Crossfiring AMD A8 3850 APU + ATI Radeon HD 6670 GPU

[roshithbalu]

Hi guys, I'm in a bit of confusion here...

I'm planning to upgrade my PC and I'm stuck in this situation... I'm planning to Crossfire "AMD 2.9 GHz A8 3850 Processor" with "XFX AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6670 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card"

I have seen many guys posting issues on this matter. Many of them are unable crossfire these two successfully and some are reporting issues like Micro stuttering and crossfiring not working on DX 9.C games.

My requirement is simple... Gaming... Gaming... Gaming...!!!

Here are my doubts:

* How can I crossfire A8 3850 + HD 6670 successfully without having any errors...? Explain the Pro's and Con's of Crossfiring these two? Can you guys explain the steps...? (HD 6670 is the discrete GPU recommended by AMD to obtain optimal performance. I have read here that crossfiring will work only for DX 11 and DX 10 games. It won't work in DX 9.C games. Is that true.?)

* Can I overclock the APU and how far can I go? What is the optimal overclocking frequency to work smoothly in Crossfire mode?

* Will I get an FPS boost if I use a 1866 Mhz DDR3 RAM instead of 1600 Mhz? Is there a notable difference in gaming performance?

* Do I have to use a high end CPU cooler if I'm overclocking? Suggest me some brands. I'm planning to put three 120mm Cooler fans in the cabinet.

* Could you suggest me a good power supply that meets the requirements of crossfiring? Please note that I am from India.

Do not worry about gaming performance, because I'm gonna use a 17" LED monitor, so the resolution will be 1280x1024...

I'm gonna put the upgrade configuration below;


Motherboard: ASUS F1A75-M Motherboard (FM1 Socket)

Processor: AMD 2.9 GHz FM1 uPGA A8 3850 Processor

Graphics Card: XFX AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6670 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card

CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler Box/Cooler Master vortex plus/Cooler master V6 (a bit expensive for me)

Power Supply: something above 500W from Corsair( haven't settled on one yet)

RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 4 GB (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800)

 

[de5_Roy]

Hi guys, I'm in a bit of confusion here...

I'm planning to upgrade my PC and I'm stuck in this situation... I'm planning to Crossfire "AMD 2.9 GHz A8 3850 Processor" with "XFX AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6670 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card"

I have seen many guys posting issues on this matter. Many of them are unable crossfire these two successfully and some are reporting issues like Micro stuttering and crossfiring not working on DX 9.C games.

My requirement is simple... Gaming... Gaming... Gaming...!!!

amd apus are good for entry level gaming.

Here are my doubts:

* How can I crossfire A8 3850 + HD 6670 successfully without having any errors...? Explain the Pro's and Con's of Crossfiring these two? Can you guys explain the steps...? (HD 6670 is the discrete GPU recommended by AMD to obtain optimal performance. I have read here that crossfiring will work only for DX 11 and DX 10 games. It won't work in DX 9.C games. Is that true.?)

pros: higher gaming performance in the supported games.
cons: amd dual graphics isn't always effective. especially in older games.

* Can I overclock the APU and how far can I go? What is the optimal overclocking frequency to work smoothly in Crossfire mode?

if you buy an unlocked apu like 3870k or 3670k, you can easily oc the apu. limits depend on each chip. afaik 3.8-4.0 ghz is achievable.

* Will I get an FPS boost if I use a 1866 Mhz DDR3 RAM instead of 1600 Mhz? Is there a notable difference in gaming performance?

from llano review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-a8-3850-llano,2975-6.html

* Do I have to use a high end CPU cooler if I'm overclocking? Suggest me some brands. I'm planning to put three 120mm Cooler fans in the cabinet.

amd stock coolers that come with unlocked cpus are decent. but a 3rd party cooler would be better imo e.g. cm hyper 212 evo.

* Could you suggest me a good power supply that meets the requirements of crossfiring? Please note that I am from India.

corsair cx 500 v2

Do not worry about gaming performance, because I'm gonna use a 17" LED monitor, so the resolution will be 1280x1024...

I'm gonna put the upgrade configuration below;


Motherboard: ASUS F1A75-M Motherboard (FM1 Socket)

Processor: AMD 2.9 GHz FM1 uPGA A8 3850 Processor

Graphics Card: XFX AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6670 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card

CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler Box/Cooler Master vortex plus/Cooler master V6 (a bit expensive for me)

Power Supply: something above 500W from Corsair( haven't settled on one yet)

RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 4 GB (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800)

if you're really into "Gaming... Gaming... Gaming...!!! " would you consider a phenom ii x4 955 b.e. or higher + 970 chipset motherboard + radeon 7750 / radeon 6770 combo (amd) or pentium g620 + msi h61 motherboard + radeon 7750/5770/6770/6790/6850 (intel) combo instead of amd llano? if your budget allows.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-9.html
the above tests are generalized at 1080p though. chances are performance would be higher at 1280x1024. nothing beats a powerful discreet gfx card for gaming. for example,
phenom ii x4 960T - rs 6957 / intel core i3 2100 - rs 6623 / core i5 2400 - rs 11060
asus m5a97 atx - rs 6341 / asus p8h61 m le - rs 4204
sapphire 6770 - rs 7315 / sapphire 6790 - rs 8088
corsair cx 500 v2 - rs 3675
cooler master hyper 212 evo - rs 2160
prices taken from theitdepot.com and flipkart.com. your local retail prices might be cheaper. recommendations are based on price.
from the recent rumors i've read, looks like amd's socket fm1 (the socket 3850, 3870k uses) won't be compatible with the new 32 nm trinity apus set to debut in the coming months - no upgrade path. with a 970 mobo, you can upgrade up to piledriver cpus and with h61 - intel core i5 (both sb and ivy bridge).

