A6-3670K vs Trinity line

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
My Athlon X2 4000+ is nearing the end of its lifespan and I want to upgrade motherboard/CPU/RAM while keeping all other components. Just looking for a general jack-of-all-trades PC, very light gaming, some video editing, not an HTPC. Would like to keep the price to about $150 or so

Saw a really good deal on an A6-3670K with MB, 8GB RAM for about $130. Looking at the Trinity line looks like I can maybe match the price against an A4-5300 Trinity with 4GB of RAM.

I don't care about the FM1 socket being a dead-end, I plan to use the machine to death for a few years, then replace. I won't be upgrading it every 6 months. How does the older A6-3670K Llano compare to the newer Trinity at about the same price point?
 

AtenRa

Lifer
Feb 2, 2009
14,003
3,362
136
3670K is an unlocked quad core CPU, Trinity 5300/5400 is dual core. For the same price and since you dont care about the FM1 socket i would go the 3670K way ;)

I dont know how much more it will cost but you also have to consider the Trinity A8-5600K
 

Centauri

Golden Member
Dec 10, 2002
1,631
56
91
The 5600K is on sale at NewEgg today for $100 after a $10 code, and you can get an A75-based Asrock board for $55~

Best option for your price, IMO.
 

blckgrffn

Diamond Member
May 1, 2003
9,686
4,345
136
www.teamjuchems.com
Slickdeals front pager - yeah, looks good.

Free ram (1600) and all that for ~$136 after a $15 rebate almost suckered me in. I'd go for the A8 big boy and forget about the A6-K. Get all the GPU you can, plus an extra 200 mhz without futzing.

Almost pulling the trigger here, but resisting because I am snob and can't bring myself to buy another Biostar motherboard after some bad history with them. That said, it looks like a nice enough board and the USB 3.0 header is nice.

I think 8GB of ram vs 4GB would seal the deal for me. If you are going to be using it for a long time (obviously) and buying value motherboards (probably) that only have two slots, you'll want to get dual channel right away and that takes away the option of a 4GB dimm now and one later.

Four full cores has to have the edge when it comes to editing/compressing videos, I would think. edit: eh, bleck. A4, stay away! Calling it a dual core is being a little generous... I would say that part is too cut down to be attractive.

It's still going to be a great step up from your x2, IMHO, either way.
 
Last edited:

nenforcer

Golden Member
Aug 26, 2008
1,777
20
81
Although they are dropping prices like a rock on socket FM1, I wouldn't purchase it at this point since FM2 Trinity is already out.

At least you have the option of upgrading that platform not only next year but later in 2014 as well. It's a platform that will last you longer for not a whole lot more money, still less than $200.
 

blckgrffn

Diamond Member
May 1, 2003
9,686
4,345
136
www.teamjuchems.com
Although they are dropping prices like a rock on socket FM1, I wouldn't purchase it at this point since FM2 Trinity is already out.

At least you have the option of upgrading that platform not only next year but later in 2014 as well. It's a platform that will last you longer for not a whole lot more money, still less than $200.

Honestly, that's part two of why I don't have one of these deal coming to my house.

On the other hand, if the budget is tight, its still a really good deal. Not everyone can just spend another $50 for "future proofing" but negligible gain today.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/676?vs=399

Is the 5600k system worth ~20% more based on that? The benches seem close enough to be pretty meaningless a year or two from now.

Honestly, I was surprised the beating the A10 laid on the old A8. If AMD was only competing against themselves, they'd be do pretty well :)
 
Last edited:

Hubb1e

Senior member
Aug 25, 2011
396
0
71
it sounds like a fantastic deal and perfect for your needs. The A6 is a K model and you can overclock it easily. Four cores vs two, more ram, and overclockable. If you are the kind of guy who replaces the motherboard when you buy a new CPU, then there is no reason at all to get FM2 over FM1. Go for it.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
As future-proofing was not part of the equation and since this is a really big upgrade over what I have for very little money, I ordered one.

Even without overclocking the jump in CPU and going 2GB to 8GB RAM should be 3-4 times more powerful than I have now. For $130~ or so more than worth it.
 

NightFox

Member
Apr 28, 2000
101
0
76
I am thinking of jumping on this deal also. I have a x2 5400+, gt 240 DDR3, 3 GB ram. Would this deal be a good upgrade for 130 and how is gt 240 DDR3 compared to the on chip GPU? I mostly play world of tanks and not even that much.
edit: decided to buy it.
 
Last edited: