The Great search for an APU.. Or not, not too sure

[qwazwak]

So im working on specing out a media PC to replace a XBox 360, Blueray player, DVD player, and to hold nearly 2TB of movies.. Its going to be used for a small/midlow amount of gaming such as castle crashers, battleblock theater, minecraft, and if it wont cost too much to be able to play higher quality games them too. Id rather not put a dedicated graphics card in if its possible not to, later tho i had the idea while in the bathroom that an APU might be able to work! I'v never used an APU before, let alone AMD cpus at all besides once in school.

 

 

So my question to you is this:

 

            What are good/acceptable APUs and are they even a good idea for this?

[Faceman]

Yea, an APU would be perfect for your intended use.

[Dzzope]

APU would be a good choice but if you can wait for a skylake chip.. they are looking super strong on the igpu.. i3 should be killer vs whats available now.

[SImoHayha]

So im working on specing out a media PC to replace a XBox 360, Blueray player, DVD player, and to hold nearly 2TB of movies.. Its going to be used for a small amount of gaming such as castle crashers, battleblock theater, minecraft, and if it wont cost too much to be able to play higher quality games them too. Id rather not put a dedicated graphics card in if its possible not to, later tho i had the idea while in the bathroom that an APU might be able to work! I'v never used an APU before, let alone AMD cpus at all besides once in school.

 

 

So my question to you is this:

 

            What are good/acceptable APUs and are they even a good idea for this?

Yea APU's would rock. Do you need a build ?  And of course what is your budget good sir ?

[SImoHayha]

APU would be a good choice but if you can wait for a skylake chip.. they are looking super strong on the igpu.. i3 should be killer vs whats available now.

He said barely any gaming. Mostly its going to a be media PC. So a APU is nice, they are cheap and quite good with speedy RAM.

[qwazwak]

APU would be a good choice but if you can wait for a skylake chip.. they are looking super strong on the igpu.. i3 should be killer vs whats available now.

Does igpu mean integrated gpu?

And what exactly is skylake? Is it essentially intel brand APU?

Lastly so your saying if im buying now an i3 should work, or wait for skylake and see that?

[qwazwak]

He said barely any gaming. Mostly its going to a be media PC. So a APU is nice, they are cheap and quite good with speedy RAM.

Well thinking about it now it actually probably will be used a bit more than i was thinking.. (updated the post)

 

 

Yea APU's would rock. Do you need a build ?  And of course what is your budget good sir ?

I'm building/specing it out on pcpartpicker now. And i'm not realllyy sure about the budget because when i'm asked "i'm just doing it because i'm bored and i want a challenge" but honestly i'm doing it so i can go hey look this is complete/sexy when its a good time to because my father isn't fully loving the idea of getting a media PC (yet at this point in time), but he does think eventually because it will be able to shrink ~>2 ceiling high bookshelves of movies into 1 computer..

[Dzzope]

Does igpu mean integrated gpu?

And what exactly is skylake? Is it essentially intel brand APU?

Lastly so your saying if im buying now an i3 should work, or wait for skylake and see that?

Yes,

Skylake is the new model of CPU architecture that Intel will release in september

An i3 will work now BUT current i3's are not as good on the graphics as an AMD apu currently is..

 

 

However, Broadwell (an update to the current chips) showed what their new igpu is capible of and it's quite good.. beating everything else by some margin.. Skylake though will be much better than even that and as broadwell is just a small refresh, they aren't releasing a full line-up untill skylake..

 

So long story short.. if you can wait till sept or better November to take advantage of black Friday.. then do.. The processor part of intel is already much better than amd but with the igpu gains on AMD's apu, it'll be a knock-out for HTPC.

[Dzzope]

He said barely any gaming. Mostly its going to a be media PC. So a APU is nice, they are cheap and quite good with speedy RAM.

Agreed but minecraft is a greedy lil soab.

[qwazwak]

So what are the APUs?
Ie, what should i filter for to find them on PCPartpicker?

[blackadder]

So what are the APUs?

Ie, what should i filter for to find them on PCPartpicker?

the amd a-# series are the ones with apus. ie a8,a10

[qwazwak]

the amd a-# series are the ones with apus. ie a8,a10

Ahh ok, thank you!

edit:

also generally (like intel i3, i5, and i7) bigger number sort of equals better CPU?

[blackadder]

Ahh ok, thank you!

edit:

o generally (like intel i3, i5, and i7) bigger number sort of equals better CPU?

generally yes, not always the case but, most the time. Check also when it came out, its probably better if its newer. Last time i used a a8 something, it worked great for light gaming and youtube/school

Edit:i was actually really impressed with it.

[qwazwak]

generally yes, not always the case but, most the time. Chech also when it came out, its probably better if its newer. Last time i used a a8 something, it worked great for light gaming and youtube/school

Edit:i was actually really impressed with it.

Ok, cool. Thank you for your help!

[Nena Trinity]

A10-78XX series from AMD are great you can even do some gaming on it!

 

Note: Some motherboards may need bios update... 

[Prysin]

Ive built two systems using 7850k. These systems can play games all right, WoW, GW2, Dota2, LoL, CSGO etc. These games run perfectly fine on an APU. You will not be able to max them out and get 60 FPS, but 30-40 shouldnt be a big issue in most cases, except WoW, which go its graphics bumped up a lot lately and thus is much harder on the system now.

 

Minecraft will run fine, unless you are like me and install Sonic Ethers Unbelievable Shaders. Which looks great, but it really taxes your system.

 

 

Intels Skylake CPUs will probably be great, however one should notice that Intel being Intel, these CPUs will carry a premium for quite some time, and just like todays broadwell chips, they will simply cost too much in comparison to AMDs offering, for a too low advantage. At first.

Once Intels chips settle a bit, their price will adjust itself ot the market and they should be great choices, not just for your wallet, but for performance too.

[Alurit]

I get that the skylake is better then amd apu's but isn't it better by being almost twice as expensive? The top amd apu ends at around $130. I know it would fall down since the 4460 is around $160 now, but at launch I don't think there will be a skylake processor at launch for less then $230 and z170 would be expensive as well (and you need z since you want to oc the ram, because with igpu it's the vram as well), and by that time the a10 7870k might fall under $100. I don't believe that buying intel as an "apu" will be cost efficient even with skylake.

[Ketcchup]

Skylake GPUs will only beat APUs with iris graphics, which means top CPU or 200$+

[Prysin]

I get that the skylake is better then amd apu's but isn't it better by being almost twice as expensive? The top amd apu ends at around $130. I know it would fall down since the 4460 is around $160 now, but at launch I don't think there will be a skylake processor at launch for less then $230 and z170 would be expensive as well (and you need z since you want to oc the ram, because with igpu it's the vram as well), and by that time the a10 7870k might fall under $100. I don't believe that buying intel as an "apu" will be cost efficient even with skylake.

 

The current Broadwell i5 custs 205% of the 7850k or so. HOWEVER that is an i5.

 

Now, the broadwell i5 wins out by 15-20% in games, however whether that is because of the graphics, or simply because intel i5 will rock any APUs boat by far, and thus beating it by sheer CPU grunt, i dont know. And i havent seen any good tests on that either (like non broadwell + R7 250 vs broadwell i5 vs 7850/70k

 

I recently set up a build, just for lulz, to see how cheap a good APU build can be.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2LtYJ

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2LtYJ/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($144.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($48.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($52.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate  1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($73.88 @ OutletPC)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Directron)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $419.80

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-27 09:08 EDT-0400

 

This is it.

 

Now you can get it even cheaper, reason i went with a Hybrid HDD was because while note snappy right at the beginning, it should help speeds in general with that SSD cache. I really wish Seagate used a bigger SSD cache like 16 or 32 GB, so you can have not only system files but game stuff too.

 

Now, i think the cheapest broadwell is around 286 USD somewhere. Their way more expensive here in Norway due to taxes and stuffz.

 

Even then... A cheapo functional casual gaming rig with an APU is fully possible, and AMD is doing their Kaveri Refresh linup atm, so until the end of 2015, FM2+ will still be used and made new APUs for. Well new isnt really right. Their just binning and factory OCing chips themselves, so basically their doing like with the FX series. 8320 binned hard to go 8350, 8370, 9370 and 9590. I think the 8320e and 8370e is steamroller and not piledriver like the other vishera chips because steamroller is more efficient then piledriver (steamroller is what is used in APUs)

 

EDIT:

Changed to 7870k and a diff mobo cuz gigabyte one was suddenly gone from partpicker.

Either way, 19 USD more, but the GFX section of the 7870k is notably better.

[Guest trucker2]

Best article on the 7870:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9307/the-kaveri-refresh-godavari-review-testing-amds-a10-7870k

 

the 7870k comes with a nice twin heat pipe cpu cooler, 7850k comes with the hated stock amd cooler we all hate. Well worth the 20 bucks

The A10 without a dGPU opens up the possibility of using higher quality but lower wattage PSU's

SSD's : The usual practice of putting the OS on the SSD may not apply since it may be on most of the day as an HTPC, Perhaps putting new movies and fav games on the ssd may be an option. Just a thought.

Also using an APU opens up allot of options if your curious about case mods or unusual items as an HTPC case. 

For example: As a truck driver I would love to use an old CB base station as a case for my build over the 1987 IBM case I am building now.

 

8320e and 8370e are piledriver and the 860k is steamroller I believe. 

Almost no info on 68 chipset so I bought one......If it works or not I willl let everyone now.

[79 Potatoes]

If you've the money, i5 5675C.

[Turismo98]

But..but...but... IRIS PRO!

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-5775c-i5-5675c-broadwell,4169-6.html

[Guest trucker2]

But..but...but... IRIS PRO!

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-5775c-i5-5675c-broadwell,4169-6.html

Also another review here:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9320/intel-broadwell-review-i7-5775c-i5-5675c

 Linus did a great video showing how using integrated graphics on an A10 is not really worth it on an FPS per dollar basis and I agree with that.

Saw the price of an Iris Pro and.........ouch

[Prysin]

the APU is worth it, perf to dollars if you never plan to use a GFX card. It simply demolishes any offering intel has on sheer price to performance and will continue to do so well after skylake has been released simply due to intel charging a premium for a few % better performance.

 

This being said.

 

If you plan to grab a graphics card later on, then a Athlon 860k or a i3 is definetively a better choice.

 

@Turismo98

Sure Iris Pro is great, but at over 300 USD (cannot find a cheaper broadwell i5 atm) it costs more then 200% of the 7870k which is at 144 USD.

 

And how much better is it? 15-20% at max.

 

Is the CPU better? yes, but would you honestly buy an i5 (an i think this one is basically a i3 on steroids since its 2 cores + HT) with a good GFX card mounted to it when a i3 + R9 280X can cost pretty much 30 USD more then the broadwell and the i3 + R9 280x will absolutely demolish the broadwell in every game there is. No, Iris pro is, and will remain for a while, a dead end FOR DESKTOP.

 

In a laptop however, it will be fantastic, then again, AMD got their shit together and is/has released Carizzo. Carizzo has reasonable advantages over intels offerings, most notably is onboard hardware accelerated x265 encoding. Meaning it has onboard hardware to help with streaming 4k content. This means a smoother experience and faster loading times on YT videos and even movies. Carizzo is also very very strong, and way more efficient then its Kaveri predecessor. It is truly a shame that Carizzo will not come to desktop, atleast no plans have been made or rumors of it coming to desktop within 2015 and 2016 Q2.... So here we are, discussing a product from intel which is meant for the laptop market, and in the laptop market it has competition, while in the desktop market the broadwell chip is a massive waste of money on every level imaginable. They will probably stick this beauties into the intel NUC, then suck your wallet dry like the corporate vampires they are.

[qwazwak]

By the way i'd just like to say thank you to everybody who answered! I did have a trouble picking best. Anyway i will be using/rereading all of this!