APU

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by 1MB, Nov 6, 2013.

  1. Any of you familiar with APUs? My father wanted me to help him order parts for more custom computers at our house. Some of the newer processors I looked at by AMD apparently aren't just CPUs anymore ... they're, as I recall, both CPU and GPU ... (an APU).

    If anyone knows anything more about them please let me know.

    ----
    I'm currently looking at the trinity processor groups by AMD ... they're second generation APUs ... and are under the FM2 socket.

    The motherboards I've selected have the FM2 socket - that's why i'm asking.

    Here's one of the processors: Here
  2. APU's like fast RAM... ;)
  3. Yeah.... I think its him...
    supereskimo, Olaf_C, Jcplugs and 2 others like this.
  4. The main thing to keep in mind is that the APU's generally do the functions of a CPU very well, and lack in the functions of a GPU.

    They are made mainly for individuals who do not need a dedicated graphics card (web browsing, and desktop applications such as word / outlook). Some of the newer technologies will play games, but do not expect high frames per second out of them.

    I'm happy to discuss more if that quick overview doesn't answer what you need to know.
    jkjkjk182 likes this.
  5. I believe 3rd and 4th gen intel chips are now apu's as well. I've got a Core i7 4700 in my laptop, and it's definitely got graphics built onto the chip. But I've also got a GTX 770 video card.

    Anyway, these chips can play minecraft at a decent FPS, but anything that is more graphics intensive will bog it down. You can always upgrade your video card later. Because, as I mentioned above, you can run both. Or, if you prefer, the new NVIDEA drivers allow you to select which program uses the dedicated card. Great for power savings.
  6. I was planning on getting him a graphics card too, but you're saying that if I wanted to wait and get a graphics card later, that basically for now, the APU will handle most basic graphics (gpu)?

    We're mainly going to be using these computers for application building software, watching videos, and graphic design; ...him and my mother are into making books with illustration and making apps ... so they're not much into using them for gaming.

    I'll try to read on this thread, i'm still in school at the moment (hehe) ... but i'll be home this afternoon.
  7. Definitely. You can run on the integrated GPU and switch later.

    The only concern I see in their is graphic design. Depending on how heavy and how fancy you get, the integrated may have a hard time.
  8. Unless you are rendering 3D, applications like Photoshop and Illustrator are heavier on RAM usage than the GPU. For example, when I have multiple groups and layers in Photoshop - and a high DPI resolution for print... I will run out of RAM before the GPU even breaks a sweat.
  9. K, back from schoolz

    With what you're saying, I don't think the 'graphics' should be a problem ... when I said 'graphic design' ... for my parents i'm mainly just meaning 2d styled animations - maybe small 3d things for the ios/android apps ... and for their book illustrations that's just drawings really ...

    So I honestly think we'll be good with A10 Series APUs :D

    Actual 3d rendering, however, will most likely still be done on my computer. Since i'm in game design and actually have to 3d model... I maxed out the RAM for my motherboard so I can easily handle almost any program (and thinking of getting a new motherboard haha - so I can put more on there; perhaps 40gb )
  10. O: Ive got a Intel i7-4770, but your graphics is higher than mine! ( I envy you ). I've got a 645GTX
    bonzd67 likes this.