made his youtube post abut it. I was skeptical, but instead of saying it doesn't work I actually tested it.

3DMARK Vantage: P12274, Graphics 13015, CPU 10485
Tomb Raider Bench: 1080p, default settings with AA Min 46.6, Max 66.0, Avg 58.4
Metro 2033: 1680x1050 DX10 High smoothly at 39.88

I am certianly willing to look at what ever you put forward but reserve that right to call BS all the way. First where is your monitor plugged into running dual graphics the 7750 or the motherboard ? Second what is the igpu setting in bios, integrated, pcie or peg ?

I call the first BS now

well considering the 7750 by itself will get 35fps on high graphic settings at 1080p, i've no doubt his 7750 is posting those numbers. of course it's not in dual graphics with the a10 either... as the base 7750 will put out those numbers by itself.

He's obviously got the monitor plugged into the gpu, and "thinks" he's crossfiring with his cpu... when he's clearly not. The A10 defaults to the gpu when you plug it into the gpu... and only can crossfire with a like core... the like core is the 6670 or 6570. When you try to crossfire with a core that isn't similar enough the a10 will default to whichever device the monitor is plugged into.

well, I see those too, and few folks here also intersting with the result, so one of the guys try it and validate it... check this out... http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1688717/review-amd-a10-5800k-7750-msi-working-dual-graphics.html

 

[falchard]

Are you using 64-bit software or 32-bit software? I would like to see more comparisons at 64-bit.

 

[Wes Young]

This is dumb. Still 6670 max card for dual graphics. Disappointing.

No, since driver 13.1 even the 5800k was able to run dual graphics with a HD 7750. I am typing on a system with that exact setup right now. I am not sure if the 6800k will allow anything above the 7750 though. When I tried a 7770 with the 5800k I wasn't given the option to enable dual graphics.

Hurry call amd tech support and tell them you have managed to accomplished what there high paid engineers have been unable to do.
I have no doubt that ccc is saying dual graphics option enabled but when you run benchmarks with it enable and disabled they are the same.

Sorry, but you are simply wrong. Below are results with the 7750 in Dual graphics. I started testing this shortly after the first guy made his youtube post abut it. I was skeptical, but instead of saying it doesn't work I actually tested it.

3DMARK Vantage: P12274, Graphics 13015, CPU 10485
Tomb Raider Bench: 1080p, default settings with AA Min 46.6, Max 66.0, Avg 58.4
Metro 2033: 1680x1050 DX10 High smoothly at 39.88

I am certianly willing to look at what ever you put forward but reserve that right to call BS all the way. First where is your monitor plugged into running dual graphics the 7750 or the motherboard ? Second what is the igpu setting in bios, integrated, pcie or peg ?

I call the first BS now

well considering the 7750 by itself will get 35fps on high graphic settings at 1080p, i've no doubt his 7750 is posting those numbers. of course it's not in dual graphics with the a10 either... as the base 7750 will put out those numbers by itself.

He's obviously got the monitor plugged into the gpu, and "thinks" he's crossfiring with his cpu... when he's clearly not. The A10 defaults to the gpu when you plug it into the gpu... and only can crossfire with a like core... the like core is the 6670 or 6570. When you try to crossfire with a core that isn't similar enough the a10 will default to whichever device the monitor is plugged into.

well, I see those too, and few folks here also intersting with the result, so one of the guys try it and validate it... check this out... http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1688717/review-amd-a10-5800k-7750-msi-working-dual-graphics.html

Now the one thing I want to check is whether or not a 6800k will run in dual with a 7770. I have tried a 7770 with the 5800k but no luck. Maybe the tweaks on the 6800k will allow it, but I doubt it. I have said all along it will be a game changer if AMD is able to make an APU with graphics equal to the then current X770 and able to run dual with that gen x770. Here's hoping we see it in Dec. Until then I will be sticking with my Intel systems and discrete gpus. I really like the idea of the apu and hope AMD is able to pull off something amazing.

Aibenq, appreciate you sharing the link because lord knows I simply don't have time to put together a full review With my current workload and being on the road.

Now debating on a trip to Microcenter since I have a little to test this weekend.

 

[ayushde]

Why no iris pro 5200 gt3e in the mix????

 

[ayushde]

Other sites like anandtech already have reviewed the gt3e then why is toms lagging behind in this department

 

[Novuake]

Other sites like anandtech already have reviewed the gt3e then why is toms lagging behind in this department

No, they don't? Unless I am blind?

 

[chrisafp07]

Crossfire this APU with a 6670 and for a low price you can be playing any new game in low-medium settings smoothly. Goodjob AMD, a great budget solution and a slight improvement. Now give the hardcore gamers our Steamroller pretty please?