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AMD A8-3850 (Fusion) and Battefield 3 at 1080p?

L

lsquare

Senior member
I'm thinking of a fusion (llano) build. The reason why is because I intend to get an Ivy Bridge base build sometime next year. I know I could go with SB right now, but I also want to recycle the parts for a storage server and SB is a bit of an overkill. A llano build can easily be modified for a WHS 2011 build, which is perfect and it has integrated graphics. I know the integrated graphics won't be very fast, but I also intend to pair that up with either a Radeon 6870 or a 6950. Will that be enough to run Battlefield 3 at 1080p in medium quality settings?

Does anyone here have a llano base build and play BF3 at 1080p?

What's the overclocking potential of the A8-3850? I know it's a locked processor, but what is the general overclocking potential?

Any recommendations for a decent motherboard to go along with it? Thanks!
 
Most MB won't OC very well without the K edition. Do not get Llano with intention of good OC, wait for the K version if you want that.

As for BF3, I think A8 @ 4ghz will be fine for that.
 
I don't see why you should go with A8-3850 when you pair it with a discrete GPU. i3-2100 would be faster and cost a bit less.
 
lehtv said:
I don't see why you should go with A8-3850 when you pair it with a discrete GPU. i3-2100 would be faster and cost a bit less.
Click to expand...

Atleast the A8-3850 can overclock abit. I think in general the A8-3850 is a better overall CPU than a 2100
(esp if you overclock the A8-3850 abit).

Also BF3 handles alot of threads pretty well, haveing a dual core for a game like that,
might not be the best way to go.


BF3 CPU bench's: (A8-3850 > i3-2100) (stock vs stock)
http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page7.html


HT may cause stuttering:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-13.html

We’ve also read about folks complaining about stuttering issues caused by Hyper-Threading; disabling the feature seems to smooth things out for them.
Click to expand...

What's the overclocking potential of the A8-3850? I know it's a locked processor, but what is the general overclocking potential?
Click to expand...
Normal overclocking is changeing the FSB from 100-> 120~133 mhz.
(dont touch the multipler, it ll change and show change, but it wont actually work)

This results in:
29x 100 = 2900 mhz stock
29x 120 = 3480 mhz overclock
29x 133 = 3857 mhz overclock

You ll probably land between 3.5ghz - 3.8ghz.
Remember these chips are slightly faster mhz for mhz than the Phenom II's.

Haveing a 3.8ghz phenom II x4 or so isnt that bad, thats what a A8-3850 would be like.



http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1687/1/
Legitreviews tested 7 (3850's) cpus:
nr1 = max at 3303.1 MHz
nr2 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr3 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr4 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr5 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr6 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr7 = max at 3826.5 MHz

So ~3.7ghz seem to be the common grounds for a 3850 oc (6/7 cpus reach 3.7ghz or better)
 
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If you want an ib base build and you want to recycle parts for a WHS, then why not start with a pentium G6xx series build? The llano motherboards are so outrageously expensive that it kills the value of the platform. When you get your ib chances are you can get it with a cheap mobo combo and pair that with the pentium for the server.
 
The llano motherboards are so outrageously expensive that it kills the value of the platform.
Click to expand...


Most of the motherboards are in the 58-68$ price range (on newegg for a FM1 one).
For what hes planning he wouldnt need to spend more than 58$ on a motherboard.
 
antisocialmunky said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIYnfaL0IX4&feature=related

As I said in your [H] post, yes surprisingly it works quite well. 😛
Click to expand...


Thats because hes running that on his iGPU 😛
(although it has a small 6650 or something in crossfire with the APU)
and at 1920x1020 with medium settings.
Also looks like hes running it in a window? or has some issues with the game.

If you get a "real" discrete card like a 6870 or so, it ll run much much faster.


Naturally the game runs better on a 200$ graphics card than on a 40$ one like in that video is used.
 
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I have nothing against the Llano CPU itself. The only issue with Llano is it seems AMD has been having a high defective rate on some of these chips. I would definitely recommend it over an i3-2100. Even a decent GPU like an HD 6850 would fare well with an A8. Just make sure you install the latest drivers.



Newegg has a $10 off on the Biostar Llano boards.
 
Arkadrel said:
Atleast the A8-3850 can overclock abit. I think in general the A8-3850 is a better overall CPU than a 2100
(esp if you overclock the A8-3850 abit).

