LinkBack URL
About LinkBacksRead more.Is this the best sub-$200 chip?
Read more.Is this the best sub-$200 chip?
Doesn't matter how much better the IGP is, until they make getting a discrete card a choice rather than a necessity I will be going with the better CPU performance, and that means Intel, every time.
The main "problem" I see is that although IGPs are getting better, GPUs are killing them in the horsepower race, so much so that pairing a mid level CPU with a low to mid level GPU will give you more than satisfactory gaming capabilities for about the price of a decent CPU 5-7 years ago.
I remember paying about £300 for my core2duo back in the day, then another £300-500 (can't remember exactly) for an 8800, and after less than a year I couldn't run max settings.
Now I have a sub-200 quid quad core CPU that I got 3 years ago, and a pair of GTX 670s that are nearly 2 years old (admittedly nearly £700 for the pair...but SO worth it) and I still max out all settings at 1200p, and no doubt I will get at least another 2 years out of em - hell I reckon I'll need to up the resolution before needing more gruntmasters..
That's a plucky little i3 in there!
A friend is wanting a £500 gaming PC, is there much to beat that chip for around £100?
It seems even an intel Dual-Core coupled with a discrete GPU is better than sticking with the Kaveri part. Of course it's always ideal for a gamer to have a discrete GPU rather than sticking with integrated graphics.
I'm not bashing on AMD, in fact, I'd like to own a Kaveri system right now. The iGPU is already sufficient to play games on low@1080p. Well it's better than what I have now since I sold my GTX 660 a week ago.
I'm currently using intel HD 2000 graphics from my Core i3-2100 part right now and the only games I can play on it are Source(Valve) games at various settings and some more intensive games on a window @800x600 resolution (wth right?). On Dota 2 I currently have it all on the lowest graphics settings @720p. However, on older games like TF2 and Half-Life 2, I can max it out a bit but without AA and AF @1600x900.
Don't underestimate this rig, I finished Crysis in this with less than 15FPS haha.
Actually that's not really a bad choice, since it's better than the AMD quad core part in compute performance. But if he can, he should push it a bit to the i5 level. There's a ~5 frame discrepancy with dual cores and quad cores, depending on the game of course.Originally Posted by Rob_B
As for the GPU, you might be better of with a R9 270X, gives a better overall performance than the 7870 and GTX 660 Ti. Don't forget that Mantle goes with that, but at a later date probably.
*pats i3 on the back, pick of the bunch*
Butuz
Depends on the use of the pc as to which is the preferable cpu for me, although I'd always want the most grunt possible from a cpu.
If you know your going to build a gaming rig obviously the amd cpu isn't going to be great unless you bundle it with a compatible gpu to make use the dual graphics, even then results arn't great and you'd likely be better with the faster processor from what I can tell and gives you a bit more future proofing.
AMD's cpu's I'd probably prefer for a htpc type setup where it doesn't need the grunt but a good balance of cpu/gpu in a small space.
Slightly odd review to compare a £130 CPU with an £130 APU and come to the conclusion that the CPU with an additional £110 discrete GPU wins. Was that outcome not a given from the start? Why not compare the APU with a £60 CPU and £70 GPU? That would be a more interesting comparison. Or compare the APU in dual graphics with a 250x against the 4440 with the same 250x
Shock as £110 graphics card better at graphics than £130 CPU
As above, I'm surprised you picked that graphics card - surely a £60 one would make more sense here? Anyway a useful review, thanks.
Good to see the Core i5 CPUs slowly dropping in price and thanks for Hexus for doing a review on a cheaper Core i5 SKU.
An FX6300 or FX8320??
I have specced a few builds with an FX6300 and a HD7870/R9 270 - they seem to work fine together.
Jeez they can't do right for doing wrong! It says that the APU is better for gaming with no discrete card, with a discrete card then it's a whole different ball game.Shock as £110 graphics card better at graphics than £130 CPU
As above, I'm surprised you picked that graphics card - surely a £60 one would make more sense here? Anyway a useful review, thanks.
The review doesn't explicitly say what system had the 750 installed but we all know gaming performance would be better with either CPU.
The GTX 750 Ti was installed in the same system as the Core i5-4440.
The point here wasn't to show the obvious, that is, a £100-odd discrete card is better than the integrated graphics. Rather, it's the kind of card that we feel readers/users might want to install in, say, a £500 base unit. The gaming performance isn't just better - that would be true of a £60 card - it's on a whole other level.
Also, some people aren't well-informed enough to know that a proper discrete card is still required for buttery-smooth gameplay with latest titles set to high-quality settings and a 1080p resolution.
If you were getting > 100fps @ 1080p with the 750 Ti, then it's a far more powerful/expensive card than is "required for buttery-smooth gameplay with latest titles set to high-quality settings and a 1080p resolution." Apart from I assume the 750 Ti was actually benchmarked with the same (medium?) quality settings as the IGPs, rather than high settings?
The 750 Ti results just feel a bit incongruous in the context of the rest of the review - particularly since the AMD system wasn't also benchmarked with the 750 Ti. It's hardly in the i5's favour if the A10 produces similar figures with a discrete GPU...! I know you can't benchmark everything, but one graph of the i5 v the A10, both using the 750 Ti, would really have made sense...
ik9000 (26-02-2014)
Tarinder, your at it again, why are you using that itx board with last years Bios and slow memory, try it with FM2A88X extreme6+ board with 2400 or 2600 clocked memory, then run some tests with HSA and watch the 7850k total wipe the floor with any i5 or i7, ahh but you can't can you, Intel won't work with HSA, and thats the point that you don't mention at all, so i'll say it for you. As HSA software becomes available this new groundbreaking technology is going to bring a hole new ball game into play that Intel is not part of. shock horror. and AMD are not the only ones working with HSA so it will happen.
http://wccftech.com/amd-kaveri-i54670k-benchmarks-showdown-continued-hsa-features-test/
the ram is CL10 2133 - so its the `rated` one for the APU but the board does support 2400 ram.
the board does have 2 newer bioses available - 1 is regarding target TDP , which could very help power useage!
A10 destroys the Intel CPUs in gaming, that's all you need to know.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
