Will my amd a4 6300 apu bottleneck a Gigabyte RX460 Windforce OC 2G?
- Thread starter Kurobuta
- Start date
Solution
geofelt
Titan
- Oct 9, 2006
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You buy a APU for the excellent integrated graphics.
But, there are no real good upgrades, particularly for a gamer.
If you install a superior discrete graphics card, you will have thrown away the big advantage of the APU.
Then, you are left with a relatively weak cpu. Most games depend on only a few fast cores.
The possible upgrades are to more cores, but few games will use more than 2-3 cores so more cores are not very helpful.
Bottom line.....
What you get with a APU is what you will live with forever.
That said, try some tests to see how you might do.
) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.
But, there are no real good upgrades, particularly for a gamer.
If you install a superior discrete graphics card, you will have thrown away the big advantage of the APU.
Then, you are left with a relatively weak cpu. Most games depend on only a few fast cores.
The possible upgrades are to more cores, but few games will use more than 2-3 cores so more cores are not very helpful.
Bottom line.....
What you get with a APU is what you will live with forever.
That said, try some tests to see how you might do.
) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.
The not many cores thing is quite outdated almost any big release games since a year before the 8th gen consoles launched wouldn't even start on a dual core and now even quad cores are showing to not be enough anymore. Also he doesn't have to bother with testing it's a a4 apu the cpu part is on par with some old core 2 duo's.
nikoli707
Splendid
- Jan 4, 2012
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you can easily find a used amd a8 or a10 processor on ebay that will drop right into your cpu slot. on ebay an a8 6500 shouldn't cost much more than $40 i imagine. then you would get good results with an rx460.
you could possibly just get an x4 750k/760k but we dont know if your motherboard is limited to 65w cpus. the a8 6500 is rated the same 65w as your a4 6300 so it is a safe bet.
you could possibly just get an x4 750k/760k but we dont know if your motherboard is limited to 65w cpus. the a8 6500 is rated the same 65w as your a4 6300 so it is a safe bet.
nikoli707
Splendid
- Jan 4, 2012
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i had an x4 760k + rx460 rig that i recently put together and sold and it performed solid at 1080p medium setting in a variety of games.
your msi a68hm-e33 has no cpu wattage limitations so you can definitely drop in a 95w cpu variant, though i wouldn't attempt to overclock the cpu with that board. if you will be using an rx460 then dont bother going with an a8/a10 cpu and just get an x4 760k or similar. i got the x4 760k that i used off ebay from china for i think $43 shipped and it worked fine with the rx460.
edit: actually i see the x4 860k brand new for $50 on amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BIWKNAK/?tag=pcpapi-20
but you will need to upgrade your msi a68 bios to the latest revision before you install the 860k.
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/A68HM-E33-V2.html#down-bios
your msi a68hm-e33 has no cpu wattage limitations so you can definitely drop in a 95w cpu variant, though i wouldn't attempt to overclock the cpu with that board. if you will be using an rx460 then dont bother going with an a8/a10 cpu and just get an x4 760k or similar. i got the x4 760k that i used off ebay from china for i think $43 shipped and it worked fine with the rx460.
edit: actually i see the x4 860k brand new for $50 on amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BIWKNAK/?tag=pcpapi-20
but you will need to upgrade your msi a68 bios to the latest revision before you install the 860k.
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/A68HM-E33-V2.html#down-bios
geofelt
Titan
- Oct 9, 2006
- 54,374
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Your A4-6800 is a dual core with a passmark rating of 2218 and a single thread rating of 1363.
So far as I can tell, a A10-7890K, a $150 processor with 4 threads might be your strongest upgrade
with your current motherboard.
It has a rating of 5753 and a single thread rating of 1715.
Here is the support list:
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/A68HM-E33-V2.html#support-cpu
Any other switch will involve a new motherboard.
The $75 G4560(passmark 5011/1981)with 4 threads mentioned above for about $75 would be nice, buy you are looking at a new motherboard and ram
Nice thing though is that the lga1151 motherboard required can support even a I7-7700K as a future upgrade.
If your games are fast action shooters, then a graphics card upgrade will likely be good.
Even if it disappoints, such a card can be carried forward to a cpu/mobo upgrade.
Still, to get some idea try my tests on a few of your games.
You will then have a more objective basis for deciding what to do.
So far as I can tell, a A10-7890K, a $150 processor with 4 threads might be your strongest upgrade
with your current motherboard.
It has a rating of 5753 and a single thread rating of 1715.
Here is the support list:
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/A68HM-E33-V2.html#support-cpu
Any other switch will involve a new motherboard.
The $75 G4560(passmark 5011/1981)with 4 threads mentioned above for about $75 would be nice, buy you are looking at a new motherboard and ram
Nice thing though is that the lga1151 motherboard required can support even a I7-7700K as a future upgrade.
If your games are fast action shooters, then a graphics card upgrade will likely be good.
Even if it disappoints, such a card can be carried forward to a cpu/mobo upgrade.
Still, to get some idea try my tests on a few of your games.
You will then have a more objective basis for deciding what to do.
dontlistentome
Glorious
- Sep 5, 2016
- 5,979
- 19
- 43,415
For esports games, simply replacing your current CPU with a quad core X4 then adding the 460 is the most budget friendly option. Good performance in more demanding AAA games, like new COD games/Ghost Recon Wildlands/etc, would demand you build a new system.
You can't have it both ways, a cheap upgrade but somehow play ALL games well. You need to pick one or the other.
You can't have it both ways, a cheap upgrade but somehow play ALL games well. You need to pick one or the other.
nikoli707
Splendid
- Jan 4, 2012
- 6,008
- 5
- 29,965
the 1050 is faster than the rx460 which is faster than the 750ti. any one of those graphics cards are going to bottleneck your current a4 cpu pretty heavily. if you upgrade your cpu to a quad core fm2 processor you wont have much issues running anyone of those graphics cards. anything past the gtx1050/rx560 though is going to start introducing a cpu bottleneck in some games. for the purpose of price to performance your best bet is to get an rx460 on a good deal. used 750tis still cost $50 and i have seen rx460s for $60-80.
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