APU or CPU?

BlitzingNinja

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In the near future I am going to build a reasonably good gaming computer.

I need an opinion on either to get an APU or a CPU.

Now, I have seen and heard that an AMD A8 6600K APU can get hotter than a CPU. BUT it is a lot cheaper than getting an Intel I7 CPU.

Would you recommend that I get a an APU and spend more money on the CPU cooling fan (Water Cooling) or if I should purchase the Intel I7 CPU and just get a normal CPU cooling fan?

Also another question I'd like to get an opinion on is if an AMD A8 6600K APU would run Battlefield 3 with medium graphics. Even if this is true, should I stick to the APU or purchase a CPU with a separate graphics card?

So basically what I'm asking here is if I should get and APU or a CPU with a separate graphics card?... keeping in mind these two points.

Thank You
 
The i7 and A8 are two completely different animals. The integrated graphics on the APUs are far superior to the Intel offerings, but Intel CPUs have much higher instructions per clock, which translates to better performance.

A dedicated graphics card will offer superior performance to the APUs graphics.

Do you plan on overclocking? There's no such thing as a "normal" cooling fan. You don't necessarily need water cooling with an APU, but is never a bad idea. Closed loop liquid coolers have made water cooling easier for more people.

An APU should run BF3 on medium settings without too much trouble, a strong graphics card will run it better obviously.
 
The i7 and A8 are two completely different animals. The integrated graphics on the APUs are far superior to the Intel offerings, but Intel CPUs have much higher instructions per clock, which translates to better performance.

A dedicated graphics card will offer superior performance to the APUs graphics.

Do you plan on overclocking? There's no such thing as a "normal" cooling fan. You don't necessarily need water cooling with an APU, but is never a bad idea. Closed loop liquid coolers have made water cooling easier for more people.

An APU should run BF3 on medium settings without too much trouble, a strong graphics card will run it better obviously.

Thanks for the fast reply!

No I do not plan on over clocking at all.

Okay, so will the A8 APU get hot quicker than the I7?
Should I maybe get the APU which I stated and purchase a dedicated graphics card as well? Will that work?
 
For gaming i would not get an APU.
Get a CPU and a dedicated graphic card. So for intels it would be the "core I" series and for AMD it would be the FX series.
If you decide to go Intel i'll recommend getting the I5 over the I7. It has better price to performance ratio for gaming.
 
For gaming i would not get an APU.
Get a CPU and a dedicated graphic card. So for intels it would be the "core I" series and for AMD it would be the FX series.
If you decide to go Intel i'll recommend getting the I5 over the I7. It has better price to performance ratio for gaming.

Thanks

Would you recommend Intel or AMD?
I am on a tight budget so I am thinking of getting AMD... Which AMD FX processor would be equivalent to an I7?

I might stick to I7 standards since I will be using video editing software and using the computer for everyday use. I also multitask on my pc a lot and I render a lot.
 
In that case (if you go intel) the I7 would properly be better. The I7 is only worth the extra cash if you do rendering work. So go for it.

You say you are on a budget and you do rendering, then maybe AMD would be a better option.
AMD doesn't really have anything to compare to Intels i7 per core. If you want same performance you will have to go 8 core with the FX-8000 series.
 
In that case (if you go intel) the I7 would properly be better. The I7 is only worth the extra cash if you do rendering work. So go for it.

You say you are on a budget and you do rendering, then maybe AMD would be a better option.
AMD doesn't really have anything to compare to Intels i7 per core. If you want same performance you will have to go 8 core with the FX-8000 series.

I agree, for a budget powerhouse, it's really hard to go wrong with the FX 8000 series. I wouldn't get the 9000 series FX chips because if you overclock, you can push the 8000 series to the speeds of the 9000 series.
 
In that case (if you go intel) the I7 would properly be better. The I7 is only worth the extra cash if you do rendering work. So go for it.

You say you are on a budget and you do rendering, then maybe AMD would be a better option.
AMD doesn't really have anything to compare to Intels i7 per core. If you want same performance you will have to go 8 core with the FX-8000 series.

Ok, I think now that I have come to the conclusion of AMD FX8000 series because of its similar performance ands cheaper price.

Just one more quick question before I go though, which AMD FX8000 series processor should I purchase? I need one which is reasonably cheap but has good performance as well.

---------- Post added at 08:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 AM ----------

I agree, for a budget powerhouse, it's really hard to go wrong with the FX 8000 series. I wouldn't get the 9000 series FX chips because if you overclock, you can push the 8000 series to the speeds of the 9000 series.

Thanks for your opinion but I am not thinking of over clocking any of my parts. Also I believe that the 8000 FX series will be enough for me.
 
Ok, I think now that I have come to the conclusion of AMD FX8000 series because of its similar performance ands cheaper price.

Just one more quick question before I go though, which AMD FX8000 series processor should I purchase?

I would personally pick the FX-8350. but i think that's the most expensive in the 8000 series.
The 8320 is a little cheaper with similar performance. So that could also be considered.
 
I would personally pick the FX-8350. but i think that's the most expensive in the 8000 series.
The 8320 is a little cheaper with similar performance. So that could also be considered.

As a result of your informative replies, I am going to purchase an AMD FX-8320 CPU with a Nvidia GeForce GT630 GPU instead of an AMD A8 APU. Considering I am not an intense gamer.

Thanks to both @BikerEcho and @OhSnapWord for helping come to this decision.
 
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