AMD Dual Graphics - Does it Work? Does it Make Sense

[KamiKatze]

The 7850k is basically an Athlon X4 760k with better IPC and an iGPU + HSA technology. It's probably going to beat the crappy FX Piledriver and Bulldozer cores but it's going to lose in graphics performance anyway because of how high the 7850k is set. It should really only cost like $120, it's not a compelling product.

But like I said, there's nothing really to compare it to; it's in its own little world in terms of 1:1 performance. The closest you can get is going with some i5 or Athlon CPU and whatever video card the budget bears.

Edit: You wanna know something funny? The A10-7700k is $40 cheaper than the 7850k but is a worse deal because you have less and lower clocked iGPU cores. While that seems like it's not a big deal, that's at least 20% of the gaming performance gone at a higher price per iGPU core if you include dual graphics. I think I really hate AMD for Kaveri sucking so bad.

 

APUs are nieche products and everybody should avoid them. With the followup video i hope to see that i am right.

[BennisTheMennis]

mabye do a mid range APU with a r7 260x and and intel i5 and 750ti or something along these lines

[LinusTech]

added a follow up video???

[Mentalguy]

added a follow up video???

please do

[LinusTech]

please do

I did!

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/122475-amd-dual-graphics-does-it-work-does-it-make-sense/

[Rhotis]

I am going for a similarly priced model. People are shopping for what they can get with a certain amount of money, and not whats the best way to achieve a certain level of performance.

 

You could try to recreate the APU+lowGPU performance, with similar components ,like an AMD 4 core and a descrete graphics, but that's just not what people are shopping for. They just want the best bang for the buck.

 

So that's why i went and tried to create a model with the same/similar price and then compare the performance. 

 

I agree on the similar priced model but also lower priced models should be explored to show what you can do for even cheaper.  I really want to see someone bench a X4 760k with like a 750 Ti and compare it to the APU + R7 250.  It is a pretty significant price savings for the 750 Ti and 760k,  you can even do an i3 4130 with teh 750 Ti and its still a significant savings,  price of a 1TB HDD type savings over the APU + R7 250.  I think particularly the youtube tech channels have fallen so in love with these APUs and I personally price to performance just do not see a reason to use them in anything other than an HTPC without the use of a descrete card.  It baffles me why the youtube tech channels are so enamered with these APUs to the point they are pairing them with graphics cards for "cheap" solutions when they appear not to be the cheapest nor the best solution.  

[LinusTech]

I agree on the similar priced model but also lower priced models should be explored to show what you can do for even cheaper.  I really want to see someone bench a X4 760k with like a 750 Ti and compare it to the APU + R7 250.  It is a pretty significant price savings for the 750 Ti and 760k,  you can even do an i3 4130 with teh 750 Ti and its still a significant savings,  price of a 1TB HDD type savings over the APU + R7 250.  I think particularly the youtube tech channels have fallen so in love with these APUs and I personally price to performance just do not see a reason to use them in anything other than an HTPC without the use of a descrete card.  It baffles me why the youtube tech channels are so enamered with these APUs to the point they are pairing them with graphics cards for "cheap" solutions when they appear not to be the cheapest nor the best solution.  

 

If you check the OP there's a video comparing exactly those combos...

[Rhotis]

If you check the OP there's a video comparing exactly those combos...

 

LOL I just saw that,  good deal Im watching it now.  Kudos for you guys for doing this.  Ive been kind of unscientifically telling people if they really are that strapped to get the athlon X4 with a discrete GPU for the performance,  nice to see my thought process was not out in left field so thanks for doing this.  

[Lord_Kitty]

LinusShavingTips. The list of Linus____Tips is getting long now.

[reidhasguitar]

Man, I had the weirdest dream that I ran into you guys in New Zealand, and you were based out of a big plastic water silo kind of thing. Just like any cool people I met in my dreams, you were pretty keen to get away from me.

 

Also, your Steam sign-in page is in Russian for some reason.

[Mentalguy]

I did!

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/122475-amd-dual-graphics-does-it-work-does-it-make-sense/

looks like the 760k+750ti is the heavy hitter in that group

[7850OC]

best review ever  (i love numbers)

 

 

760k + 260x ftw  :wub:

[rhyseyness]

Make it happen!

