Low budget system : I3 540 clarkdale OC versus A8-3850

[tiboilou]

Hi,

I am planning to buy a budget micro-atx computer for my 40" lcd tv and be able to play some recent games at 720P (or 1080P if needed). I am a casual gamer but I might be more into it later.

So my combo choices are:

Choice # 1 : A75 Motherboard + A8-3850 (integrated GPU) + futur Radeon if needed.
Choice # 2 : LGA 1156 H55 Motherboard + I3 540 Clarkdale OC @ 4GHZ + HD Radeon 6870

The A8-3850 is attractive (low $) but I will have to lower the settings on hard core DX11 games.

At low settings, Will it really be noticeable on a LCD TV (720P)?
Will the A8-3850 able to provide enough performance for a futur HD radeon 6870 (not crossfire)?
Do I really need a 6870 or could I buy another cheaper model to do the job?

I am undecided. Help me please.

Thanks.

 

[Novuake]

The A8 will play most older games at good graphics but with newer games you will have to disable anti-aliasing for example.

The HD6870 is quite a powerful card and beyond your need IMO.

Look at HD6770. Maybe even the Sapphire Vapor-x edition.

If saving money is what you aiming for then an AMD APU is the way to go.

 

[tiboilou]

Supposed I decide to add a HD 6770 to the A8-3850 after a few months, will this CPU able to do the job for the next 4 years with new "CPU demanding games"?

 

[joe_newbuilder]

Supposed I decide to add a HD 6770 to the A8-3850 after a few months, will this CPU able to do the job for the next 4 years with new "CPU demanding games"?

I'd say if you expect to use the same cpu and gpu with no upgrades for 4 years this isn't for you. It seems very doubtful that it will run all the newest games over the next 4 years. I'd likely give it 2.

If all you need is basic performance then get the AMD setup and upgrade the APU after 2 years. For setups like yours the APU's are almost purpose built.

 

[spentshells]

new i3 dual core and a 6850 should work out the best and cheapest

 

[spentshells]

damn if you want full blast games at 720 P like full dx11 and settings I must say 6850

 

[FALC0N]

I'd say if you expect to use the same cpu and gpu with no upgrades for 4 years this isn't for you. It seems very doubtful that it will run all the newest games over the next 4 years. I'd likely give it 2.

If all you need is basic performance then get the AMD setup and upgrade the APU after 2 years. For setups like yours the APU's are almost purpose built.

Agreed. Not sure any of these parts will be good for 4 years. Not gaming anyways.

 

[Novuake]

Yeah 2 years, maybe 2 and a half with 6770.

 

[vdr369]

Hi,

I am planning to buy a budget micro-atx computer for my 40" lcd tv and be able to play some recent games at 720P (or 1080P if needed). I am a casual gamer but I might be more into it later.

So my combo choices are:

Choice # 1 : A75 Motherboard + A8-3850 (integrated GPU) + futur Radeon if needed.
Choice # 2 : LGA 1156 H55 Motherboard + I3 540 Clarkdale OC @ 4GHZ + HD Radeon 6870

The A8-3850 is attractive (low $) but I will have to lower the settings on hard core DX11 games.

At low settings, Will it really be noticeable on a LCD TV (720P)?
Will the A8-3850 able to provide enough performance for a futur HD radeon 6870 (not crossfire)?
Do I really need a 6870 or could I buy another cheaper model to do the job?

I am undecided. Help me please.

Thanks.

don't rush to buy a8 apus cause at the end of this year they are releasing trinity apus they are lot better than above two processors.

 

[tiboilou]

Thanks for your comments, I will thing over it.

Is that true that I3 540 Clarkdale (OC @4GHZ) can beat up a I5 and even sometimes a I7 in some applications?

 

[iam2thecrowe]

why are you choseing such bad options. If you want something decent that is upgradeable and not a dead socket get the i3 2100 and soxket 1555 motherboard, or an amd Phenom x4 and am3+ motherboard. Both are better options for gaming. for a 720p TV a 6850 would do a good job for all games, a 5770/6770 would be good enough though

 

[spentshells]

Im with crow on this one. or even an AM3+ setup.

 

[joe_newbuilder]

I'm going to say the APU setup is the best way to go. You wind up saving a considerable bit of money up front on a GPU solution. You can save this money and get a graphics card when you need or upgrade the APU in a few years, which will give you a faster cpu AND gpu.

I sent the AM3 route and think the APU would have done me better, dollar per performance.

The form factor and application the A8 seems solid for casual gaming.

 

[jaguarskx]

The Radeon HD 6550D in the A8-3580 is the current most powerful integrated graphics core. However, it is still considered to be somewhat weak for games. Overall, it's performance is about a bit worse than the desktop Radeon HD 5550 video card as can be seen in the following benchmarks:

http://pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-3850-Llano-Desktop-Processor-Review-Can-AMD-compete-Sandy-Bridge/Radeon-H

The good thing about a Llano APU is that it can do asymmetrical Crossfire with upto a Radeon HD 6670 video card. A faster card will automatically disable asymmetrical Crossfire most likely due to lower performance as a faster video card may have to wait for the integrated Radeon HD 6550D to finish it's processes before something like a Radeon HD 6750 can continue.

 

[tiboilou]

Best answer selected by tiboilou.

 

[jaguarskx]

I'd say if you expect to use the same cpu and gpu with no upgrades for 4 years this isn't for you. It seems very doubtful that it will run all the newest games over the next 4 years. I'd likely give it 2.

If all you need is basic performance then get the AMD setup and upgrade the APU after 2 years. For setups like yours the APU's are almost purpose built.

Actually, there is no upgrade path for Llano.

It's successor will be Trinity and it will use socket FM2, not socket FM1 which Llano uses.

 

[tiboilou]

Actually, there is no upgrade path for Llano.

It's successor will be Trinity and it will use socket FM2, not socket FM1 which Llano uses.

That's bad! But I decided not buy any FM1 mobo/CPU. I finally choose the safe way with AM3+ with a 970 chipset. But I must say that was attractive for a while but I have been told by a few people not to take FM1 way except if I treat like a laptop.

Getting a Matx case could have save me place. Now I need to drop a ATX middle size cas in my living room. I chose to thins performance/cost over Ergonomic/cost.

 

[joe_newbuilder]

Glad you found your solution.
I have the full size solution and have decided that my case is just part of the living room now. You got a whole lot of future updatability with the route you chose.

Though if you don't have your kit yet, the FM2 platform looks pretty good right about now.

-JNB