What would you pick AMD A10 7700 OR AMD FX-8320?

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

I am new at building my own pc's only built 2 others in past few years, and don't know much about the hardware, so far I have done with not knowing much...

Plan on using my " Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory " 16gig in this build.

Also this build will be in a cooler master Mini ITX elite 130 case.

So I am about to build a new pc to handle the following tasks, and need your input on what cpu to get..

Tasks:
Music producing IE: Reason and or FL Live and VST's

Light video editing from time to time...

12 + hours a day having firefox open with 30-40 tabs and chrome open with 5-10 tabs and youtube playlist running all the time..

Photoshop running from time to time..

What should I go with
AMD A10 7700
OR
AMD FX-8320?

baniDJ · Apr 6, 2014

If you plan to use a dedicated gpu then go with the
FX 8320 but if u don't have a gpu go with the APU.
Btw FX has 8 cores and APU has 4 so a big plus for FX

FloppyNacho · Apr 6, 2014

Personally, I would go with the 7700K for a couple of reasons:

1) Cheaper, faster RAM-- which is great for editing and performance in general
2) Built in GPU -- If you're content with low quality preset, this is perfect for keeping cost down
3) Low power consumption, which, if you're paying the bills, really hurts.
4) HSA and several other "future" technologies already present
5) FM2(+) boards are cheaper than AM3+ boards
6) Mini ITX!!!

In the end its 4 vs 8 cores and whether or not you're a gamer.

baniDJ · Apr 6, 2014

@FloppyNacho - but if he wants to use an dedicated gpu the apu (a10-7770) would be just an overpaid CPU and he wont use the APU then.

But you are totally correct if he doesnt want to use an dedicated gpu.

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

FloppyNacho:

Thanks yeah if you can come up with a good build for me, Keep in mind I must have a system that will work with Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX build, was thinking to get the water cool thing if needed...

I already have the corsair 430m power supply, and Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB, and blue ray drive...

I think I just need the following:

MOBO( That will fit the cooler master ITX case , also would like wifi built in if poss?)
CPU Not sure what to get ???
SSD or HD OR SSD/HD??

Budget is around $400 for the 3 components above??

thanks

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

I really dont know if I need a GPU or not??? I am not really a gamer, I plan on doing tons of music editing and studio software tracks on Reason and cubase, I watch tons of videos as well... and little with photoshop...

But as I said I leave about 40 firefox tabs open around the clock and move from one thing to another non stop about 12 hours a day, don't want something to lag or max out the CPU, as right now my AMD A4-5300 tends to max out cpu while just listening to music and having 30 windows open...

also I tend to leave my computer on 24/7 and never turn it off, just put it in sleep mode..

baniDJ · Apr 6, 2014

If you are not a gamer then go for the A10-7770K it should be fine. The integrated GPU in it is very strong. You can even play latest games with it in some lower settings.

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

whats the difference with the A10-7770K and the A10-7850K worth the extra $30 for the 850k? I just don't want to have to upgrade in a year..

photonboy · Apr 6, 2014

My recommendation (i5-4570, Gigabyte mini-ITX, and 1TB Hybrid drive): http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3mS3F

This is a pretty nice combination.

1) Intel i5-4570 gets pretty good performance numbers.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-4670k-4670-4570-4430_6.html#sect0

It has FOUR cores though often beats the FX-8350 at tasks. Turbo frequency is 3.6GHz (non-overclockable), and the GRAPHICS built-in is the HD4600 which can also aid video encoding at times if using Intel Quick Sync:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Quick_Sync_Video

2) That Gigabyte board is inexpensive but has great customer reviews.

3) I chose a HYBRID drive. It's meant for a boot drive, though I recommend partitioning it in two. It has a small amount of SSD (8GB I believe) which significantly boosts performance when booting and other times.

The drive intelligently moves boot files, and frequently accessed files onto the faster SSD portion so it really does make a big difference.

Someone Somewhere · Apr 6, 2014

You won't be able to put the FX in an mITX build - there's no mITX AM3+ boards.

I'd be looking at an i5 for this.

Tom Tancredi · Apr 6, 2014

Okay some hard truths. The APU is for the other 90% market out there, the Grandma needs to see the grandkids photos on Facebook. It is "low cost, low power , for LOW DEMAND" people. Given your just asking about Webpage surfing (Your at the max on the pages anyway before you see some performance hit) yeah a APU is fine.

As for 'mixing' music, light video editing and Photoshopping, these are more demanding applications and if your time sensitive (for example how long to encode your mix) would be a issue then the FX line would benefit you, but you don't need to go FX-8xxx necessarily, you could get by with a FX-6xxx and just be as happy, but ALOT better off then a APU.

Again this has NO GAMING considerations, just on the apps listed. FOr Photoshopping (depending how many you have open at a time and how many layers we are talking) PLUS all the Web Page windows open, yeah a GPU added on (nothing too fancy) would avoid the sudden 'lockup' when it is just 'lagging' trying to catch up to your demands. For Video Editing a decent dedicated GPU is always necessary, unless of course you want to set the rendering for a 10min video on Friday to be coded and compressed by Monday morning, and you dont' want to use the computer for anything else.

photonboy · Apr 6, 2014

Video editing:
To be clear, the best QUALITY is still CPU-only with no graphics acceleration. There are FOUR main options:

1) CPU only (longest, but best quality)
2) Video decoder enhanced (saves a little time; shouldn't affect quality too much)
3) Video Encoder enhanced (lower quality)
4) Video Encode and Decode enhanced

I use HANDBRAKE to recode video using an Intel i7-3770K and the quality is simply incredible. Nothing else comes close. My high-quality encode is probably 2x the video length (four hours for two-hour movie). In fact, here's the basic settings I use:
- High Profile
- MP4
- Anamorphic (None)
- Keep Aspect Ratio
- Decomb (mainly ONLY for interlaced video like DVD-Video)
- Variable framerate (should almost always be this)
- 2-pass encoding
- average bitrate (i.e. 1000 to 2000kbps for anime/cartoon; and 5000 to 10,000kbps for BluRay compressed video)
- optimize video-> "SLOW" (**THIS is what really affects encoding time. Slower than this is really pointless. Most people should use "Medium" even for quality encodes.)

