APU Build - Planned dGPU upgrade

[gluconolactone]

I plan to build this computer and follow it up with a mid-range GPU upgrade about a year from now.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7650K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($111.07 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: MSI A78M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($78.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Cougar MG100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($156.16 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ NCIX)

 

Disclaimer: I used Canadian PCPartPicker because it was the only one that gave me prices for all the parts I chose, in fact I plan to buy these parts from the UAE.

 

Disclaimer #2: The CX430M is a place-holder for the XFX TS430 which was nowhere to be found on PCPP. The Corsair Vengeance Pro is also the cheapest "fast RAM" around here, for APU-purposes. I also have no idea why that Cougar case is 150 CAD lol.

 

My question is, will this APU present a bottleneck for a GPU that is for example, at the performance level of an R9 380? Also for any A8-7650K owners how does it perform in day-to-day tasks and light gaming such as in CS GO?

[SkilledRebuilds]

I plan to build this computer and follow it up with a mid-range GPU upgrade about a year from now.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7650K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($111.07 @ Amazon Canada)

Motherboard: MSI A78M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Memory Express)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($78.50 @ Vuugo)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)

Case: Cougar MG100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($156.16 @ Amazon Canada)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ NCIX)

 

Disclaimer: I used Canadian PCPartPicker because it was the only one that gave me prices for all the parts I chose, in fact I plan to buy these parts from the UAE.

 

Disclaimer #2: The CX430M is a place-holder for the XFX TS430 which was nowhere to be found on PCPP. The Corsair Vengeance Pro is also the cheapest "fast RAM" around here, for APU-purposes. I also have no idea why that Cougar case is 150 CAD lol.

 

My question is, will this APU present a bottleneck for a GPU that is for example, at the performance level of an R9 380? Also for any A8-7650K owners how does it perform in day-to-day tasks and light gaming such as in CS GO?

Awesomesauce Hardware put a 280x into both the Athlon x4 Quadcore and his Intel 5960x and the GPU went from 34FPS to 72FPS at the same settings, the Athlon x4 gives a HUGE b-neck to the 280x (50% ish) compared to a modern Intel CPU

(I know the 5960x has more cores, but in general it STILL shows the lack of quadcore horsepower the x4/AMD lineup has for Gaming, ALL of them are NOT optimal, and I'm sure the 7850K is no different as its CPU horsepower still isn't a match for todays modern i3)

 

If your getting a dedicated GPU later on, just get an i3 + H97 board now, and then put the dedicated GPU in there.

While the 280x would be called a good choice for the 7850K Quadcore CPU, there will STILL be some games under-utilizing your GPU, causing dropped framerates.

 

/I also could play modern titles on my HD4600 too btw... its enough to tide you over until your dedicated arrives.

[Sam Z Man]

Just get a 860K and a cheap used GPU.

[gluconolactone]

Just get a 860K and a cheap used GPU.

 

Price difference between a 860K and an A8-7650K is about 30USD over here, don't you think the iGPU inside the A8 is worth 30 bucks?

 

Awesomesauce Hardware put a 280x into both the Athlon x4 Quadcore and his Intel 5960x and the GPU went from 34FPS to 72FPS at the same settings, the Athlon x4 gives a HUGE b-neck to the 280x (50% ish) compared to a modern Intel CPU (I know the 5960x has more cores, but in general it STILL shows the lack of quadcore horsepower the x4/AMD lineup has, and I'm sure the 7850K is no different)

 

If your getting a dedicated GPU later on, just get an i3 + H97 board now, and then put the dedicated GPU in there.

While the 280x would be called a good choice for the 7850K Quadcore CPU, there will STILL be some games under-utilizing your GPU, causing dropped framerates.

 

/I also could play modern titles on my HD4600 too btw... its enough to tide you over until your dedicated arrives.

 

May I ask which Athlon he was using? For example the 740, 750 and 760 K were using the Bulldozer architecture on a 32nm process if I remember correctly, the 860K is based on the same Steamroller arch. as the Kaveri APUs.

 

Look at this page showing the benchmarks of this A8 paired with a GTX 770/R9 285. In some cases it does trail behind an i3, but the lead is often insignificant (admittedly with the exception of Grid:Autosport, guessing that game is heavily single-threaded) and other times the A8 shows equal performance to that of the i3.