A10-7850k paired with a R9 270x

Robert P · Feb 2, 2014

Hello everyone!

This is my first post after reading hundreds of unrelated random topics over the years... love this site for how intelligent it's user base is. Anyhow, here's my question. I recently decided on upgrading my current gaming machine (an ASUS gaming laptop circa 2008) to a more up-to-date desktop. I primarily play WoW, BF4, CoD, and an occasional game if Diablo3. I ordered all the parts to build it myself (first time, yay!) and now that they're on order I'm antsy to know if I made a good choice. I bought the AMD A10 APU listed in the title with an R9-270x graphics card hoping that they work well in harmony. Was this a bit of a gamble, or a decent decision based on my gaming preferences. THanks!!

tiny voices · Feb 2, 2014

No this was a terrible idea. An APU is designed as a lower end CPU with decent graphics built in. You will be bypassing the graphics (the whole reason to buy an APU is for the better than average integrated graphics), and getting stuck with a low end CPU. You will probably bottleneck the GPU a bit in demanding games.

JD88 · Feb 2, 2014

Honestly, it's not a terrible match up in terms of performance. However, the A10 is not a good value when paired with a graphics card. Most of what you are paying for are its integrated graphics which you will not be using in this build. At that price point, you would have been quite a bit better off going with something from AMD's FX line or an Intel Core i5.

seller417 · Feb 2, 2014

the fx 6300 would have been a better match for that GPU and it would have saved you a bit.

wdmfiber · Feb 2, 2014

It's the smart decision if your going AMD. As FM2+ is the future for AMD, AM3+ is dead.
Besides the piledriver(bulldozer refresh) FX line sucked. No one is going to miss those CPU's.

tiny voices · Feb 2, 2014

wdmfiber :

The Piledriver CPUs are VERY good and AMAZING value for money pretty much all across the board.

Roxas_Boy · Feb 2, 2014

wdmfiber :

Ignore this guy

Roxas_Boy · Feb 2, 2014

Smart choice would have been FX 6300 and R9 270x instead

wdmfiber · Feb 2, 2014

tiny voices :

Across the board? lol... It's almost common knowledge they are not VERY good(plus wasteful of electricity).
If you build a good system with GPU's in crossfire, they will be bottlenecked. Tom's tested it:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-core-i7-3770k-gaming-bottleneck,3407-9.html
However at the bottom, the 6300 is acceptable. Tom's does recommend:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-2.html
But on page 1, they talk about steamroller(maybe that's what you meant). It's good.
And AM3+ fading away.

Frig guys, Tom's put a lot of work into their articles. You gotta keep up to date.
2012 is long over and that what those CPU's date from. I'm surprised they are still available.

JD88 · Feb 2, 2014

wdmfiber :

I tend to agree. Hard to recommend a 2 year old CPU. Even in the budget scene, I would choose a Haswell i3 over a 6300. The 6300 is only better if the user plans to do a heavy overclock, which needs an aftermarket cooler, which adds extra cost, which puts us near i5 range. Just not really any place for AMD in the enthusiast market anymore.

Outlander_04 · Feb 2, 2014

I think you have a decent gaming pc . Its going to play any high end game much the same as any other pc with an R9 270X would

Using the APU could arguably be wasteful since you have paid for the graphics section of the chip as well but it will work , and in a few years when you want an HTPC its the perfect choice

And as some have already mentioned the FM2+ line will stay current for a few more years .
AM3+ might have given you small gains in some areas[ and is certainly a smarter choice than an intel dual core ] but most games wont show a significant difference

wdmfiber · Feb 2, 2014

I think with steamroller architecture being new, it's not well known how big of an improvement it is vs. the "strangling" stared resource design of the FX's.

Sure the integrated graphics go to waste when running a discrete card. But that happens all the time. Take the mighty i7-4770K for example... But since it doesn't have a graphical reference number - "dashed" on the name. No one thinks about it and therefore is not bothered by the billions of "wasted" transistors.

