Is the A8 3870K good enough for 720p gaming?

[axew]

Hello, i m wondering if an a8 3870k with the IGP is enoug to play new games on medium settings (or higher) on 1280x720 resolution with playable framerates.
I will OC the CPU and the IGP to arround 3.5GHz/900MHz (at least il try to hit that mark).
I will use the Hyper 212 EVO for cooling the APU.
My PSU is Seasonic 400W

 

[Supernova1138]

At your resolution the A8 3870k should be able to deliver acceptable performance at 720p for most games at medium settings. Some of the less demanding titles like Source engine games or the Call of Duty series you may be able to pull off high. However, the APU may struggle a bit with some of the more demanding titles out there like Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, and Witcher 2.

I assume you are talking about a desktop system, in this case consider getting a regular CPU with a discrete graphics card. For the same price as the A8 3870k you can get better performance that way. Even a cheap AMD CPU paired with a $65 graphics card like the Radeon HD 6670 will offer better overall gaming performance than the APU on its own.

If you do go for the APU, you may want to spend more to get faster RAM. Since the GPU takes its memory from the main system RAM, faster RAM, like DDR3 1866MHz will offer a noticeable performance boost over the more typical DDR3 1333MHz.

Another thing to consider is that word is that AMD's new Trinity APUs will be coming to the desktop in August, and will be out on laptops in a month or so, and they should offer even better graphical performance than the 3870k. You may be better served waiting a bit to get a newer APU if you are dead set on taking the APU route.

I personally would go for a CPU and discrete graphics card right now, that sort of setup offers better price/performance ratio compared to the APUs on desktops.

 

[axew]

Well im building a gaming htpc.
I will get the 8gb 1866MHz RAM Muskhin Redline CL9.
What when i OC the APU. I heard that 50% boost in IGP performance is common when OC'ing.
Also would A8 3870K When Overclocked be able to surpass the ps3/xbox 360??

 

[Supernova1138]

OCed the APU would technically surpass the console's GPUs, though performance may not be as good as a console because the consoles run on fixed hardware, so they can get better game optimizations. The APU should run any game out there at 720p, but for some titles you probably will have to settle for low settings.

 

[axew]

then are there other options for the 150$?
I m thinking of GTS 450 and a g620 is it better than the apu alone?

 

[Supernova1138]

In gaming a g620 and a GTS 450 would be better, but the G620 is only a dual core CPU, so if you are doing heavy multitasking, or run into a very CPU heavy game, the APU might pull ahead. The G620 also can't be OCed. It's up to you really.

 

[axew]

is there anything from amd at g620 price point? im looking at the athlon II x3 455. I also hear there is a fairly good chance to unlock it to quad core.

 

[Supernova1138]

The Athlon II x3 455 is AMD's only CPU offering that is priced close the the G620 right now. The only other competitive products from AMD are the A4, which is a dual core APU and lower end A6 APUs, which are quad cores, but clocked lower than the A8 and with weaker integrated graphics.

As for unlocking the extra core, it is really the luck of the draw, there is no guarantee that the additional core is functional or will be stable. AMD usually locks the cores on their CPU for a reason, most of the time you probably have about a 30% chance of a successful unlock. If you do get the X3, do not count on being able to get that fourth core working.

That said, the Athlon II X3 might be the better all round CPU than the G620, it's clocked significantly higher, which makes up for AMD's inferior arch, and the third core would probably help in some of the more CPU demanding titles. The G620 is an okay gaming CPU, but its low clockspeed does limit it. Pair either CPU with a $65 or higher GPU and you will generally get better gaming performance than the A8 3870k on its own.

 

[Wisecracker]

The thing is, the Llano 3870k/FM1 would be great for what you want to do, but the next-gen Trinity/FM2 (in August) is gonna push it around pretty good, perform "up to 50% better" (AMD rumor) in dual-graphics, and be upgradable to the Kaveri APU in 2013.

The Trinity APU with a Turks HD6570 when synced-up in dual-graphics should get you 40-50FPS at your resolution with med-to-high settings in most but the toughest games -- Llano roughly 40% of that depending upon your clocks.

 

[Computer LVR]

do not oc the cpu becuase according to anadtech the if you oc the cpu the gpu performance will decrease because the processor wants to keep the TDP at 100. Over clock the GPU becuase the processor will feed the gpu while the gpu does all the floating point calculation so overclocking the gpu makes it faster. But there is a point where the gpu is oc so much and processor does not use full power that it wont be able to feed the gpu enough data so that is when gpu performance decreases and overall performance, by the way dont get nvidia becuase it wont crossfire you have to get a 6670 or lower in the 6000 series for crossfire and the performance will be incredible

 

[jaguarskx]

I recommend you wait until the Trinity APUs are released. They are set to be released on May 15th so there should be plenty of reviews coming in the near future. It will use the Bulldozer CPU core combined with a Radeon HD 7000 series graphics core.

I would hazard to guess that Trinity APUs will be around 10% faster than Llano APUs at the same clock speed with regards to the CPU core. On the graphic core front, the integrated Radeon HD 6550D's performance is roughly between the Radeon HD 5550 and Radeon HD 5570. Since the graphic core will be Trinity's strong point, I would hazard to guess that the fastest graphic core (whatever it's called) will be somewhere in between the performance of a Radeon HD 5570 and Radeon HD 6670. I would peg it as a desktop "Radeon HD 6620" if such a card ever existed.

Trinity APUs will be socket FM2 and will not be compatible with socket FM1. Llano was basically dead as soon as it was released. Therefore, it would be wise to wait for more info about Trinity before making any purchase. There is usually a delay between when products are "released" and when they are "available for purchase", therefore you may need to wait until June to be able to make a purchase.

Just for your information... the Trinity APU will be superseded by the Kaveri APU in 2013. While I do not know if it will be socket FM2 or FM3, I do know that it will not be compatible with socket FM1. Kaveri will be based on AMD's next CPU core; Piledriver and it's logical to assume that the graphics core will be based on the Radeon HD 8000 series.

 

[ohyouknow]

No point in buying llano right now for a desktop build. As a laptop cpu I would wholeheartedly suggest it. If you are still interested in an APU, I'd suggest as jaguar did and hold off until Trinity is released.

If you plan to play some online games try to pick up a quad core.