Video encoding using a GPU encoder is probably almost as fast as the time to COPY the file. It's ideal if you need fast conversion, and you find the quality sufficient for your phone or whatever.

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

biggest problem seams I am facing is finding a MOBO that will fit a MINI ITX cooler master build, with getting the best performance for around $450 for the following:

CPU
MINI ITX MOBO
SSD
And poss GPU??

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

Also I have one of those HP Touchsmart all in one deals that has a cracked screen and it will cost me $350 to get repaired, so I don't think I will get it repaired, but I checked the system it has a " Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor G870 3.1 GHz 3 MB Cache LGA 1155 " Is this a good CPU and would it be worth pulling out? will it work just like any other cpu as it is from a touchsmart hp?

photonboy · Apr 6, 2014

Joshua Van Horn :

Did you even look at my parts list?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3mS3F

I just took the time to explain why I chose each part.

As for the 1155 CPU you mention, I see no reason why it wouldn't work in an 1155 motherboard. It's dual-core and slightly lower frequency (3 vs 3.6GHz) so it will perform about 40% of the speed converting video in Handbrake.

It also has a far worse GPU than the i5-4570 and doesn't have Quick Sync to accelerate video conversions (for faster conversion, but poorer quality than just the CPU alone as I explained in my post above).

You'll have to decide where you want to spend your money, but I think you're much better off getting a good 4-core CPU.

The CPU link: http://ark.intel.com/products/53493/intel-pentium-processor-g870-%283m-cache-3_10-ghz%29

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

no i did not even see this link/list until just now.. looking now

Tom Tancredi · Apr 6, 2014

Joshua Van Horn :

No it isn't worth it, and no you can't mix and match CPUs, that would be on a totally different board and such from AMD (APUs are different from FX boards too last I seen) or Intel other chips (iCore). Plus it is very low end. Besides that is a totally DIFFERENT topic question you should make a thread on if you want to discuss that.

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

ok if I went with your list could I get rid of the seagate and just use a 500gb SSD ? as my buddy has a sumsung one that he will sell to me for $180 that is never used..? whats your thoughts? anything bad about file losse with a SSD?

photonboy · Apr 6, 2014

Update:
THIS is a mini-ITX 1155 motherboard that's not bad and inexpensive:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah77nwifi

Here is the CPU support list which includes the 2-core in your all-in-one:
http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4338

If you want to do things fairly CHEAPLY this is a good way, but otherwise I think it's best to focus on the parts I recommended. With a 4-core CPU you have a nice solid build. If you decide to play video games at some point in the next five years simply get a suitable $100+ video card.

photonboy · Apr 6, 2014

Joshua Van Horn :

The difficulty with giving you advice is your BUDGET is unclear. It was $400 for the CPU, motherboard, and Storage so I don't know what your overall plan is anymore.

I think $180 for an SSD is a lot of money if you then don't have the money to buy a good CPU.

A good SSD is more reliable than a hard drive, but when it comes to reliability nothing beats having TWO drives. In that case I'd recommend:
a) $90-> 120GB Samsung 840 EVO (Windows/apps)
b) $80-> 2TB Hard Drive

Then create a backup Image of the SSD periodically to the hard drive and setup an automatic backup of critical folders (like "Documents") using Syncbackse Free.

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

ok well i think ill get your list and do the 120gb ssd with 2tb hd... sorry if i did not make much sense all this is new to me...

photonboy · Apr 6, 2014

Joshua Van Horn :

OK.
Once you install Windows (plus motherboard, and Intel GPU drivers) to the SSD, you will want to download Samsung Magician and use that to:
a) apply Overprovisiong
b) update Firmware of SSD (if newer exists)
c) apply SSD profile (reliability vs speed)
d) benchmark (should get just over 500MB/sec read/write with good Intel SATA controller)

My advice for the OS is Windows 8.1 64-bit ($90 USD), and get Start8 as well ($5), unless you have a valid copy of Windows 7 64-bit already that you can use (unlikely).

Windows 8.1 is getting an update in two days I think that MAY bring back the Start Menu, and you can already change the Windows settings to:
a) bypass the LOGON screen on boot (I do), and
b) boot directly to the Desktop (not new W8 screen).

So I don't know if Start8 will definitely still be needed but we'll see. Windows 8 is much better under the hood, but I just don't like the new interface (though MERGING the Desktop and new interface appeals to me)

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

yeah I have a windows 7 64 bit cd and valid code, I dont like windows 8 at all, so will still with win 7.

ok i will come back here and read the steps when i get the hardware ( yeah the interface with win8 sucks I hate it too ) that is my reasoning on not getting it for this build.

Tom Tancredi · Apr 6, 2014

NOTE: You can NOT use your 'Dell/Gateway/Samsung/etc.' copy of Windows 7 on any other machine OTHER than what it was sold with (that specific make and model). It will NOT allow Windows to load because that would violate the Licensing (licensed to the hardware). Windows 8.x no longer has this limitation, just the harassment of having to call in the stupid 128 character or whatever length it is code numbers.

Joshua Van Horn · Apr 6, 2014

It is not from any system it is a license one I paid $120 for about a year ago if I recall correctly from staples.

What would you pick AMD A10 7700 OR AMD FX-8320?

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