amd a8 7650k

[Joseph_52]

how does the A8 7650K preform and whats its main rivals? could someone tell me what intel CPU its on par with and how is AMD's architecture different from intel's?

 

[Ecky]

The A8 7650K is one of AMD's cheaper 4-core CPUs that have an integrated GPU. The iGPU included is generally enough for running recent games on lowest settings fairly smoothly, though there are some that don't. It's on a socket that has basically been discontinued, and will not receive any future CPUs, so if you go wit ha 7650K there is no upgrade path.

In terms of performance, it generally falls somewhere around an Intel Pentium G4400, which is a ~$60 dual core CPU whose cores are close to twice as fast. In some things, the A8 will be a fair bit faster due to more real cores, and in others it will be well behind because its cores are considerably slower. The Pentium's advantages are that it uses about half the power and is on a socket which has great upgrade options. The A8 has slightly better integrated graphics.

AMD's architecture was designed for low performance per mhz, but high mhz. Unfortunately, they were unable to scale their clockspeeds up enough to match the performance of Intel chips. For this reason, you find AMD 4, 6, and even 8-core CPUs priced around the same as Intel 2-core CPUs, because that's how they perform.

EDIT: The 7650K is not a bad choice if you want an HTPC or something small-form-factor, and will not ever be upgrading it, but generally speaking you're much better off with a Pentium or Core i3.

 

[Joseph_52]

it will be paired with a GTX 750 TI. Just the standard one. But im starting to get into some games now and possibly more demanding ones that need a quad core appose to a dual core. I had a athlon for a number of years? this was a long while back. i had it from 2009-2012 and it was still doing well currently i dont play anything that even needs anything crazy. minecraft, TF2, Gmod. ill get into planet side 2 but its mainly seam games and maybe some others i will play but i could upgrade the CPU in the furture? the FM2+ socket has some A10's that will be a bit better but for the first three years or whne my computers warrently runs out i will upgrade then.

 

[Ecky]

The A10's are the same CPU, just with very slightly higher clockspeed and a slightly bigger integrated GPU, which you could achieve by slightly increasing the multiplier on the A8. You're also paying for the integrated GPU, which you won't use. Essentially, there is no upgrade path.

You're right in that some games require quad cores. Some games also require much more single-threaded performance than AMD's cores have, so it's really a tossup between the Pentium and A8, if you don't take power consumption and upgrade path into account.

The cheapest no-compromises CPU is really the Core i3 6100. Because of hyperthreading, it appears as a quad core to games, and vastly outperforms AMD's APUs for very little more money. It also fits in a socket that will be receiving at least 3 more years of support and 2 more generations of CPUs, whereas socket FM2+ is essentially already dead and discontinued.

Single-threaded performance comparison:

Performance difference in games:

 

[Joseph_52]

ah well. As far as i know i could even upgrade the 750 to a 960 without a bottleneck? also. is it better then the athlon 860k or the 880k? or possibly could i upgrade it to an FX with everything exactly the same?

 

[Ecky]

CPU bottlenecks have nothing to do with what video card you have. For example, if your CPU only lets you have 45fps in a particular scene in a game, you'll never have above 45fps, regardless of whether you use a 750Ti or GTX1080. However, you'll be able to run much higher graphical settings with the same framerates with a faster video card.

The A8 will limit your framerates in some games, to varying degrees, but if you find them still acceptable then there's no need for a replacement. Grab a new video card if you'd like to be able to run at higher graphical settings.

 

[Joseph_52]

but.. This may sound stupid. If i wanted to upgrade to an FX. could i do so without changing the motherboard?

 

[Ecky]

FX CPUs are a different socket, and inferior to Intel CPUs, so if you're going to replace your motherboard you might as well go Intel. The only time I recommend any FX CPU is when a person already has an AM3+ motherboard.

The 860k, 880k both also have the same CPU portion as the A8 and A10. AMD only has one core design on FM2+, and it's used in all of the CPUs and APUs, just with very slightly different stock clockspeeds. On the lower end, some of them have cores disabled, but it's still the same chip.

 

[Joseph_52]

ahhh. I see thank you

 

[Ecky]

I should also add that the FX CPUs are older and slightly slower per core than FM2+ CPUs - they used the older 2nd generation Piledriver cores, while FM2+ cores are 3rd generation Steamroller design. You just get more cores with them, but most games don't use more than 2-3 cores very effectively anyway.

 

[TerryLaze]

There are no games that require quad cores,devs state quads as min requirements but it's just for show.

 

[Joseph_52]

ahhh. But should i put the specs of my pc here so you can evaluate them and tell me what you think?

 

[Joseph_52]

CPU: AMD A8 7650K APU £ 17.42
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 103 £ 19.86
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600mhz (1x8GB)
Graphics card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 750 Ti 2GB
Motherboard: Gigabyte F2A78M-HD2
Operating System: Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Hard Drive: 1TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA £ 9.63
Case: Corsair Carbide 100R Silent Edition £ 26.92
Case Fans: Aerocool Air Force 12CM White LED Fan £ 8.00
PSU: 450W Corsair VS
Internet: Wireless 802.11N 300Mbps MIMO PCI card
Warranty: 5 Year Bronze Warranty
Priority turnaround: Dispatched within 5 working days £ 35.00
Keyboards and Mice: Logitech MK270 Wireless keyboard and mouse

 

[Ecky]

My opinion: a 960 is not enough of an improvement. Go for a GTX 1060 or hold off for a bit, it's about twice as fast as a 960.

Your A8 is an alright CPU, so I'd just hold onto it for a while. If you find performance isn't what you'd like even after a GPU upgrade, you'll need to go with an Intel CPU, but I expect your current cup will still be fine in most games for a while yet.

 

[Joseph_52]

but would my cpu bottle the gtx 1060?

 

[Ecky]

It doesn't work that way.

CPU bottlenecks have nothing to do with what video card you have. For example, if your CPU only lets you have 45fps in a particular scene in a game, you'll never have above 45fps, regardless of whether you use a 750Ti or GTX1080. However, you'll be able to run much higher graphical settings with the same framerates with a faster video card.

The A8 will limit your framerates in some games, to varying degrees, but if you find them still acceptable then there's no need for a replacement. Grab a new video card if you'd like to be able to run at higher graphical settings.

All CPUs bottleneck all GPUs, it's more a matter of whether or not your CPU can deliver the framerates you want in the games you play. With your existing video card, if you turn your graphical settings down to minimum, you can see the maximum framerates your CPU will allow with any video card.

 

[Joseph_52]

ahhhh. i see that now