System Builder Marathon, Q2 2013: The $400 Spirit Of Mini-ITX

[ingtar33]

My beef is that I have yet to find a major site do a thorough test of dual graphics APU possibilities.

they've done it. it's been done. just because the results are disappointing doesn't mean no one has done it. I'll even sum it up for you. an a10 will xfire with a 6670, yielding a 70% boost in performance over the stock 6670, bringing it up to ALMOST a 7750's base performance (10%-20% slower). The depressing result is a g860 or g2020 + 7750 will game better for far less money then an a10+6670; all without all the problems that come with xfire/dual graphics. One such problem with dual graphics is it doesn't work on ANY dx9 title.

an APU only makes sense in a build WITHOUT a gpu. Once you add a gpu to the mix, the APU becomes overpriced, as there are far better dual and quad core cpus out there for cheaper then the apu to match with the gpu you can get.

For example
a10-5800k = $120
a10-6800k = $140
a10-5800k + 6670 = $120 + 40 = $160
a10-6800k + 6670 = $140 + $40 = $180

-all of the previous APU builds is almost 50% slower then the slowest of the following combos

g2020 + 7770GE = $60+$80 = $140
Athlon II 750 + 7770GE =$80+$80 = $160
PhII x4 965 + 7770GE = $90+$80 = $170

APUs in a new build make sense without a GPU. once you start to add a gpu to the build, the APU stops making sense completely, and you have to use a difference cpu. That's not to say you shouldn't add a gpu to an existing APU build. I mean you already own the apu, choice has been made. A better gpu will certainly allow you to game hard and long. But when planning a new build the math just doesn't work or make sense.

 

[csbeer]

My beef is that I have yet to find a major site do a thorough test of dual graphics APU possibilities.

they've done it. it's been done. just because the results are disappointing doesn't mean no one has done it. I'll even sum it up for you. an a10 will xfire with a 6670, yielding a 70% boost in performance over the stock 6670, bringing it up to ALMOST a 7750's base performance (10%-20% slower). The depressing result is a g860 or g2020 + 7750 will game better for far less money then an a10+6670; all without all the problems that come with xfire/dual graphics. One such problem with dual graphics is it doesn't work on ANY dx9 title.

an APU only makes sense in a build WITHOUT a gpu. Once you add a gpu to the mix, the APU becomes overpriced, as there are far better dual and quad core cpus out there for cheaper then the apu to match with the gpu you can get.

For example
a10-5800k = $120
a10-6800k = $140
a10-5800k + 6670 = $120 + 40 = $160
a10-6800k + 6670 = $140 + $40 = $180

-all of the previous APU builds is almost 50% slower then the slowest of the following combos

g2020 + 7770GE = $60+$80 = $140
Athlon II 750 + 7770GE =$80+$80 = $160
PhII x4 965 + 7770GE = $90+$80 = $170

APUs in a new build make sense without a GPU. once you start to add a gpu to the build, the APU stops making sense completely, and you have to use a difference cpu. That's not to say you shouldn't add a gpu to an existing APU build. I mean you already own the apu, choice has been made. A better gpu will certainly allow you to game hard and long. But when planning a new build the math just doesn't work or make sense.

Excellent post, thanks. That was the answer (I was afraid) looking for.

 

[bassbeast]

With more and more games able to take advantage of multicore why not go AMD? The Athlon II X4 640 has been seen in the $75 range and the X3 (with excellent unlocking potential, I've been seeing as many as 70% unlocks) for just $59 you could have added more memory or possibly gone BD if you caught a sale.

Frankly the bang for the buck I'd argue is still on the side of AMD when it comes to budget gaming, and for a mini it would be a good fit,and when you are on a budget that extra cash can always give you better hardware in another area. I know I'm happy as a clam with my X6 1035T, at just $105 with shipping it can easily game AND transcode AND burn discs at the same time, purrs like a kitten.

 

[Nestor Turizo]

Has anyone tested this with a Haswell CPU? Would it be one that comsumes less power and performs better?

 

[ojas]

Now THAT is possible (2014 India launch). Though i dunno, Richland's international and India launches were barely a month apart, so December launch in the US and January launch in India?

No link, man, I'm your source! There were others at the event, not sure anyone caught on to it (because no one asked them anything about it) and I'm not sure if any of the other tech sites here decided to report it.

Their Steamroller based server chips are slated for Q1 2014 too, so maybe?

ah, so that's what happened. i couldn't find any 3rd party link to the event let alone an official one from amd. glad you asked them

there might be multiple possibilities. for example: q4 2013(oct.) for mobile kaveri and dec 2013/jan 2014 for desktop, paper launch in q4 and retail one in 2014 - among others. kaveri launch isn't similar to richland launch. richland was made on 3 year mature node while kaveri will launch in glofo's new 28nm node. kaveri's launch is similar to zambezi's (fx8150).

Well, it's been "confirmed" now by other sources. Don mentions it in his 7730 article (last or second last para) and this:
http://wccftech.com/amd-kaveri-apu-delay-confirmed-launches-pushed-midfebruary-2014/