A10-5800k build would max games at 720p monitor?

It would play well, but it depends on the game.

No it wouldn't max very many games, and almost none of the newer ones. It would however play most of them on low-medium settings fairly well at that resolution.

A Radeon 7750 or Geforce 650 with a $60 Pentium G600 series is probably going to be closer to what you want for around that kind of money.

I think it's fair to say that the A10 can get higher if not max settings on most games outside the top like 1% of blockbusters. I don't understand the low respect for this chip. I would be inclined to side with Twelve if you're looking for something for pure gaming, but if you're wanting something with a bit more headroom for multitasking, general use, editing and gaming -some simultaneously- the A10 is perfect. And you could use a lower power PSU that doesn't require a 6 pin, if you're really trying to scrape the budget or reuse an old one.

Be sure to get better RAM in this case though, DDR3-1866 with decent timings would be optimal. This will make a huge difference. And get at least 8GB.

I've seen benchmarks of this running Metro on medium at higher resolutions than 720p. This is such an underrated chip. 100W total (maybe a SB/IB Pentium + HD7750 can under draw this) for the great performance it gives? 65W for the A10-5700 with still 90% of the performance? I was amazed at the performance of the Sandy Bridge line when it came out, and I feel that same feeling over the Trinity line, especially the A10.

Could you give us a link to metro on medium or higher settings with 720p + res with playable FPS?

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/2047/8/

That link basically supports exactly what I said in my first post. And anything under 30 fps is considered unplayable by most.

It was 31fps and 30% more pixels than than 720p. Presumably you'd be closer to 40fps at 720p.

And I'm not arguing with you, just giving you the link you asked for.

As Twelve said and graciously provided a link for, 31fps is at a higher resolution than OP is planning on playing at AND is considered by most to actually be the minimum for playability. There are a few people who absolutely need HD7990s in tri-crossfire so they can max out CoD at 300fps on their 50k resolution screens, and there are some of us who have realistic expectations given we aren't spending thousands on hardware equipment, but aren't playing on satellite quality resolutions. OP is looking at getting an A10, he knows there are compromises given the modest hardware, but it is more capable than you are letting on.

And, as I said, even 30 fps on Metro (on the higher resolution) is good considering it is one of the more demanding games on the market. Maybe Witcher 2 and Far Cry 3 I can think of having more demanding requirements for a PC off the top of my head. That's three games released of how many in the last three years? Of how many total?

an A10 based setup is tailor made for gamers gaming at low resolutions of 1600*900 or lower.
so yeah it would not max out games but surely would play them all on high i guarantee with playable fps.
should you ever need more graphics horsepower you add crossfire a 6670 with it

I would definately crossfire an A10 with a 6670 if I were to build a system around it. Will give it a nice bump in the GPU department. Just make sure it's GDDR5 6670 and not DDR3 for the ram there is a substancial performance difference between the two.

I've never seen any dual graphics benchmarks that are any better than a bare 6670. Passmark video shows a LOWER score for 7660D+6670 crossfire than just the 6670 alone. Run the A10 alone, or buy a decent graphics card, IMO.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cpu/46157-amd-a10-5800k-d...

I think you all are missing his question... He is asking if he can MAX out games with it, not play at medium.

Which is why I initially recommended at least a Radeon 7750.

yes an A10 can max out games with a 6670 cf at 720p with playable fps

I think people have different definitions of "Max out" games. To me, it means killing a game like it's nothing. I don't even feel like my 7850 can max out BF3 because I had to disable MSAA to get sustained 60+fps in multiplayer at 1680x1050. It's close, but all the settings are not on max. Turning max MSAA on and getting 45fps with occasional stutters is not "maxed out".

So I think we have two arguments going on. Can you game pretty well at 720p with a A10? Sure. Can you, as the thread title asks, max out newer games with the A10? No.

I suppose if you are being pedantic, then the A10 will max out older and less demanding games, but I doubt that is what the OP asked.

ok maybe not max out play them all on high with 30 or so fps even in demanding games