AMD A10 7860K/7890K build

[jalapenojon]

I'm looking at a new build and I was impressed that those APUs also had 512 stream cores for the graphics aspect. If I paired it with a GPU in CrossFire, I'd have a quad core CPU with I believe 1,024 stream cores which would place it closer to the PS4's 1,152 stream cores versus the XB1's 768 stream cores.

What I haven't been able to find out is which AMD GPU it would work with in this case. Those APUs are $99.99/$129.99 and that is before some possible price drops as the Ryzen CPUs arrive into stores. I'd like to know what GPUs would work. I'm guessing the RX460 would be a good start. If I get a 2GB version, would that mean 2GB from the RAM would be allocated to the VRAM as well for a total of 4GB VRAM?

I'm definitely buying a SSD as well. Would Windows games such as Killer Instinct, Forza, and other XB1 games like that still need to be on the same HDD/SSD as the OS? I'd buy a SSD each for my Steam and Origin games.

Those APU + GPU specs should be sufficient for fighting games such as SFV and the upcoming Tekken 7.

I'm going for 16GB in RAM due to the iGPU taking up like 2GB to maybe 4GB (I'd match the VRAM with the GPU in this case). I'm shooting for a mono with four RAM slots in this case. Does the iGPU use one or two of those slots?

I'd love to go with the Ryzen CPU but I'd love to see how it plays out in the meantime along with what Intel could throw out.

[Ralf]

Originally posted by jalapenojon:

I'd like to know what GPUs would work. I'm guessing the RX460 would be a good start. If I get a 2GB version, would that mean 2GB from the RAM would be allocated to the VRAM as well for a total of 4GB VRAM?

You should wake up dude, RX 460 is way too strong for Dual Graphics, you watched too much A12-9800 videos.

http://www.amd.com/en-us/innovations/software-technologies/dual-graphics

A10 78x0 APUs work with R7 250 (aka HD 7750).

[SundownKid]

Cores don't matter as much in PC games. Console games are optimized to utilize many cores, but PC games only use 2-4 cores so having more than that doesn't matter with performance as much. You will be very disappointed if you think that PC games work the same as console games, tech wise.

If you are on a strict budget then the just released i3-7100 or Pentium G4560 will work better in terms of performance for the vast majority of PC games compared to a 5+ years old APU.

For GPU, a RX 480 is the typical spec for 1080p 60 fps, RX 460 is somewhat weak but will work for not very intensive gamaes.

[Alexalmighty]

Originally posted by SundownKid:

Cores don't matter as much in PC games. Console games are optimized to utilize many cores, but PC games only use 2-4 cores so having more than that doesn't matter with performance as much. You will be very disappointed if you think that PC games work the same as console games, tech wise.

If you are on a strict budget then the just released i3-7100 or Pentium G4560 will work better in terms of performance for the vast majority of PC games compared to a 5+ years old APU.

For GPU, a RX 480 is the typical spec for 1080p 60 fps, RX 460 is somewhat weak but will work for not very intensive gamaes.

+1 dont get amd cpus or apus until ryzen is released and is good

[jalapenojon]

Originally posted by Ralf:

Originally posted by jalapenojon:

I'd like to know what GPUs would work. I'm guessing the RX460 would be a good start. If I get a 2GB version, would that mean 2GB from the RAM would be allocated to the VRAM as well for a total of 4GB VRAM?

You should wake up dude, RX 460 is way too strong for Dual Graphics, you watched too much A12-9800 videos.

http://www.amd.com/en-us/innovations/software-technologies/dual-graphics

A10 78x0 APUs work with R7 250 (aka HD 7750).

LOL...I'd be okay with a R7 250 since it has 384 stream cores and with the APU CrossFire, you'd get 768 cores much like the XB1.

If the APU has 512 stream cores, that'd be more than the 480 required for SFV. If Tekken 7 matches those minimum specs, might not even need a GPU in this case. Fighting games and eSports games don't need as much horsepower as graphically intense FPS games.

[jalapenojon]

Originally posted by SundownKid:

Cores don't matter as much in PC games. Console games are optimized to utilize many cores, but PC games only use 2-4 cores so having more than that doesn't matter with performance as much. You will be very disappointed if you think that PC games work the same as console games, tech wise.

If you are on a strict budget then the just released i3-7100 or Pentium G4560 will work better in terms of performance for the vast majority of PC games compared to a 5+ years old APU.

For GPU, a RX 480 is the typical spec for 1080p 60 fps, RX 460 is somewhat weak but will work for not very intensive gamaes.

I have a LGA1150 socket for my mobo. An i3 or G3258 would do the trick in this case along with a new GPU. (GDDR5 1GB GT 730 which has 384 cuda cores).

Given that the PS4 & XB1 are x86 systems, it's possible to look closely at the GPU specs of both for a starting point. I'm content with playing in 720p resolution as I decided I'm not going to get sucked into the arms race of PC gaming. And those games are made with consoles in mind as well.

[jalapenojon]

Originally posted by Alexalmighty502:

Originally posted by SundownKid:

Cores don't matter as much in PC games. Console games are optimized to utilize many cores, but PC games only use 2-4 cores so having more than that doesn't matter with performance as much. You will be very disappointed if you think that PC games work the same as console games, tech wise.

If you are on a strict budget then the just released i3-7100 or Pentium G4560 will work better in terms of performance for the vast majority of PC games compared to a 5+ years old APU.

For GPU, a RX 480 is the typical spec for 1080p 60 fps, RX 460 is somewhat weak but will work for not very intensive gamaes.

