Next gen AMD APUs for CS:GO

[Arthoin]

Hey guys,

as my GF occupies my rig almost all the time to play CS:GO, I am thinking about building a CS machine of her ownu, to keep her out of my rig. To keep it as cheap as possible, but not without the option to upgrade, I was thinking about basing the whole thing on an AMD APU, which might just be enough for CS:GO. If she starts whining about playing something else, I can get her a dGPU later.

Do you think I should get to building with that A-7870K thingie? OR should I wait until the Zen comes out?

Thanks in advance!

[DanceswithUnix]

Do you have an overall budget?

A lower spec CPU/APU and a gtx750 may be better value unless you are trying for a really compact ITX build.

[Jowsey]

Hey guys,

as my GF occupies my rig almost all the time to play CS:GO, I am thinking about building a CS machine of her ownu, to keep her out of my rig. To keep it as cheap as possible, but not without the option to upgrade, I was thinking about basing the whole thing on an AMD APU, which might just be enough for CS:GO. If she starts whining about playing something else, I can get her a dGPU later.

Do you think I should get to building with that A-7870K thingie? OR should I wait until the Zen comes out?

Thanks in advance!

Tight budget for gaming? Second hand and generation or two back is the way to go.

[Arthoin]

Do you have an overall budget?

A lower spec CPU/APU and a gtx750 may be better value unless you are trying for a really compact ITX build.

I haven't set the budget so far, but I would like to get a playable performance as cheap as possible and spread the cost over longer period.

[Arthoin]

Tight budget for gaming? Second hand and generation or two back is the way to go.

Yeah, that would work, but I doubt that the love of my life would like anything "second hand". It might be cheap, but not previously owned.

[DanceswithUnix]

Well I think the 7870K is a bit on the expensive side at the £112 it seems to cost atm. The A8-7600 can still turbo to 3.8GHz, is still quad core, but more importantly is £67. That will get you going and will probably be enough, and if the 7600 struggles with a game then the 7870 isn't going to be massively better.

If the 7600 does struggle, then the saved £45 is half of the cost of a gtx 750ti or a third of a £120 R9 380, and either of those options will make the 7870K look like a slideshow.

A quick Google find a 7600 in action playing CS:GO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzjPSRFM204

Edit to add: some benchmarks showing 7600 and 7850 about 9% difference in performance: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7677/a...0-a10-7850k/12
7850 and 7870 isn't a huge difference either.

[Arthoin]

Well I think the 7870K is a bit on the expensive side at the £112 it seems to cost atm. The A8-7600 can still turbo to 3.8GHz, is still quad core, but more importantly is £67. That will get you going and will probably be enough, and if the 7600 struggles with a game then the 7870 isn't going to be massively better.

If the 7600 does struggle, then the saved £45 is half of the cost of a gtx 750ti or a third of a £120 R9 380, and either of those options will make the 7870K look like a slideshow.

A quick Google find a 7600 in action playing CS:GO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzjPSRFM204

Edit to add: some benchmarks showing 7600 and 7850 about 9% difference in performance: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7677/a...0-a10-7850k/12
7850 and 7870 isn't a huge difference either.

Oh, that doesn't look so good... He did not set net_graph 1 for fps reading, but it just is not smooth. So, I need a new plan.

[EndlessWaves]

Oh, that doesn't look so good... He did not set net_graph 1 for fps reading, but it just is not smooth. So, I need a new plan.

Random youtube videos are all sorts of inconsistent, here's an assessment of it's gaming performance from a professional hardware reviewer:
http://techreport.com/blog/25930/a-s...ng-performance

These days I'd also consider a Pentium G4500 as Intel's HD 530 graphics pretty close to those in the A8-7600 in performance:
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/940-...ique-jeux.html
That would give you the ability to put in a much faster CPU as well as a much faster card in future.

[me-yeah]

you would probably be better off with a AMD fx 4300 for £45. and a MSI geForce GTX 750 Ti for £107 then 8gb kingston hyper X blue is £30

[DanceswithUnix]

you would probably be better off with a AMD fx 4300 for £45. and a MSI geForce GTX 750 Ti for £107 then 8gb kingston hyper X blue is £30

Cheapest I can see the FX 4350 is £80, and unless you are happy with a bit full ATX case AM3+ currently has the choice of just one decent uATX motherboard.

A gtx 750-ti can be had for £87 though: http://www.ebuyer.com/704282-gigabyt...-gv-n75td5-2gi

Pair that up with either a cheap dual core apu (http://www.ebuyer.com/665510-amd-a4-...-ad7300okhlbox) or pentium (http://www.ebuyer.com/629961-intel-c...r-bx80646g1840) would be far faster than a 7870K for the same sort of money.

[The Hand]

A quick Google find a 7600 in action playing CS:GO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzjPSRFM204

Edit to add: some benchmarks showing 7600 and 7850 about 9% difference in performance: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7677/a...0-a10-7850k/12
7850 and 7870 isn't a huge difference either.

I was just looking at the settings in that video and he seems to have all the settings very high except for the resolution. I was wondering if Arthoin's GF will actually have MSAA/Anistropic enabled etc? It might be worth looking round for further vids and benchmarks for the apu's with different settings in CS:GO.

I also noticed an interesting review on Scan.co.uk about the 7870K and overclocking here:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-a...95w-cpu-retail

It might be worth a look at; also at the moment Scan are selling it for £104.14. Just a few thoughts there really.

[DanceswithUnix]

Some people would get the 7600 (which should do the trick to be fair, it is well above the minimum game requirements) and if it isn't good enough then selflessly donate their graphics card. Means the irritation of choosing a new one, but it might end up a slight upgrade on the old one

[scaryjim]

My experience of testing an A6-3670k on a 1080p 24" monitor were that there was virutally no noticable difference in image quality without AA, but the frame rates went up significantly: around 33% in Torchlight just by turning off AA. Details here: http://forums.hexus.net/reader-revie...ml#post2545589

AFAIK AA hits framerates particularly hard where memory bandwidth is limited, like with APUs. It also varies with the type of AA; I'm running NeverWinter Nights on my AMD laptop at the minute and found that *increasing* the level of AA actually seemed to make the game run smoother, presumably down the the APU handling some algorithms better than others. Personally I'd go with the A8-7600 and some nice fast (2000MHz+) RAM, and mess with the settings until it's smooth. There's rarely a good reason for having all the IQ at Very High, particularly in a competitive game; rendering smoother diagonal lines isn't going to make your aim better

EDIT:

... if it isn't good enough then selflessly donate their graphics card. Means the irritation of choosing a new one, but it might end up a slight upgrade on the old one

Oooh, now that's just plain sneaky I like it

[Jowsey]

Yeah, that would work, but I doubt that the love of my life would like anything "second hand". It might be cheap, but not previously owned.

Maybe, but my girlfriend loves it when I get frifty

It is of course, up to you! After delving into the joys of second hand computer components I cringe a little when I have to pay full price, as at the cheap end a little more spent gets your a comparative large gain.

Also, my GF inherited most of my old setup when I upgraded and she now knows how it will be for the foreseeable future:

I upgrade my computer, she gets my old gear.

She keeps eyeing my current computer up and even sending links of newly released processors and graphics cards with captions like "Would look good in your case!"

I think I'm being played

[me-yeah]

Cheapest I can see the FX 4350 is £80, and unless you are happy with a bit full ATX case AM3+ currently has the choice of just one decent uATX motherboard.

A gtx 750-ti can be had for £87 though: http://www.ebuyer.com/704282-gigabyt...-gv-n75td5-2gi

Pair that up with either a cheap dual core apu (http://www.ebuyer.com/665510-amd-a4-...-ad7300okhlbox) or pentium (http://www.ebuyer.com/629961-intel-c...r-bx80646g1840) would be far faster than a 7870K for the same sort of money.

you can buy 4300 from http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMD-FX-430...-/400818356057

they are used and probably never been overclocked, and still have 60 day DOA guarantee

plenty of mATX motheboards for AM3+ socket CPU`s

[DanceswithUnix]

you can buy 4300 from http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMD-FX-430...-/400818356057

they are used and probably never been overclocked, and still have 60 day DOA guarantee

plenty of mATX motheboards for AM3+ socket CPU`s

The OP said no second hand.

And yes there are uATX motherboards out there, most are awful designs based on the old 760G chipset and/or have a 95W TDP limit sometimes without allowing FX cpus even though the TDP should be in range.

That leaves you with a choice of this Asrock board: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-970M-.../dp/B00TOBQQTK

Really nice board and pretty good value, but then AM3+ CPUs seem to be going up in price recently which makes me wonder if stock levels are getting low. I can't imagine any more are getting made these days, they must be old stock.