Comparison of AMD's APU and CPU+GPU help

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

I have 2 builds here, one with an APU and one with CPU and its dedicated GPU
I personally vote for the APU one but I wanna know other people's opinions and why would you choose it, consider that these are budget builds are meant for MOBA games with high fps on low settings.

CPU+GPU:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TBHYQ7

APU:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qgxDkL

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

The separate CPU+GPU build will be better performing in most cases

Tradesman1 · Jul 4, 2014

Since both have the same APU - either change the one to a true CPU/GPU build or just the APU and Discrete card

TechyInAZ · Jul 4, 2014

I'd choose the CPU+GPU setup. Basically, the GPU is a lot faster than the APUs IGPU.

Usually CPU+GPU setups are always going to be faster than APU setups.

I suggest getting a G3258 Pentium and a H97 mobo so you can get the best technologies and future support for cheap.

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

I would go for this setup however
Better CPU overall
GPU is about the same as the 750 but cheaper(there are cheaper 750 than the ASUS too)
Ram is slightly cheaper
Motherbaord is pretty good too

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $417.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

Generally my plan is to buy the kaveri since it is the best AMD APU atm while the cpu and graphics card are currently average and in couple of years will be considered as thrash and APU is gonna be considered as less of a thrash, also I can run a dual graphics once I gather some money and feel an urge to buy one. I nejoy playing my games at low and just browsing around the internet and stuff but again that's just my opinion. Thanks everyone

Gam3r01 · Jul 4, 2014

That isnt really correct.
APUs are already weak compared to their strictly CPU counterparts, and that will only get worse as time goes on.
The CPU and GPU are considered entry level-mid range, but the APU is considered budget low end. Just because its a decent APU, dosent mean its better than an entry level CPU. Hybrid Xfiring an APU and GPU isnt really a great option either. I would go with the build Stickman listed.

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

In my country things are way more expensive so if you add like 25% on the graphics and 25% on the cpu it will have way higher cost than an APU but since everyone here claims APU is bad how would this do then?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RxMJmG
(this would cost about 763,60$ here)

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

The APU is about the same as a slower 7750 DDR3

A gt640 however would be about the same as the APU in terms of GPU performance

APU is not bad, just AMD priced it too high with the 7850K

I would suggest the Gigabyte 970 UD3P over the ASUS LE

which country are you from?

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

Croatia, Europe

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

So basically, the CPU and APU are about 25% more than US prices but APU isn't?

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

kaveri is 200$, fx 6300 is 150$, and the gt640 is 125$

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

how much is a 7750/250x or a 750?

is there a site I can use to check your local prices?

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

sapphire radeon r7 250x 1gb 120$
gigabyte gtx750 oc 1gb 170$

http://www.instar-informatika.hr/?level=komponente this is the store if you need translation I'll do it

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

I would opt for the 250x over the 640 any day and it would be faster than the APU

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

The question is do I need it... I'm seriously not planing on anything more than couple MOBA's and regular browsing + some programming

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

hmm I guess best option is getting a Pentium dual core or AMD 750K

http://www.instar-informatika.hr/procesor-intel-pentium-g3220-300ghz-intel-hd-graphics-haswell-/A10032
http://www.instar-informatika.hr/procesor-amd-athlon-ii-x4-750k-34ghz4mb100wfm2-box-black-edition/AD750KWOHJBOX

In game they should be about equal most of the time with Pentium pulling ahead in lightly threaded loads and AMD in more threaded loads and general usage

match one of those with this 250x

http://www.instar-informatika.hr/graficka-sapphire-radeon-r7-250x-1-gb-gddr5-11229-00-20g/844557

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

how about a gigabyte radeon r7 260x?

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

if you have the cash then by all means get the 260x

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

1 question that's on my mind for some time now, why is an APU without GPU not good enough if I don't plan on doing anything graphically challenging with it, and if I ever plan, just buy a GPU that's made for dual graphics with it?

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

dual graphics can be very trouble prone and doesn't offer enough of a benefit to justify costs

an APU by itself is good but AMD is charging too much for the 7850K to make it a good value option

for instance, the 750K + R7 250X will outperform the APU while being cheaper

if your budget was small enough howver, an APU would offer better value with the likes of the A10 5800k and 6800k

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

I'm a little off here, so what youre saying is that 750K and r7 250x 1gb would outpreform an APU with its dedicated graphics card (I think 7750 is the one that has great preformance with it) + the high speed ram that pushes it to 140%-150% in some games?

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

r7 250x = 7770

750K + r7 250x > APU by itself

APU + 7750 >= 750k + r7 250x

thing is APU price just by itself is much more than 750k+250x
For the price of the APU alone, you can almost get a 750k + 260x

Occupiedfall · Jul 4, 2014

how about a more cost efficient APU? I don't have to spend all of my savings on a computor.. I just need something to have fun on while I'm bored and browse

stickmansam · Jul 4, 2014

most important thing is your budget

for a basic computer, the A8 5600K is enough, A10 5800K is even better for only a small price increase

http://www.instar-informatika.hr/procesor-amd-trinity-a10-series-x4-5800k-38ghz4mb100wfm2-box-black-edition-radeon-tm-hd-7660d/SK507623

Comparison of AMD's APU and CPU+GPU help

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