 

[refillable]

Hi guys, I'm in a bit of confusion here...

I'm planning to upgrade my PC and I'm stuck in this situation... I'm planning to Crossfire "AMD 2.9 GHz A8 3850 Processor" with "XFX AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6670 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card"

I have seen many guys posting issues on this matter. Many of them are unable crossfire these two successfully and some are reporting issues like Micro stuttering and crossfiring not working on DX 9.C games.

My requirement is simple... Gaming... Gaming... Gaming...!!!

Here are my doubts:

* How can I crossfire A8 3850 + HD 6670 successfully without having any errors...? Explain the Pro's and Con's of Crossfiring these two? Can you guys explain the steps...? (HD 6670 is the discrete GPU recommended by AMD to obtain optimal performance. I have read here that crossfiring will work only for DX 11 and DX 10 games. It won't work in DX 9.C games. Is that true.?)

* Can I overclock the APU and how far can I go? What is the optimal overclocking frequency to work smoothly in Crossfire mode?

* Will I get an FPS boost if I use a 1866 Mhz DDR3 RAM instead of 1600 Mhz? Is there a notable difference in gaming performance?

* Do I have to use a high end CPU cooler if I'm overclocking? Suggest me some brands. I'm planning to put three 120mm Cooler fans in the cabinet.

* Could you suggest me a good power supply that meets the requirements of crossfiring? Please note that I am from India.

Do not worry about gaming performance, because I'm gonna use a 17" LED monitor, so the resolution will be 1280x1024...

I'm gonna put the upgrade configuration below;


Motherboard: ASUS F1A75-M Motherboard (FM1 Socket)

Processor: AMD 2.9 GHz FM1 uPGA A8 3850 Processor

Graphics Card: XFX AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6670 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card

CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler Box/Cooler Master vortex plus/Cooler master V6 (a bit expensive for me)

Power Supply: something above 500W from Corsair( haven't settled on one yet)

RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 4 GB (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800)

You are not suppose to have issues, on setting up the dual graphics, but this is always happening on SLI/Crossfire, where problems like to occur. You would get performance boost when crossfiring A8-3850 with 6670 and a supported dx10/dx11 game if the game doesn't support crossfire or it doesn't support dx11 or dx10, I heard you will not get any boost.

A8-3850 don't overclock well, if you don't have this processor yet and want to overclock, go pay $10 more for the A8-3870K or something.

DDR3 1600 Mhz is enough, yes compared to 1600 Mhz, 1866 Mhz should be faster but probably not worth for the price difference.

I like corsair so I would recommend corsair A50/A70 :lol:. But honestly I would say CM 212 is decent enough.

As said before I like corsair, so my recommendation will be Corsair CX600. Other recommended PSU would be Seasonic 520W or XFX 550W.

To be honest, I don't like running issues with crossfire, I think you'd better get a low end Pentium CPU like G840 which cost under $100 (should be similar in India) and get something like 6770 if you can. If you can't 6670 would be enough too and will not make a difference vs crossfired with APU if you are playing low end games or old games, at your resolution.

 

[roshithbalu]

Thnx for the info buddy...

Let me rephrase my question...

I want to play all DX9, DX10 and DX11 games at fairly better settings at a resolution of 1280x1024.
I'm ready to sacrifice the resolution to gain better FPS.

From your comments I understood that Crossfiring the APU and GPU will work only for DX 10 and DX 11 games. If I intend to play DX9 games, then the Crossfire won't be supported. Am I correct..???

Well, tell me this. If I use this combination, will I get good FPS in the mentioned resolution for DX 10 and DX 11 games...???
Also, Is this card good enough to play Old and upcoming DX 9.C games...???

Will I get better performance just by using this GPU as discrete card and the APU in normal mode for DX 9.C games in 1280x1024 resolution.

I'm not thinking about another upgrade soon and I choose this MB over low cost version is due to the support for SATA 6.0 GB/s interface.

And what about this GPU: "MSI AMD/ATI R6670 MD1GD5 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card"
Should I choose this over the XFX Card...?

And one more thing, If I replace this with an A8 3870 APU, then I can overclock it and still crossfire it with HD 6670 GPU...?

 

[roshithbalu]

If the above mentioned is not a better option, how about this...?

