Recommend APU for Dual Graphics setup? (R7 370)

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
N

nasch007

Distinguished
May 30, 2016
44
0
18,530
Greetings! I used the search function but didn't find this exact APU/GPU combo. Apologies if it's been asked already. But...

I currently have an Asrock 880 motherboard and an AMD Athlon X2 processor. I purchased an MSI R7 370 4GB DirectX 12 PCIE 3.0 card and it has made a huge difference in the system. However my motherboard doesn't fully take advantage of the card and is also showing its age.

I want to get a new motherboard with PCIE 3.0 and USB 3.0. I also want to get a CPU/APU that will match well with my video card. I am interested in running a Dual Graphics setup (can't afford to Crossfire at the moment).

I was looking at a Fatal1ty motherboard and a 7870K APU. I figured this is a good match since it has all the features I want, decent clock speed for gpu, power draw, and large number of cores, and the integrated graphics is an R7. I read that AMD recommends the R7 250 or lower with this APU. But I haven't read anywhere that it doesn't explicitly say that the r7 370 is incompatible, it just says the 240/250 is recommended.

So to my question: if not the above, then what APU will match well with this R7 370 for dual graphics? If the answer is "none", then what would be a good compliment to this video card? Even without the dual graphics, is this APU/R7 combination capable of 60+ FPS @ 2160p or 1440p "max" or "ultra" settings?

If you think a different processor is a better way to go, can you recommend, and keep in mind I'm looking for a motherboard/socket with both PCIE 3.0, and USB 3.0. Oh and it has to be AMD (I don't have 300-600 to drop on an i7).

I can post the rest of my specs if needed.

Thank you!!

Also, I should add that I am going to upgrade to Windows 10 after this purchase, as part of training for work and also to take full advantage of DirectX 12 and its asynchronous shaders and "actual" multi-gpu support.

Any help is appreciated!!
 
Solution
O
First of all. A higher clock speed doesn't mean better performance.

It only means higher TDP or temperatures cause low power CPUs are clocked quite slower.

Then a core i3 that runs at 3.5 ghz or something is much more addecuate than the 7870K especially for a R7 370 BECAUSE YOU CAN PAIR AN R7 370 WITH A 7870K FOR DUAL GRAPHICS

You are very limited with dual graphics and with an APU generally speaking

It's a weak CPU for gaming and you can't upgrade it. As many people say It's a waste of money for your case.

And according to PCIe 3.0 It doesn't really matter It just doesn't make much of the difference unless you install a beastly graphics card which requires a lot of bandwidth such a dual GPU the PCIe 2.0 is good enough

Also It's...
Sort by date Sort by votes
N

nasch007

Distinguished
May 30, 2016
44
0
18,530


Thanks for the reply. Yes I've read that page, as is referenced in my original post. Thank you for your input. Any recommendations on the FX line, then?

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

Oliver_21

Commendable
Feb 17, 2016
207
0
1,760
First of all. A higher clock speed doesn't mean better performance.

It only means higher TDP or temperatures cause low power CPUs are clocked quite slower.

Then a core i3 that runs at 3.5 ghz or something is much more addecuate than the 7870K especially for a R7 370 BECAUSE YOU CAN PAIR AN R7 370 WITH A 7870K FOR DUAL GRAPHICS

You are very limited with dual graphics and with an APU generally speaking

It's a weak CPU for gaming and you can't upgrade it. As many people say It's a waste of money for your case.

And according to PCIe 3.0 It doesn't really matter It just doesn't make much of the difference unless you install a beastly graphics card which requires a lot of bandwidth such a dual GPU the PCIe 2.0 is good enough

Also It's not very relevant nowadays any LGA 1150 or FM2+ MOBO sopport PCIe 3.0 and all LGA 1150 MOBOs support USB 3.0

In case of FX motherboard I think they do not have pcie 3.0 so If you're that concerned about PCIe 3.0
It's another reason not to buy an FX

just get a core i3 it costs less than the 7870K and performs much better

Or you can get an upcoming AM4 CPU if you are interested on AMD, eidher of this options is more recommended
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
N

nasch007

Distinguished
May 30, 2016
44
0
18,530


Haven't read anything about the AM4 yet. I have to upgrade soon for job purposes, and then a Windows 10 install. I understand your response and I appreciate the feedback. Looking, it appears that on the AMD side currently ONLY the FM2+ will support BOTH USB 3.0 and PCIE 3.0. And if that's the case then my options are limited to that socket, which means a 7xxx is my only option.

I am interested in sticking to AMD for affordablility reasons. We have i3's at my work with similar clock speed and ram and they underperform in my experience. i5's I can get 60+ fps on moderate settings with a decent discrete video.

Yeah looking around it looks like the dual graphics ship is totally sailed so now I'm not focusing on that. But would like to take advantage of DX12, PCIE3 and USB3. Not exactly "future proof" but trust me this is the first upgrade I have done other than SSDs and the video card I have for several years. So it will probably be several more until the next one. I am thinking ditch the FX line completely (can install on my current board since it's the same socket, but no PCIE3 or USB3) and settle for an 7xxx.

IF (big if) I can find an Intel board that has PCIE 3, USB3, and DDR4 (because while we're upgrading toward the future), paired with a CPU (i3 or i5) for less than like $250, I might jump on that. But right now, I'm looking at around ~$200 to gain me at least a decent bump in computing power (remember I'm on an old Athlon dual core currently OC'd to 3.4GHz, and can't even OC my ram past 1600MHz), and access to the features I want (USB3 for peripherals and PCIE3 for the video [although I understand we've not quite maxed out the bandwidth of 2.0 yet]) this may be the best upgrade option for me for currently.

Thank you for all the feedback. Unless you can provide some info for the A4 (I can probably look it up) I'm going to mark this as answered.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom