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Started by migster18 | | 11 answers
AMD Kaveri crossfire question?
I am going to be building a budget build soon and I was wondering if it is a better idea to crossfire the a10-7850k with a radeon 250 or should I get a better graphics card and not worry about it? Is one more cost efficient? Are there any newly supported radeon grahpics cards (I haven't found anything)?
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a b U Graphics card
September 16, 2014 7:31:59 PM

This would be my build. I mean similar to my build.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8stHpg) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8stHpg/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad785kxbjabox) | $179.99 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd14) | $71.20 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [ASRock FM2A88M EXTREME4+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-fm2a88m...) | $59.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/a-data-memory-ax3u2400w4g1...) | $84.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Seagate Constellation ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-driv...) | $58.49 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB DUAL-X Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373...) | $199.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-case-z11plus) | $49.99 @ Micro Center
**Power Supply** | [Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-ea650pl...) | $96.70 @ Amazon
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $791.34
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-16 22:31 EDT-0400 |
a c 150 À AMD
a c 250 U Graphics card
September 16, 2014 7:22:36 PM

Or try -

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.65 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($77.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $697.55
a b À AMD
a c 168 U Graphics card
September 16, 2014 7:03:50 PM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER H6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB DEVIL Video Card ($170.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $732.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-16 22:05 EDT-0400
a b U Graphics card
September 16, 2014 7:01:58 PM

As much as possible I would like to recommend i5. But having a Kaveri is quite satisfying. I record some of my DOTA2 games without problem. I would also like to recommend the FX8350 but I don`t have a rig with this CPU but according to the sources in the internet it`s quite impressive.

Overall if you opt for a Kaveri, it is not a bad CPU/APU. I would still recommend the i5.
September 16, 2014 6:56:01 PM

iamlegend said:
The edge of the Kaveri when comparing to i5 is the HSA (Heteregoneous system architecture) which is underdeveloped at this present. As you may know Kaveri have 12 compute cores which are 8 for GPU and 4 for CPU but 4 cores are utilized for compute performance and 8 for graphics (having the integrated graphics) so applications that support the HSA architecture will utilize all this 12 cores which will be a mile better than the i5, but those softwares that supported by HSA were very limited at this present, and we can see a change in not so near future. :) 


Thanks for the information, if i decide to get an AMD processor as opposed to an i5, would you suggest a Kaveri, or a different one? I am primarily wanting to be able to stream League of legends, and maybe some other games. (I am kind of new to computers and the parts, but I am trying to learn.) :) 
September 16, 2014 6:56:00 PM

iamlegend said:
The edge of the Kaveri when comparing to i5 is the HSA (Heteregoneous system architecture) which is underdeveloped at this present. As you may know Kaveri have 12 compute cores which are 8 for GPU and 4 for CPU but 4 cores are utilized for compute performance and 8 for graphics (having the integrated graphics) so applications that support the HSA architecture will utilize all this 12 cores which will be a mile better than the i5, but those softwares that supported by HSA were very limited at this present, and we can see a change in not so near future. :) 


Thanks for the information, if i decide to get an AMD processor as opposed to an i5, would you suggest a Kaveri, or a different one? I am primarily wanting to be able to stream League of legends, and maybe some other games. (I am kind of new to computers and the parts, but I am trying to learn.) :) 
a b U Graphics card
September 16, 2014 6:53:12 PM

The edge of the Kaveri when comparing to i5 is the HSA (Heteregoneous system architecture) which is underdeveloped at this present. As you may know Kaveri have 12 compute cores which are 8 for GPU and 4 for CPU but 4 cores are utilized for compute performance and 8 for graphics (having the integrated graphics) so applications that support the HSA architecture will utilize all this 12 cores which will be a mile better than the i5, but those softwares that supported by HSA were very limited at this present, and we can see a change in not so near future. :) 
September 16, 2014 6:43:22 PM

bignastyid said:
If you plan on using a dedicated GPU i woudln't even bother wasting money on an APU to begin with. Whats you budget for the tower(not including monitor, os and accessories)?


About 700$ or 750$. With a Kaveri and a Radeon 270 video card, I am around 673$ according to Pcpartpicker.
I would be more willing to get an intel i5, but based off of what I have read and benchmarks I have seen, the Kaveri seems to perform almost as well as an i5.
Here is a very "rough draft", if you will, of what I was looking at for my build.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/migster188/saved/ZC88TW
a b U Graphics card
September 16, 2014 6:10:00 PM

Kaveri owner here. I would go to i5 and discreet GPU for your build. Don`t get kaveri.
a c 150 À AMD
a c 250 U Graphics card
September 16, 2014 5:56:33 PM

Get a better card and don't worry about it. Even the R250 will be 10x stronger than the integrated graphics.

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