APU or Not?

[Lucky PRO]

I am thinking about purchasing an AMD APU for a build. However, I'm a little unsure what the advantages and disadvantages on buying a APU; do they require a GPU, do they perform better, will they overclock, etc.

Let me know what you think about the APUs and or whether I should just get a CPU.

 

[manofchalk]

An APU is a CPU, it just happens to have a integrated GPU that's far beefier than you would fine in an Intel chip.

APU's
+ Very strong GPU (by integrated standards)
+ Very inexpensive platform, to get an equivalent rig rig would cost a fair bit more
+ They can overclock (but so can any AMD chip really)
+ They can Hybrid Crossfire with select cards
- Medicore CPU performance, an A10-5800k is about on par with mid-range i3.
- At the price point of the A10's, there is also an FX-6300 that far outperforms them in CPU grunt (but no iGPU).

Basically, if you intend to stick a graphics card stronger than a 6770 on the rig then get a CPU. If not, then APU.

 

[Sn1992-1361850]

Yes they have a graphics unit embedded in them the newest a10 is great but remember that if u want graphics more tha a amd radeon 7750 or higher den go for a fx 6300 with ga 970a ud3 board plus a dedicated graphics card because anything higher than 7750 wud easily beat the embedded graphics
My reccomendation wud b apu if the graphics u need is more than 7750 so it all depends on ur graphics need

 

[MrInteresting]

Like manofchalk said, APUs have many good things to say about them. But there is one crucial con that he left out. What does a processor give off? Heat. If you have a GPU running inside a CPU at the same time, chances are, it's going to get hotter than a CPU running alone. Therefore, making your fan run faster, and making your PC noisier. Not to mention if you overclock it, then that would make it even MORE hotter. I suggest you buy a CPU and a dedicated graphics card, something like a Radeon 6670 or a Radeon 7750. Those are both decent cards for a decent price.

 

[manofchalk]

You can roughly estimate a processors heat output by its power consumption, which is 100W for both of the current A10's. Thats 25W less than the FX-6300 I mentioned as an alternative in my post.
Besides, noise is an easy fix as you can just throw a $30 heatsink at the chip and it will run cooler and quieter.

 

[Sn1992-1361850]

Yeah u r ryt..heat is not d problem its the output wanted from the graphics unit if it needs to be more so a cpu wid a graphic card is the best option