And at 25(plus) percent stronger per watt. The A10-7850k stands firm against the 6300(similar TDP).
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-FX-6300-vs-AMD-A10-7850K

Robert P · Feb 2, 2014

I was under the impression that the A10's graphics processing would be considered "dual" with an added GPU like the R9 270x, hence making the overall package more appealing. Is this not correct?

Outlander_04 · Feb 2, 2014

Robert P :

They wont be able to work together in hybrid crossfire . The APU's have only worked that way with very basic graphics cards .
But you have cores that clock for clock are significantly better than the piledriver cores in an FX processor . You can expect the machine to be better in older games than if you had used FX because they might only use a couple of cores anyway .

BrianDean83 · Feb 23, 2014

AMD stated that the 7850K will pair with any G/DDR3 based GPU!!! And to use proven drivers, not beta.
The 270X will be plenty to get you going. You will be happy and will want another great 270X.

Outlander_04 · Feb 23, 2014

BrianDean83 :

Interesting . But it still limits you to bvery basic graphics cards . Even most lower range cards use gDDR5

It has occurred to me though that by using a discrete graphics card you can probably OC the APU a lot . More than half the core is graphics transistors and they wont be making any heat if they are not being used which would give you a lot of thermal headroom on the cpu cores . Probably .

tcb1005 · Feb 23, 2014

The FX8320 is the best value CPU you can get at the moment. In some places it is as little as $100.

Roxas_Boy · Feb 23, 2014

APU+GPU is wasteful and a A10 7850K is DEFINITELY weaker than a FX 6300 and don't let these guys tell you otherwise. Here are the passmark cpu benchmarks

AMD A10-7850K APU 5,777
AMD FX-6300 Six-Core 6,383

Clear winner here. Also six cores does benefit you more as more and more games are beginning to utilize them BF4 comes to mind

A10 7850K is a decent cpu by itself but not intended for discrete graphics and are meant for people on a budget who can't afford a decent GPU.

tcb1005 · Feb 23, 2014

Roxas_Boy :

The FX6300 is nothing to write home about especially if he can find an 8320 at a good price.

Roxas_Boy · Feb 23, 2014

tcb1005 :

Roxas_Boy :

The FX6300 is nothing to write home about especially if he can find an 8320 at a good price.

Yeah the FX 8320 is better than a 6300 and both are easily better than a A10 7850K for discrete GPU gaming

BrianDean83 · Feb 26, 2014

I will let you know this Mr Robert P. Don't let anyone dissuade you from making a purchase. The whole reason you come asking these question is to get an honest answer. Not an opinion.
I have a build with a 7850K. Beside the memory which by the way is 16GB DDR3 2133 MHz AMD Gamer Series.
I have used the APU alone which was OK, in dual which was better and with dedicated GPU (HD7770, R7 260X, R9 270x and R9 270 which was the best bang for buck in my tests.
The dedicated GPU along with good 1866MHz or higher will net you outstanding FPS in any game.
Any play of dual graphics will be slightly less than average for me because I am a power user always looking for more. For others it may be fine as it was playable.

Shadsy · Mar 13, 2014

Why is everyone making the same talks to people "APUs are not ment with GPUs" R9 270X is no problem for Kaveri.

BrianDean83 · Mar 13, 2014

Shadsy :

CriticalX13 · Jul 20, 2014

Hey Robert P,

Just wondering how you went with the build? been looking at building something similar. Did the R9 270X play nicely with the APU?

Cheers

mauriciomdea · Aug 26, 2014

The A10-7850K will NOT bottleneck that R9 270X at all.

Sure you spent some more on an APU with integrated GPU that you won't use in this configuration, but you also bought yourself a much newer and future proof platform which will last way more than the derelict AM3 platform.

I myself have this build after going with the A10-7850K alone for a while then getting an used but new R9 270X for cheap. It was darn good before, it's awesome now. And I'm talking about 1080p gaming.

If I were to go down the FX route, I would end up with PCI-e 2.0 instead of 3.0, USB 2.0 for USB 3.0, SATA 3GBs for SATA 6GBs and no HSA and OpenCL optimization for future software. THAT, my friends, makes no sense in 2014.

A10-7850k paired with a R9 270x

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