+1 dont get amd cpus or apus until ryzen is released and is good

I don't disagree with that assessment. There will be some Ryzen four core cpus without hyperthreading. Only need at least four threads and a quad core would be good in this case and hence the A10 line of APUs.

[SundownKid]

If you have an LGA 1150 then why are you considering a new build? Better to put the money into an i5 or i7 CPU then consider an AMD A10 which would probably be a downgrade from whatever CPU you currently hve.

I wouldn't call 720p part of the "arms race". The vast majority of people game at 1080p 60 fps, that's normal. 1440p and above is the "arms race" territory.

[Rove]

Though in theory a A10-7860K/7890K APU should be able to crossfire with any GPU I'm not sure that AMD has actually added support for that. I know it will be possible to use 2 different GPUs in DirectX 12 if games add support for it, even if the GPUs are different brands and generations. This isn't crossfire or SLI but rather a feature of DirectX 12. I don't know how many games will properly take advantage of this. I know "Ashes of the Singularity" has this feature. It shown in some reviews with a high end Nvidia and high end AMD card working in the same PC and improving performance above either card alone. Also it's shown with multiple generations fo cards together.

Anyways though if you can wait for Ryzen I think it launches like February 20th or something. There may be a Ryzen APU with 4 cores, hyperthreading and integrated GPU similar to the RX 460 so that you can buy that alone and get better performance than the plan you first posted.

If you don't want to wait you could also get a AMD FX 6300 / 8300 and RX 470 or something.

If you are buying a GPU (as long as you have a good 500W PSU to power it) I suggest that you look up from the RX 460 to the RX 470 which is about 65% more expensive but has about double (+100%) the technical stats, GFLOPS, Fillrates, RAM, memory bandwidth, and so on.

Compare on Wikipedia, AMD Radeon RX 400 sereies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units#Arctic_Islands_.284xx.29_Series

Here's the cheapest / best RX 470 I found currently:
Asus Radeon RX 470 4GB STRIX Video Card
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/JfyxFT/asus-radeon-rx-470-4gb-strix-video-card-rog-strix-rx470-o4g-gaming
Jet $169.99 In stock $169.99 (free shipping over $35)

You also mention having a LGA 1150 motherboard? What CPU in that and maybe just re-use it so you can afford the RX 470 more easily? If you don't have a CPU why do you already have a motherboard?

You know you'd need a socket FM2+ for a new APU, a socket AM4 or whatever the new one is for a Ryzen APU / CPU and a socket AM3+ for a FX 6300 / 8300?

[jalapenojon]

Originally posted by SundownKid:

If you have an LGA 1150 then why are you considering a new build? Better to put the money into an i5 or i7 CPU then consider an AMD A10 which would probably be a downgrade from whatever CPU you currently hve.

I wouldn't call 720p part of the "arms race". The vast majority of people game at 1080p 60 fps, that's normal. 1440p and above is the "arms race" territory.

Some 8 core FX cpus are $90 at MicroCenter and given the new Ryzen CPUs come out soon, it's possible those costs go down a little bit more over the next few months. It'd be foolish to not consider everything.

Some i3 cpus that runs at 3.7 or 3.8 ghz are getting closer to the $100 mark on Amazon. That along with a RX460 4GB would be enough to get me to 2019 or 2020. Who knows if the G3258 can be overclocked on my mobo? (Will double check)

I will not rule out an Am4+ cpu as well.

I'm sure a lot of threads like this will be popping up once Ryzen comes out and either they go with Ryzen or go with the older CPUs.

[jalapenojon]

Rove, thanks for the info regarding APUs. I will definitely consider the RX 470 given that it has 2048 stream cores which places it below the PS4 Pro spec wise. Even a 8GB version falls just below $200 but I'll be happy with 4GB. That should get me through for several years before I build another PC.

Just looked at the official page and it says R7 250 GPU for Dual Graphics. That RX 470 seems a good pick.

[jalapenojon]

And if anyone knows how many shader cores the Ryzen APUs would have, that'd be great to know. It looks like they will come out 2H 2017.

[Alexalmighty]

Originally posted by jalapenojon:

And if anyone knows how many shader cores the Ryzen APUs would have, that'd be great to know. It looks like they will come out 2H 2017.

no one knows

[Rove]

Hey I just want to point out that while the RX 470 is slightly under the PS4 Pro at base clockspeed it's boost clockspeed (going to be available unless temperatures are too high so as long as you have a few fans in your case and ambient temperature is not like 40C or something) put it well above the PS4 Pro in performance at over 4.9 TFLOPS compared to the PS4 Pro at only 4.2 TFLOPS.

[jalapenojon]

Originally posted by Rove:

Hey I just want to point out that while the RX 470 is slightly under the PS4 Pro at base clockspeed it's boost clockspeed (going to be available unless temperatures are too high so as long as you have a few fans in your case and ambient temperature is not like 40C or something) put it well above the PS4 Pro in performance at over 4.9 TFLOPS compared to the PS4 Pro at only 4.2 TFLOPS.

Very good point. RX 470 could go a long way and should be enough to run fighting games that only come out on future 4K consoles. Only thing I'd have to worry long term is the CPU.

[jalapenojon]

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/54721/amds-next-gen-apu-zen-cpu-cores-vega-gpu-hbm2/index.html

Raven Ridge APU will have 1,024 shader cores along with that HBM and DDR4. You basically have a PS4 with that APU and if you use a matching 1,024 shader core GPU, you basically have a four core CPU (maybe with 8 threads) and a RX 470.

I can wait until later this year and stick with my "XBox 1/2" PC until then...LOL!