To be quite honest I'm not 100% sure on what this all means, but from wait I can gather, it's a CPU and GPU in one (obviously), but a much more powerful GPU than intergrated graphics, correct?

So, with just this processor, that costs $135, you can get the same performance of a lower mid ranged dedicated GPU in games, and also a quad core processor that performs well in just one chip?


If I'm correct in that, would you recommend, if my friend wants to buy a gaming PC but has a restricted budget, that this would be something to buy until he can afford a better dedicated GPU?


Like, if his budget is $500, I could buy this chip for $135, mobo $50, RAM $35, Case $50, HDD $50, PSU $60, and a copy of Windows 7 for a total of $480, and he'd be able to play most games at medium - high settings on a 1080p HDTV, with playable framerates (in the 30's)?

That way he could save the $200 he'd need for a 6870 or something?


Also, if they're doing this, I don't see the point in buying dedicated graphics cards for the lower mid-range (usually around $80 - $120) anymore? So wouldn't this chip effectively make all those cards useless, due to the fact that you get a quad core CPU and the power of one of those $80-$120 dedicated cards for $135, instead of $250+?

quote Ohmycaptain

To be quite honest I'm not 100% sure on what this all means, but from wait I can gather, it's a CPU and GPU in one (obviously), but a much more powerful GPU than intergrated graphics, correct?

It's still an IGP chip they originally pick out, then they optimize it and integrate it into the APU structure. Obviously there's a lot that goes into that as well. Performance might be comparable though between like a 6650 and a retail 6650 if there was such a thing. The point is to no longer give you bottom end x300 series parts and instead raise the bar a bit.

quote Ohmycaptain

So, with just this processor, that costs $135, you can get the same performance of a lower mid ranged dedicated GPU in games, and also a quad core processor that performs well in just one chip?

Yes, on top of that you could see it easily tangling with the Phenom II 980 without much trouble at a lower clock speed even.

quote Ohmycaptain

If I'm correct in that, would you recommend, if my friend wants to buy a gaming PC but has a restricted budget, that this would be something to buy until he can afford a better dedicated GPU?

I would say yes, the money spent on a lower end card unless it's a previous generation would probably be wasted, there are exceptions. I know for a while they were blowing out 5850's and such for around $119.

quote Ohmycaptain

Like, if his budget is $500, I could buy this chip for $135, mobo $50, RAM $35, Case $50, HDD $50, PSU $60, and a copy of Windows 7 for a total of $480, and he'd be able to play most games at medium - high settings on a 1080p HDTV, with playable framerates (in the 30's)?

Seeing the same benchmarks but the AMD meeting at E3 leaves me to believe yes they're aiming for exactly that, out of the box playable gaming without needing to strap in a mid-high range card to the cost as well.

quote Ohmycaptain

Also, if they're doing this, I don't see the point in buying dedicated graphics cards for the lower mid-range (usually around $80 - $120) anymore? So wouldn't this chip effectively make all those cards useless, due to the fact that you get a quad core CPU and the power of one of those $80-$120 dedicated cards for $135, instead of $250+?

The whole pricing structure is due for a shift at this point and they're stacking cards behind the APU as the new standard of basic computing. If we looked at the volume sales of the 5450 and such I have doubts that the highest selling market would be the mass consumers, chances are volume sales to OEM's would be on the list. With that said they're just reducing the build / material cost to the companies.

I doubt we'll see them kill the value market entirely but they do want to showcase how high processing power can be combined with playable video power in a single package.

quote Ohmycaptain

To me, unless I'm getting the wrong idea, I feel like this should be much bigger news than it has made. I've of course heard of it many times, AMD Fusion was something I was interested in but didn't keep up on.

I think they played it safe to keep from overselling the product to market this time, they've had some tougher times and didn't want to over promise it seems like. It has been making news headlines a few times a month on the net though.

quote Ohmycaptain

If this is all the case, I don't see why it wouldn't become very mainstream, and a way for big name companies to market this heavily saying that for such a price point, it can play games (like Sims 3, WoW, etc. for the mainstream casual market).

Actually a lot of the thunder got taken for Sandy Bridge a few months back :/ as a revolution to how a single chip could do graphics and processing to reduce the need for a dedicated GPU. The lack of inclusion of course is a downer in this case because the market pricing is radically different. I know the SB chips are floating high and the A8-3850 is killing the 980 for less and probably able to dance with some of the lower end SB chips in CPU power and probably dominating on GPU power.

quote Ohmycaptain

I mean, I have a few people interested in me building them some new computers, because theirs are getting old, with budgets of around $400 - $500... One is a console gamer who I've been trying to get into PC gaming, and the other is a casual gamer who plays WoW, Sims 3, and things of that nature. I would most definitely buy this for these people, and even for the other 3 who don't play games, just in case they want to in the future, or want to try some games.

This is pretty much aimed right at those users, it takes the steps out of building and the need to pick based on what the rep at Bestbuy or Frys might be pushing on you. The FX line coming soon will address the hardcore market in a similar manner. The guy I spoke with noted they're looking with 32nm to push an 8 core out that is able to use AOD/ACC to deactivate 4 cores and push the remaining 4 up to 4.5Ghz or so.

quote Ohmycaptain

This just seems very revolutionary for casual gamers (which make up majority of gamers), and the only time I've even heard of its release or really anything on it has been on Neoseeker, today.

Unfortunately our hardware news is pretty flat at this point, not sure if Sean (Chautemoc) might be up for helping get someone back on top of that area. After Kevin we had some trouble getting a steady hardware news guy in there and eventually it came to a halt.

Considering the Phenom II series is more than good enough for most people this is pretty damn good considering the extra graphics power. OEM bait like a mofo with the 6990d2 naming with the dual graphics though.