The AMD A8-7650K APU Review, Also New Testing Methodology
by Ian Cutress on May 12, 2015 10:00 AM ESTTest Setup
| Test Setup | |
| Processor | AMD A8-7650K 2 Modules, 4 Threads 3.3 GHz Base, 3.7 GHz Turbo 95W, MSRP $105 |
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE F2A88X-UP4 |
| DRAM | G.Skill RipjawsZ 4x4GB DDR3-2133 9-11-10 |
| Low End GPU | Integrated ASUS R7 240 2GB DDR3 Dual Graphics with R7 240 |
| Mid Range GPU | MSI R9 285 Gaming 2GB MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB |
| High End GPU | MSI R9 290X Gaming LE 4GB ASUS GTX 980 Strix 4GB |
| Power Supply | OCZ 1250W Gold |
| Storage Drive | Crucial MX200 1TB |
| Operating System | Windows 7.1 64-bit, Build 7601 |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Nepton 140XL CLC |
Many thanks to...
We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our test bed:
Thank you to AMD for providing us with the R9 290X 4GB GPUs.
Thank you to ASUS for providing us with GTX 980 Strix GPUs and the R7 240 DDR3 GPU.
Thank you to ASRock and ASUS for providing us with some IO testing kit.
Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with Nepton 140XL CLCs.
Thank you to Corsair for providing us with an AX1200i PSU.
Thank you to Crucial for providing us with MX200 SSDs.
Thank you to G.Skill and Corsair for providing us with memory.
Thank you to MSI for providing us with the GTX 770 Lightning GPUs.
Thank you to OCZ for providing us with PSUs.
Thank you to Rosewill for providing us with PSUs and RK-9100 keyboards.
AMD A8-7650K Overclocking
Methodology
Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with PovRay and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.
For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.
Overclock Results
The base frequency of the A8-7650K goes up to 3.7 GHz in the highest turbo mode, and we were able to jump right into 4.0 GHz without much problem. That being said, our sample did not move much above that, giving 4.1 GHz but at 4.2 GHz we noticed that the CPU frequency would decrease during sustained workloads, resulting in a zero performance increase overall.
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CPUGPUGURU - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
AMD APU is a watt, money, time wasting bottlenecking inferior choice that there is next to no market for, for AMD fusion was and still is a delusion. Intel's world class IPC performance, node process and a dGPU are a MUCH BETTER investment.Intel's APU's performance advantage makes them a wise choice for the Tablet, Convertible, or Ultrabook market, I'm looking forward to a Surface Skylake to go mobile with.
mayankleoboy1 - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
Ian, this is probably the 3rd or 4th testing methodology/benchmark changes that you have seen during AT. My question is:Do you think that Multithreading is *really* more mainstream now? As in, do most general purpose softwares use more than 2 cores?
Ian Cutress - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
The way I like to think about it is that even if software only uses one core, I like to have many on the go at the time. Chrome tabs are a nice example.But multithreading is now being taught in some CS undergraduate classes, meaning that at least it's slowly entering the software ecosystem as default knowledge, rather than as an afterthought. In my opinion, that's always been a big barrier to multithreading (as well as having parallelizable code).
Another thought is consider the software you use. Is it made by a big multinational with a strong software development team? If yes, chances are it is multithreaded. If it uses a big commercial engine, it probably is as well. If it's based on a small software team, then it more likely isn't.
-Ian
V900 - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
Multithreading being taught at CS classes today doesnt matter much.It's not like multithreading is some unknown new technology we can't take advantage of. Dual/quad core processors have been common for over a decade.
OS X have Grand Central Despatch. Windows 7/8 can take advantage of multithreading.
The problem is that it's not all tasks on a computer/in an operating system that does benefit from multithreading.
And that's not going to change. Otherwise we wouldn't see AMD going back to the drawing board and throwing the module-concept in the trash in order to focus on single thread performance like in the Zen CPU.
So unless you know you need it today, multithreading performance is a lousy parameter to choose a CPU from, cause it won't get better in the future.
ppi - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
But now, how many real tasks, where CPU is the real bottleneck ...... and not GPU, storage, internet connection, or gasp ... the user ...
.. and such task is not multithreaded on reasonably written software?
Oxford Guy - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link
According to rumor you mean.ToTTenTranz - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
Why does Anandtech keep refusing to test lower performance CPUs and APUs with Mantle-enabled games?Those should be a great way to predict the advantages of lower CPU overhead in DX12 and Vulkan.
CPUGPUGURU - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
BECAUSE Mantle is AMD ONLY and DX12/Vulkan will be Intel NVIDIA and AMD, THAT'S WHY.ALSO, Win10 DX12 HAS NOT Been released, drivers are beta at best, SO WHY waste time testing something that's beta and has NOT been released, WHY?
You AMD pumpoholics are brain dead and clueless.
V900 - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
They also seriously think that "Mantle is basically DX12 +/- 10%" which is beyond deluded.Even after AMD knew that Mantle was a one way ticket to nowhere, and pretty much said as much, they still keep bringing it up and treat it as if it's not obsolete. Insanity...
ppi - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - link
Mantle is currently a great way for to reduce CPU overhead for AMD APUs and CPUs.