AMD's APUs... how do they work?

[Ángel Gutiérrez]

Hey guys. I've been wanting to build my gaming rig for a while but I'm still kind of confused about this. I believe that APUs work along with GPUs that are compatible with each other, but I'm not quite sure how does it work and if it will be running every game I throw at these guys. I was thinking about building a PC with an AMD A6 7400K as a processor and maybe an AMD HD6990 4GB Radeon GPU. Will the APU and the CPU will work along to bring better framing? What would happen if I throw a GTX 780 to the build? Thanks, guys.

[Mo5]

Hey guys. I've been wanting to build my gaming rig for a while but I'm still kind of confused about this. I believe that APUs work along with GPUs that are compatible with each other, but I'm not quite sure how does it work and if it will be running every game I throw at these guys. I was thinking about building a PC with an AMD A6 7400K as a processor and maybe an AMD HD6990 4GB Radeon GPU. Will the APU and the CPU will work along to bring better framing? What would happen if I throw a GTX 780 to the build? Thanks, guys.

If you plan on using a dedicated GPU you have no use for an APU. Their CPU part is too weak. You're much better off getting an i3 (or better an i5)

[connorpiper]

The APU has a GPU of its own. And can Crossfire with some GPUs.

 

This will not work with Nvidia. But a GTX 780 will still be better than the APU. If you have a GTX 780, then get a CPU rather than an APU. 

[Analog]

Ok, so you got it all wrong. Let me explain.

 

The APU is created out a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that are both built on one physical chip, which AMD call APU. This APU is good enough for basic gaming like LOL, Dota, CS-GO and that kind of stuff. You could also play some not that demanding AAA titles on low-to medium settings. Theoretically these APUs work along side a dedicated graphics card, which you add on, however, and this is very important to note, the graphics card has to be a low end one. I think the best possible dedicated card with which you can pair the APU is the R7 240 and that is a very slow card. If you add any other card, which is better than that the GPU module on your APU will not work, because there will be no point of that. 

 

Even with this APU + R7 240 you will not get good FPS on modern AAA titles, because the performance increase will not be that dramatic at all, you will gain may be 5-7FPS more, but you would be running at low settings anyhow. 

 

If you want to go AMD 6990, which I really don't recommend, not only is that card very loud, consumes a lot of power and is huge, it is not really that good any more. You will be much better off buying something like a R9 290 or the GTX 970. Those are cards that will truly allow you to enjoy all of the games out there. If you do decide on a card like that it would be wiser to pair it with a CPU only, not an APU, since the latter is very budget oriented and is not really geared to high-end gaming workloads. If you want AMD, anything like the FX 6300 or the FX8320 are great options. If you have some more cash to spend and you really want the best performance in modern games, you can't go wrong with an i5 4690K.

 

Hope this explains it a bit better. 

[TheFalseHuman]

APU is just a term from AMD that is essentially equivalent to Intel's CPUs with integrated graphics

[harrynowl]

It's just a silicone die that has both Parallel and Serial processors onboard.

[Ángel Gutiérrez]

Ok, so you got it all wrong. Let me explain.

 

The APU is created out a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that are both built on one physical chip, which AMD call APU. This APU is good enough for basic gaming like LOL, Dota, CS-GO and that kind of stuff. You could also play some not that demanding AAA titles on low-to medium settings. Theoretically these APUs work along side a dedicated graphics card, which you add on, however, and this is very important to note, the graphics card has to be a low end one. I think the best possible dedicated card with which you can pair the APU is the R7 240 and that is a very slow card. If you add any other card, which is better than that the GPU module on your APU will not work, because there will be no point of that. 

 

Even with this APU + R7 240 you will not get good FPS on modern AAA titles, because the performance increase will not be that dramatic at all, you will gain may be 5-7FPS more, but you would be running at low settings anyhow. 

 

If you want to go AMD 6990, which I really don't recommend, not only is that card very loud, consumes a lot of power and is huge, it is not really that good any more. You will be much better off buying something like a R9 290 or the GTX 970. Those are cards that will truly allow you to enjoy all of the games out there. If you do decide on a card like that it would be wiser to pair it with a CPU only, not an APU, since the latter is very budget oriented and is not really geared to high-end gaming workloads. If you want AMD, anything like the FX 6300 or the FX8320 are great options. If you have some more cash to spend and you really want the best performance in modern games, you can't go wrong with an i5 4690K.

 

Hope this explains it a bit better. 

Thanks, man. This really helped me a lot. I think I'll pass the APU. I really want to play AAA games, and I wanna play them as they're ment to be played. I think I'll go with a CPU, then. Thanks for the recommendation of the i5 4690K. That was my very fist option, but making the research I found this APU thing. Really, thanks for the explanation. I'll save a little more for the core i5 then .

[Analog]

Thanks, man. This really helped me a lot. I think I'll pass the APU. I really want to play AAA games, and I wanna play them as they're ment to be played. I think I'll go with a CPU, then. Thanks for the recommendation of the i5 4690K. That was my very fist option, but making the research I found this APU thing. Really, thanks for the explanation. I'll save a little more for the core i5 then .

 

You are welcome!