ASUS M5A88-M Motherboard + AMD 3.6 GHz AM3+ FX4100 Processor

http://www.flipkart.com/asus-m5a88-m-motherboard/p/itmd4g9hfhnaeaxv?pid=MBDD4G9GZFPG5PK9&_l=FvPNRlwZ6iaBOEu3eEV_DA--&_r=l3sSskjuVIJhkXUwIbZukg--&ref=0ed30232-8dd9-43fb-bb6a-e46e1cef574a

http://www.flipkart.com/amd-3-6-ghz-am3-fx4100-processor/p/itmd54hrgmx6xwhn?pid=PSRD54HRFDKY69XH&_l=h2RBUEXVjFIGeSaMilnW7w--&_r=e2yfT%20XObgX5s5Ir8TJe0Q--&ref=252aeee6-3422-4b4a-9d53-ad6c2ededb1d

 

[roshithbalu]

If this is a good choice then I can spare around 10K for a GPU....

Suggest me the best within this price range...
But still I would prefer Crossfiring the APU+GPU...

Waiting for your opinion....

 

[Wisecracker]

AMD 3.3 GHz AM3 Phenom II 560 Processor: Rs. 5247

Put the extra money toward your video card.

An AthlonII X3 Rana may cost 20% less and handle gaming quite well, but they don't list them. Either will work great with the Asus M5A88-M.

It's the video card -- and hopefully this will allow consideration of a HD6850 in the same budget as your Llano/HD6670 build.

 

[warbler boy]

I have this exact setup almost and a bundled 420W power supply works fine. Happy with gaming at the resolutions you mention and the system is rock-solid stable. I found this section of Tom's article very helpful with my configuration:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-a8-3850-llano,2975-2.html

I don't believe in overclocking, so can't comment on that bit.

 

[roshithbalu]

@Warler Boy: I'm so relaxed to see your post...

So I will be able to play old DX 9.C games pretty well by using the APU and GPU in normal mode... Right..?

I hope, I can play all the Upcoming games using DX 10 and DX 11 in Crossfire mode, if I opt for this configuration...

Pls reply...

 

[refillable]

Sorry to not give details, but 'worse' on not supported games means your performance would be purely the 6670.

Yes FX-4100 with 6850 seem like a better option.

 

[roshithbalu]

But I believe HD 6670 is a better card to play old games in with average settings on 1280x1024 resolution...
Am I right...?

Please clarify this also... Is there any upcoming games that will still use DX 9.C...???
Or will everyone stick to DX 10 and DX 11...???
If they do so, will I able to utilize Crossfiring in these DX 10&11 games...???

 

[de5_Roy]

yes, 6670 is a good card for playing old games at low resolutions.
newer games will use newer apis. most of the recent games use dx 11.
cfx/sli is driver dependent and amd dual gfx (crossfire with apu) is driver dependent. if the driver is good, then it will show improvement. amd dual gfx will not ensure 'playable' performance (30-40 fps and higher) forever. newer games will be more and more demanding. entry level parts become inadequate faster than higher end parts. if you're not looking to upgrade for the next 2-3 years, keep that in mind.

 

[roshithbalu]

Ok.. Pretty much confused....

Can you tell me a combination of MB + CPU + GPU within $400 range...???
I prefer Asus M.B + AMD CPU..

How about pairing "AMD 3.6 GHz AM3+ FX4100 Processor" + "ASUS M5A88-M Motherboard"...???

That can be done within $200 and it will give me budget to buy a GPU around $200... What will you suggest in this case....???

 

[roshithbalu]

One more doubt... Can you recommend me a good PSU that will meet the overclocking and crossfiring requirements...???

 

[roshithbalu]

*Cooler Master GX 550W 550 Watts PSU
*Cooler Master GX 650W 650 Watts PSU
*Seasonic S12II-620 620 Watts PSU
*Corsair CMPSU-600GUK 600 Watts PSU
*Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2UK 600 Watts PSU
*Corsair CX 500 V2

 

[Wisecracker]

ASUS M5A88-M Motherboard: Rs. 5486

HIS AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6850 GPU 1 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card: Rs. 9968

The video card matches your motherboard

With the PhII 560BE listed above: 20,701.00 INR or 394.681 USD

 

[refillable]

I recommend Seasonic 620W or corsair G600W

 

[roshithbalu]

Best answer selected by roshithbalu.

 

[azraa]

Hi, I know this post is really old, but I would suggest to anybody in this situation to wait for the next platform, FM2 with Trinity Desktop APUs. FM1 is not good for upgrades, as it will be displaced by FM2 at about Sept 2012, which will last for at least 2 more years (2013 Kaveri APUs are confirmed to be FM2)

If you anyway want my answer, I would suggest you to keep just the APU for now, until new tech hits the market. Maybe you could drop some higher clocked RAM modules (subject to mobos spec), as they improve performance quite a bit

 

[cristybinny]

someone please help me in hybrid crossfire-ing amd a8 3870k and asus hd6670
in ma device manager it show's both gpu n apu but catalyst centre don't
display option for enabling crossfire, also i made primary display onborad and
buffr 1gb
main board asus F1A75-M LE
psu cooler master 460w
also os win8 32bit..
thanks guys... hope u people to help me as soonas possible...thank U