Also BF3 handles alot of threads pretty well, haveing a dual core for a game like that,
might not be the best way to go.


BF3 CPU bench's: (A8-3850 > i3-2100) (stock vs stock)
http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page7.html


HT may cause stuttering:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-13.html



Normal overclocking is changeing the FSB from 100-> 120~133 mhz.
(dont touch the multipler, it ll change and show change, but it wont actually work)

This results in:
29x 100 = 2900 mhz stock
29x 120 = 3480 mhz overclock
29x 133 = 3857 mhz overclock

You ll probably land between 3.5ghz - 3.8ghz.
Remember these chips are slightly faster mhz for mhz than the Phenom II's.

Haveing a 3.8ghz phenom II x4 or so isnt that bad, thats what a A8-3850 would be like.



http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1687/1/
Legitreviews tested 7 (3850's) cpus:
nr1 = max at 3303.1 MHz
nr2 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr3 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr4 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr5 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr6 = max at 3679.5 MHz
nr7 = max at 3826.5 MHz

So ~3.7ghz seem to be the common grounds for a 3850 oc (6/7 cpus reach 3.7ghz or better)
Click to expand...

Where are you seeing the A83850 faster than the i3 2120? All I see is the same ave frame rate and only 1 or 2 FPS lower on the minumum. I dont think this is a meaningful difference. And the whole test looks bogus. Nearly all the CPUs are giving the same framerate until you get down into low end dual cores. Clearly the test is graphics limited.
 
frozentundra123456 said:
Where are you seeing the A83850 faster than the i3 2120? All I see is the same ave frame rate and only 1 or 2 FPS lower on the minumum. I dont think this is a meaningful difference. And the whole test looks bogus. Nearly all the CPUs are giving the same framerate until you get down into low end dual cores. Clearly the test is graphics limited.
Click to expand...


Really, it doesn't matter, they trade blows in gaming. The best thing about the Llano is it can be had for around the same price and you can game with it out of the box without a discrete GPU.
 
One nice thing about the A-series is you can add a single cheap 6670 GPU and get crossfie performance in games, giving it a significant cost/performance advantage.
 
fourdegrees11 said:
One nice thing about the A-series is you can add a single cheap 6670 GPU and get crossfie performance in games, giving it a significant cost/performance advantage.
Click to expand...

That kinda configuration will still give piss poor performance with BF3 at 1080p.

Perhaps with lower resolution the a-3850 would be fine but if the Op plans to buy this,much better cpus for $130 like the x4 965 and the i3 2100 if you plan a dedicated gpu.
 
LoneNinja said:
I wish they would give a release date on those, I'm thinking it would make a great replacement for my Phenom 9850 running HD 3200 graphics.
Click to expand...

Heh, I'm also running an Agena 9850. Only with a HD 5870. And I'm looking to buy a new CPU-MoBo-RAM combo as well - probably Ivy Bridge, or maybe the next Bulldozer desktop version, if it's improved enough.
 
fourdegrees11 said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIYnfaL0IX4


Piss poor? For a machine the OP will recycle in 6 months...
Click to expand...

If he is going ivy bridge why won't he go z68 and like a i3 2100?

Why fm1 or some other toss away platform now if he didn't plan upgrades for a few years sure i think a am3+ or fm1 would make sense.

In reference to"piss poor" i was referring to the gpu not so much cpu but when i tested BF3 with my gtx570 and 1100t setting the cpu affinity to 4 cores making it a 4ghz x4 955 for the BF3 EXE i found a much lower minimum and the average was lower as well .

Now the i3 2100 and the x4 965 would make more sense for gaming but if he can live with the onboard gpu in the a-3850 then by all means its a excellent hold him over choice till ivy is here.
 
skipsneeky2 said:
If he is going ivy bridge why won't he go z68 and like a i3 2100?

Why fm1 or some other toss away platform now if he didn't plan upgrades for a few years sure i think a am3+ or fm1 would make sense.

In reference to"piss poor" i was referring to the gpu not so much cpu but when i tested BF3 with my gtx570 and 1100t setting the cpu affinity to 4 cores making it a 4ghz x4 955 for the BF3 EXE i found a much lower minimum and the average was lower as well .

