Reviews - AMD Llano Desktop A8-3850 review: banging on Intel's door

[HEXUS]

Aiming to take out Intel's entry-level Sandy Bridge chips, AMD's desktop Llano arrives.

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[Biscuit]

great review guys, looks like you have been keeping an eye on what everyones concerns have been and probed the chips thoroughly to make sure they comply.

Thanks!

[scaryjim]

Lovely review with only one downside for me.... no overclocking results? Was that an editorial decision, or just a time constraint?

[freedomzero]

Looking at those prices, it is indeed very tempting.

[watercooled]

Thorough review but the choice of chips used for comparison is a bit off - 990X, 1100T, 2600K, etc? They're not even in the same ball park - it's OK to include one or two high-end chips for comparison but it doesn't do much for the chip when the competitors you've chosen put it consistently at the bottom of the graphs.

[kingpotnoodle]

As I see it vs Intel:

+ Priced to sell
+ Good IGP, although still only really enough for media & old games

= Power usage finally on par with Intel
= CPU performance is OK in it's segment

- Loses out to Intel in CPU features, e.g. Quicksync, AVX
- Needs expensive RAM to get the best out of it

I can see them in a lot of all-in-ones and low end media oriented machines, but with CPU performance that low it's not got too much "future-proof" about it, I can see machines based on the platform feeling outdated rather quickly, especially once AMD refresh to Fusion Bulldozer.

I'm still happy with the i3 2100T I bought for my HTPC, the 35W TDP of the T models makes for a low power and quiet ITX machine, not sure such little cases would be so happy with the peak power usage shown here for the A8.

[Sim0n]

The four main video outputs are all available on the UD4H. DisplayPort 1.1a, HDMI v1.4a. dual-link DVI and VGA get a collective outing, though only two digital outputs - accessed by eight PCIe lanes from the Llano chip - can be used at one time. Four USB 3.0 ports are nice, and FireWire and eSATA both find a home here.

Does this mean its possible to have triple screen using DSUB + DVI + HDMI/DPort ? as DSUB is analog ? I dont mean for gaming, just a triple head display without having to resort to something eyefinity wise ?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I have a Core i3 2100 myself and the A8 has better multi-threaded performance in many cases just like the Athlon X4. CPU performance is not too low for the A8 as in multi-threaded applications it tends to do reasonably well when compared to a Core i3. Quick Sync does not always produce as good encodes as using the CPU only though.

AMD is also going to be selling Black Edition Llano CPUs too:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/amd-a8...w-32222-7.html

At least AMD has not locked out overclocking on standard CPUs too although it is more limited due to the changes which have been implemented.

Also,the IGP is great even in many newer games too. It has similar performance to an HD4670 DDR3/GDDR3 and I know a few people who use that card. It can run plenty of popular PC games such as L4D,L4D2,Supreme Commander,Supreme Commander 2,Portal,Portal 2,Civilisation V,StarCraft II,Sins of a Solar Empire,WoW,UT3,Crysis,various Call of Duty games,Dragon Age and Mass Effect.





















The HD6550D should be able to run many modern games at 1366X768 and 1440X900 at medium settings.

For £105 for a top end A8 you are getting the performance of a £40 to £50 graphics card. That is around the same price as a dual core Intel Pentium G620 and an HD4670 DDR3/GDDR3. I can see such a combination getting outdated rather quickly.

The 65W version of the A8 seems to have the same HD6550D IGP found in the 100W versions. It does not seem to be running at a lower GPU clockspeed.



It seems even the 65W version still seem to run some newer games fine.

[Blackmage]

I really wanted some overclocked numbers , so I can see how much performance can be really gained from the CPU. I think if the overclocks are good then it's a fine CPU.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I really wanted some overclocked numbers , so I can see how much performance can be really gained from the CPU. I think if the overclocks are good then it's a fine CPU.

If you look around there are some overclocking numbers. It seems overclocking is a bit more limited due to the changes AMD have made. It seems to vary from 3GHZ to 3.6GHZ IIRC for an A8 depending on the motherboard and voltages used. Around 3.5GHZ seems to be what a few reviews seem to state IIRC although the main issue is that increasing the system base clock can cause some problems if you go too far.

Toms Hardware stated AMD also intends to launch a multiplier unlocked version of Llano too.

[mercyground]

i'm seriously tempted to get one and drop it in a little mini lan box. use it for light gaming/tv/storage. I'm trying to ditch 2 other pcs in the house and consilidating to new pc. it would do me nicely and i can throw in a bigger gfx card at a later date.

Currently got an xp rig and a ddr2 rig dual core. its about time i got new shinies and with the ex gone in theory i have some money

:edit: over clocking and a black core edition would be very interesting. really not keen on intel i3 range and i5/7 just too damn expensive.

[Zhaoman]

While I won't be getting one of these I really like the way the industry is heading, with the power savings and simplicity of having a 'one chip' solution for a budget PC, this is going to make building and upgrading a breeze. Really looking forward to what Bulldozer will bring now.

[wiak]

lets hope amd can keep the FM1 socket with Trinity next year, and this will be epic for people that has a AMD APU in their desktops can upgrade to a alot faster one next year

[Tarinder]

Hello, all.

Sorry, I've been away for a week - yup, I'm let out of the review dungeon from time to time - so there was no time to run overclocked numbers. That wrong will be righted momentarily, however.

[Blackmage]

Hello, all.

Sorry, I've been away for a week - yup, I'm let out of the review dungeon from time to time - so there was no time to run overclocked numbers. That wrong will be righted momentarily, however.

When do you expect to have them up? Just wanted to know, so I know when to come back

[stewis]

i'm seriously tempted to get one and drop it in a little mini lan box. use it for light gaming/tv/storage. I'm trying to ditch 2 other pcs in the house and consilidating to new pc. it would do me nicely and i can throw in a bigger gfx card at a later date.

Currently got an xp rig and a ddr2 rig dual core. its about time i got new shinies and with the ex gone in theory i have some money

:edit: over clocking and a black core edition would be very interesting. really not keen on intel i3 range and i5/7 just too damn expensive.

Same thinking here I am still running on a AMD 4200 x2 and nVidia 7300