I might be a bit late, but that's the best use of that gif I've seen to date

[Grave]

Great job on the 2nd video guys. Hopefully people will learn to trust lower grade CPUs if it expands your budget to your graphics. I still support a stronger CPU and a lesser GPU at certain budgets currently but that's mainly because of the price difference between the R9 270X/GTX 760 and low-mid range graphics cards like the 750/Ti and R7 260/X. It's far easier to upgrade your GPU than to upgrade your CPU since most of the CPUs with the same socket do not scale competitively as the price goes up (FX, i5, Athlon, i7).

Really though, hopefully people understand Kaveri's place a bit better and where people are coming from when they say "do not buy this for gaming". It's acceptable but it's not good enough to consider for any gaming-oriented build and almost any work-related or casual use system either. It's just mind-boggling that they allow the price of it to be so high when it's barely outclassing older generation tech. I hate to say it but it's reminiscent of the FX-9000s. These are a much more accessible price than the 9000s when they launched but even at their current prices, due to the other hardware required to even use the processors well, the FX-9000s also need to come down a bit in price.

There's no way these are worth buying, HSA or 4.7/5ghz Turbo will not fix their prices. It's just good to know that AMD is capable of a better product, that's all I really recommend taking from the Kaveri situation.

[shadydutchguy]

the vid was good and interesting.

the add on the other hand.. it blew me away we don't have that commercial here but i got to say it suits linus, mostly the manly face wipes.

[Nesflaten]

Really liked the video, and my first thought as a non-american: Where is the doc so I can input my own price in my own currency. Did not find any such doc, so I will have to make it myself:S Would be awesome if the doc slick used would be uploaded, so that I don't have to input "all the things" myself, including the graphs. And again, awesome video:)

[JAKEBAB]

wow i swear to god this is the first video ever that has said the product is available in only Us, Canada AND AUSTRALIA!!!!! WTF!!!!

 

awesome video great for budget people i hope u continue to do these types of videos for each generation.

[The_Strict_Nein]

looks like the 760k+750ti is the heavy hitter in that group

 

Seems to make the most sense out of all of them. An ~20 FPS increase for $20. Sounds more than fair to me

[Deil Grist]

Hey Linus: the point has been brought up in the past that the speed of your RAM is very important to APU performance. Is this true when running with APU dual-graphics (I think so), and if so, how much of an impact does it have?

I'm also interested to see if the law of diminishing returns applies *as much* to a system running an APU and two discrete graphics cards all in crossfire, and whether that would positively affect the "value" of an APU build. 

[LOST TALE]

Ctriticism: I like the  thumbnail text on video 2. so catchy, everything in it.

Linus, the background and the text.

 

I've always liked this format with an added thumbnail title.

This one is probably my favorite, because it has a little troll side to it B)

[Stefko]

I really wish there were some haswell i3s in those tests

[Dallen49]

One use I can see for having an APU is being able to play games while you have 3 R9 280X/290 mining. The 7850K I have also heard of being able to hash at 100KH/s.

maybe you know something I don't.... I tried setting up my GTX 770 to mine while I use my apu(5800k) to do web browse/watch videos/game & everything else. - Didn't work

[dclassb]

Hey Linus: the point has been brought up in the past that the speed of your RAM is very important to APU performance. Is this true when running with APU dual-graphics (I think so), and if so, how much of an impact does it have?

 

 

Effects of RAM with an i7 4770k and 660ti:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWgzA2C61z4

 

Tek Syndicate RAM tests with A10 6800k:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGlnnMNuEHk

 

I'm sure there are tests of the effect of RAM speed on Kavari chips.

Sorry, didn't quite address the dual graphics question

 

RAM speed made a big difference with the 6800k.  Higher spec ram might suit some builds as an interim upgrade or when space is very limited.

I suspect the $/fps value will still benefit most from a GPU. 

[Suika]

I personally would go with an FX-6300 + 750 Ti since it's a bit more powerful CPU wise and around the same price of $260.

[Hans Power]

Thanks Linus! This is extremely helpful and clears up a lot and I absolutely agree with your stance on the price to performance ratio. I also appreciate the respectful mentioning of people with a very low income - not everyone without a job is just a "lazy bum".