APU Processors, Is it GOOD or BAD? VOTE!

[AlvinPacheco]

Now this is an old topic but, Why some of the guys hates APU's and some of the guys loves them? Of course in terms of gaming, You can't use APU's for a Workstation I guess. So yeah VOTE and Comment

[Enderman]

???

you need to give more information than just good or bad

 

for a budget gaming PC they are good, but definitely not for a $500+ PC...

[ZetZet]

I vote meh.

[Clyne]

where's meh option or depends option......

[QueenDemetria]

Eh, they really aren't good with dedicated GPU's anymore(since they bottleneck), but they do have a place in this world. They are great for beginners and super compact builds(like how I am contemplating turning my Xbox 360 Slim into a PC). For a single chip they aren't bad and offer a pretty good value, but they just don't offer too much gaming value anymore.

[TheKDub]

technically any cpu with integrated graphics is an APU which includes intel's i7s, i5s, etc... so actually yes you can use them for a workstation.

 

my i5 4690k runs games decently on minimum or low settings depending on the game, and some I can have them on medium, high, or maxed out and have it be over 60fps constantly at 1050p (16:10) though its mainly only older games that run well on high or max settings.

[ZetZet]

Eh, they really aren't good with dedicated GPU's anymore(since they bottleneck), but they do have a place in this world. They are great for beginners and super compact builds(like how I am contemplating turning my Xbox 360 Slim into a PC). For a single chip they aren't bad and offer a pretty good value, but they just don't offer too much gaming value anymore.

they never offered any value in gaming, since release athlon + gpu outperformed the shit out of the top tier apu's for the same price.

[NumLock21]

Depends. It can be good for low cost builds with a decent iGPU to play some games without the need to spent extra on a discrete graphic card. It's bad because no matter how many cores it has or whether it's unlocked for OC, IMO it's will always be a weak CPU. In a budget gaming build, my first choice would be a AMD FX. The APU is only choosen if some how the AMD FX will make the build go over budget.

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/675?vs=699

[Lotus]

Considering you can do this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01-450P MicroATX Mini Tower Case w/450W Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $334.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-09 00:16 EST-0500

 

I don't see a reason to ever go with an APU.

[Deletive]

HSA computing... then sure I'll be an APU anyday.

[sgloux3470]

They're great for cheap laptops for those who want to do some light gaming without having a blowtorch on their lap in the form of gaming laptops.

[ZetZet]

Depends. It can be good for low cost builds with a decent iGPU to play some games without the need to spent extra on a discrete graphic card. It's bad because no matter how many cores it has or whether it's unlocked for OC, IMO it's will always be a weak CPU. In a budget gaming build, my first choice would be a AMD FX. The APU is only choosen if some how the AMD FX will make the build go over budget.

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/675?vs=699

your first choice should be i3, i think we already settled that it murders fx6300 in about everything.

[NumLock21]

your first choice should be i3, i think we already settled that it murders fx6300 in about everything.

The FX6300 is still cheaper for a budget gaming build, especially in physical core count, 6 cores for sub $100. No Intel CPU will get you 6 cores for under $100.

[ZetZet]

The FX6300 is still cheaper for a budget gaming build, especially in physical core count, 6 cores for sub $100. No Intel CPU will get you 6 cores for under $100.

but you are limited to atx size, upgrade path is dead, mobos are quite old with no new features.

[Lotus]

The FX6300 is still cheaper for a budget gaming build, especially in physical core count, 6 cores for sub $100. No Intel CPU will get you 6 cores for under $100.

The X4 860k is a better all-round choice than the FX-6300 due to better single-threaded performance in my opinion. The FX-6300 is better in multi-threaded, but is sub-par in single-threaded, where the X4 860k is decent in both (better single-threaded than FX-6300, but worse multi-threaded). If you have more cash, then you can step up to an i5. I wouldn't ever get an FX-6300 in a build solely designed for gaming with what's currently available. It's not bad, it's just there are better options IMO.

[NumLock21]

but you are limited to atx size, upgrade path is dead, mobos are quite old with no new features.

Well new features are just USB 3.0, SATA Express, and M.2. They do come in PCIe card you know. One thing though is the FX majority of the boards are PCIe 2.0, only one Asus board is capable of running a PCIe 3.0

 

The X4 860k is a better all-round choice than the FX-6300 due to better single-threaded performance in my opinion. The FX-6300 is better in multi-threaded, but is poopy in single-threaded, where the X4 860k is decent in both (better single-threaded than FX-6300, but worse multi-threaded). If you have more cash, then you can step up to an i5. I wouldn't ever get an FX-6300 in a build solely designed for gaming with what's currently available. It's not bad, it's just there are better options IMO.

True, if one can has more cash to spend, get a Core i5.

[DigitalHermit]

*Looks at my system*

 

It's good for the price, but if you're hardcore, you'd want an intel chip with at least 4 physical cores... Other than that, you've got an extra GPU that will keep you running in case your graphics card fails...

 

Then again I use my rig for pretty much everything... General usage, gaming, video rendering, 3D rendering, photo editing, audio processing, etc...

 

I'd go intel but their budget offerings with 4 threads are more expensive...

 

I see the APU as AMD's solution for those who need solid graphics performance but cannot afford a 'proper' dedicated graphics card or can't fit one into their system...