Now the i3 2100 and the x4 965 would make more sense for gaming but if he can live with the onboard gpu in the a-3850 then by all means its a excellent hold him over choice till ivy is here.
Click to expand...

He's not going to upgrade this system to IB. He's going to toss it in a server, and build a new IB rig. It's all in the original post 😉
 
fourdegrees11 said:
He's not going to upgrade this system to IB. He's going to toss it in a server, and build a new IB rig. It's all in the original post 😉
Click to expand...

I still stand by my earlier posts the Op intends to match it with a 6870 or a 6950....that makes a a8-3850 pointless cause $130 buys you a much faster x4 965 with plenty of l3 cache and a quicker clockspeed or a i3 2100 with much faster single threaded performance thats still up to par with the amd quads for gaming.

Few forum members here matched up a 6800 series radeon with a i3 2100 and got excellent performance...in most cases the a8-3850 performs like a athlon 2 then anything else.

As a stand alone with the onboard gpu by itself with no 6870 or 6950 yes...the a8-3850 makes sense...

I did consider this platform myself for my build when i had a much lower income i did enough digging and enough forum members here in these forums told me to stay clear...

I would only get a a8-3850 if the damn chip included a motherboard and was at a incredibly low price but at full $130 retail with a 6870 or 6950 i think most people will agree a i3 2100 or a x4 955 is the best way to go.
 
skipsneeky2 said:
I still stand by my earlier posts the Op intends to match it with a 6870 or a 6950....that makes a a8-3850 pointless cause $130 buys you a much faster x4 965 with plenty of l3 cache and a quicker clockspeed or a i3 2100 with much faster single threaded performance thats still up to par with the amd quads for gaming.

Few forum members here matched up a 6800 series radeon with a i3 2100 and got excellent performance...in most cases the a8-3850 performs like a athlon 2 then anything else.

As a stand alone with the onboard gpu by itself with no 6870 or 6950 yes...the a8-3850 makes sense...

I did consider this platform myself for my build when i had a much lower income i did enough digging and enough forum members here in these forums told me to stay clear...

I would only get a a8-3850 if the damn chip included a motherboard and was at a incredibly low price but at full $130 retail with a 6870 or 6950 i think most people will agree a i3 2100 or a x4 955 is the best way to go.
Click to expand...

It's still a much cheaper option for the OP, it is capable of playing the game @ 1080p for about $200 (A8 wih 6670). In addition, a dirt cheap PSU will be capable of powering the rig vs what's needed for a higher end card. It's the OP's money, personally I would want to keep it cheap knowing I'm building a high end rig in a few monhs.
 
fourdegrees11 said:
It's still a much cheaper option for the OP, it is capable of playing the game @ 1080p for about $200 (A8 wih 6670). In addition, a dirt cheap PSU will be capable of powering the rig vs what's needed for a higher end card. It's the OP's money, personally I would want to keep it cheap knowing I'm building a high end rig in a few monhs.
Click to expand...

Highly doubt a 6670 hybrid crossfire with the onboard 6550 will offer 1080p but it will offer some sort of BF3 experience.

Check my profile and you will see my 6570 does play BF3 thread.

I got only 800x600 on low and that barely got playable framerates being the bottom of the barrel card and my e8200 barely bottlenecked it but perhaps matched with a 6670 he could do some 1440x900 or something action.

But the rest of your post i agree with but the Op mentioned he was gonna put a 6870 or 6950 in so he still is gonna put in a bigger psu obviously to go with it which leads us to full circle again...

Edit:if he took the 6870 or 6950 out and put it into his later build and stayed with the 6550 onboard that would make worlds of sense too
 
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skipsneeky2 said:
Highly doubt a 6670 hybrid crossfire with the onboard 6550 will offer 1080p but it will offer some sort of BF3 experience.

Check my profile and you will see my 6570 does play BF3 thread.

I got only 800x600 on low and that barely got playable framerates being the bottom of the barrel card and my e8200 barely bottlenecked it but perhaps matched with a 6670 he could do some 1440x900 or something action.

But the rest of your post i agree with but the Op mentioned he was gonna put a 6870 or 6950 in so he still is gonna put in a bigger psu obviously to go with it which leads us to full circle again...
Click to expand...

Like I said its the OP's money.

Did you not see the video I posted earlier in this thread?
 
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