AMD A8-3850 Fusion GPU Performance Analysis

[W1zzard]

AMD's new A-Series processors promise high performance integrated graphics that works well for productivity and gaming. In our article we take a closer look at 3D performance of the A8-3850 processor, test it in Dual Graphics mode and investigate the effect of memory clock, memory timings, UMA memory size and overclocking.

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[caleb]

Nice review. I like the comparison of 3 theoretic setups very much.

 

[Bjorn_Of_Iceland]

You think this will reach the netbook scene? or are those for the upcoming Deccan?

 

[tonyd223]

What a great review - thanks for all the time and effort. So, from what I can see, the A8-3850 only makes sense if you're buying a vanilla pc for vanilla pc work - an office PC, where some gpu acceleration would be nice, but you're not going to go to a full graphics card...

 

[Trackr]

What a great review - thanks for all the time and effort. So, from what I can see, the A8-3850 only makes sense if you're buying a vanilla pc for vanilla pc work - an office PC, where some gpu acceleration would be nice, but you're not going to go to a full graphics card...

That's what I was thinking too..

But with the loss of performance compared to Sandy Bridge, it doesn't seem worth it.

That is, unless your programs gain more from GPU performance...

But then, you'd probably get a graphics card.

 

[HTC]

It seems AMD still has a long way to go where APU with crossfire is concerned: it's actually worse to add a discrete card on many occasions then it is to simply use the discrete card.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Great review W1zz. Tough one to make I bet considering this is new waters.

Anyway I think the APU is pretty much where is should be for a first gen. APU is the future and as a first step I think its a damn good one.

Oh and marketing is marketing. Always delete at least 10% of the "Facts" to get a better picture. I'm still trying to get 30mpg out of my car

 

[Jonap_1st]

what's differences between "AMD HD 6670" and "AMD Fusion A3850 + 6670"?

are the first one use sandy bridge as the processor?

 

[W1zzard]

what's differences between "AMD HD 6670" and "AMD Fusion A3850 + 6670"?

are the first one use sandy bridge as the processor?

the first one is just the hd 6670 installed in the fusion system and running as only, primary card.

the second is the igp and the hd 6670 working in dual graphics (crossfire)

 

[aBigRat]

I think this w1zzard guy haven't done the review honestly.
1. A motherboard for AMD Athlon X4 640 has its own integrated graphics, so why we need a HD 6450 for internet browsing?
2. I didn't see any HD5770 in the review, then I saw HD5770 stated in the conclusion. why HD5770, not HD6670?
3. A8-3850 iGP is equivalent to a HD5550 DDR3. For entry level gaming, it is more than enough to play while other two systems need HD 5550s to match its speed.
4. Electricity bills

 

[TheMailMan78]

I think this w1zzard guy haven't done the review honestly.

 

[Red_Machine]

I think this w1zzard guy haven't done the review honestly.

Wow, that was so full of fail I can't think of a coherant retort.

 

[reverze]

the no cuda/physx is actually a positive thing. cant wait for the unlocked version.

 

[W1zzard]

A motherboard for AMD Athlon X4 640 has its own integrated graphics, so why we need a HD 6450 for internet browsing?

that's a good point, there are indeed cheap am3 motherboards with integrated graphics which could further offset the cost of that system.

geforce 6150 which is popular for these motherboards can barely handle aero.
those dirt cheap motherboards often dont have any digital output (analog VGA only)

 

[Jonap_1st]

the first one is just the hd 6670 installed in the fusion system and running as only, primary card.

the second is the igp and the hd 6670 working in dual graphics (crossfire)

1. A3850 + mobo + 6670 : $290++
2. 2100K + mobo + 6670 : $250++

(2) is cheaper and faster for daily application, but for graphic performances, (2) is not far enough behind (2) configuration.

first i dont believe this review. but now, i think i get your conclusion

 

[Semi-Lobster]

The 11.6 hotfixes are designed specifically for the Fusion based GPUs, a lot of the 'problems' with the crossfire setup with the A-3850 and the 6670 seem to stem from drivers rather than raw power. Great review! Thanks!

 

[W1zzard]

The 11.6 hotfixes

i used the driver from june 28, not the launch day driver

 

[dir_d]

Couple years and fusion will be a monster. AMD needs to pair this with BD for it to become popular. Intel has AMD surrounded but AMD has the potential to change the game very quickly and beat intel in the market where it counts, Mainstream.

 

[DeerSteak]

Couple years and fusion will be a monster. AMD needs to pair this with BD for it to become popular. Intel has AMD surrounded but AMD has the potential to change the game very quickly and beat intel in the market where it counts, Mainstream.

That's what Trinity is for, and it'll come eventually, and hopefully it'll maintain socket backward compatibility.

 

[W1zzard]

i seriously doubt that for the forseeable future, processor integrated graphics can be faster than a low-end card.

igps will get better, but so will discrete gpus. both are using the same technology, architecture and production process. heat density limits will always limit IGP performance.

i see the big advantage in massive cost savings. why should a 250 mm² silicon die with cpu+gpu cost significantly more than a 250 mm² silicon die with just a cpu?

 

[DeerSteak]

Is it all the same production process? I know Redwood is 40nm, but I thought all of Llano was 32nm?

 

[TheLaughingMan]

Just curious about in game numbers from the APU when you overclocked it. I didn't see any of the overclocked figures on the real world gaming charges.

 

[W1zzard]

Is it all the same production process? I know Redwood is 40nm, but I thought all of Llano was 32nm?

A-Series uses Redwood architecture, on a 32 nm process.

Just curious about in game numbers from the APU when you overclocked it. I didn't see any of the overclocked figures on the real world gaming charges.

i don't have any data for that, but any gpu limited game should scale similarly

 

[devguy]

that's a good point, there are indeed cheap am3 motherboards with integrated graphics which could further offset the cost of that system.

geforce 6150 which is popular for these motherboards can barely handle aero.
those dirt cheap motherboards often dont have any digital output (analog VGA only)

I think he was referring to a cheap 780G/790GX/890GX type motherboard with the HD 3200/4200 to run Aero like a champ, and offload 1080p. Those are pretty decent for office machines. Ex: cheap and no need for an HD 5450.

Thank you for you memory comparison on Llano! It was nice to see that timings had almost no effect on the APU, and that it was all speed (kinda the opposite of most AMD CPUs).

 

[TheLaughingMan]

Well, for the Productivity and Internet Browsing catagory, why get the A8-3850? I say drop down to the A6-3650 which will shave off $30 and put the price in line with the i3 setup. While CPU performance would suffer, it would still have much better graphics for GPU accelerated web browsers, Flash based games, HTML5, and GPU accelerated programs like Photoshop.

I am actually using the A6 right now and for a basic system it is far more than enough muscle for Win7 64-bit.