6800K + Crossfire (OC)
Idle readings
Idle wattage reading @ Zalman MFC3
Load readings
Load wattage reading @ Zalman MFC3
Final Thoughts
APU from is AMD getting more & more interesting. While being quite similar to its predecessor - Trinity, Richland might not have a Wow! factor considering
Trinity was pretty impressive enough. Apart from a
small speed bump on CPU & iGPU frequency, improved memory controller, newer DX support, some might see the need for them to upgrade from their previous gen APU in Trinity. But... (yes, there is always a "but"), if one dive deep into what 6800K can offer, he/she might change his/her mind. You might ask why, so here are all my find outs after playin with the chip for almost 2 months...
On CPU performance part
While being only slightly faster in Turbo mode (4.4GHz vs 4.2GHz offered by Trinity), AMD managed to keep the rated TDP @ same wattage, which is 100W. A 200MHz boost won't turn Richland into a world beater but I will always
welcome higher frequency w/o compromising power consumption & temperature. Richland is
able to handle daily tasks like
web browsing, word processing, light VM (using VMware player) testing & etc effortlessly.
On iGPU performance part
Again, while being 44MHz faster than its predecessor, the integrated GPU - 8670D is just a merely overclocked 7660D (iGPU in Trinity 5800K). But make no mistake, decent game like
BioShock Infinite (plus few more which are not included like
Dirt3, DMC, Diablo 3, Bastion *special thanks to bro cloudwan for d gift, CS-GO) can be
ran at decent frame rate @ 720~1080p with some compromise on graphic quality, impressive enough for a integrated graphic solution. If more firepower needed, additional reinforcement in 6670D can be deployed. The
hybrid crossfire setup managed to handle at least medium~ high setting in those mentioned games. And with the
new crossfire compatibility with AMD HD7750 (
source), 8670D can
form a very potent combo for a decent entry level gaming PC with minimum cost.
On Power consumption & temperature part
If 7660D was star that stole the limelight in Trinity, I'd say
power consumption, or at least the low voltage capability is the highlight of Richland. I noticed that Richland need
significantly lower volt to achieve same clock as my previous 5800K. On stock (AUTO), the whole CPU (
inclusive of all peripherals)
pulled a 139W (on load) from the power socket,
quite good for an APU with relatively strong iGPU. Pls bear in mind
there's no undervolting done yet, & AMD tends to put higher stock voltage on all their chips. Most of the time their chips managed to run @ lower volt while being totally stable. If the ability to run higher clock (than default) with low voltage is not convincing enough, then perhaps the
"cool" factor might be too hard to resist. With an
entry level all-in-one cooler (CM Seidon 120M with pretty slow fan in F12) sitting on top of the chip, it run
very cool @ 52.5'C on load @ a moderately overclocked speed 4.7GHz (*refer table 4) in a very cramped casing (QS-200 Lite). I strongly believe even with decent low profile cooler the chip wont be having (too) high load temp.
On Overclockability & tweakability part
If what mentioned above are good enough, then
overclockability & tweakability offered by Richland would be the icing on the cake. I know it's sorta double-edged sword when it comes to overclocking/tweaking a setup. Some
read up & times required to squeeze every MHz outta chip/ram/cpu nb are needed but
if you're doing right, you'll be able to reap the reward. The 6800K is a sweet chip to tweak with, I managed to
pass HyperPi 32M with 5GHz, with minor tweaks plus the help of my room's old air cond (@ 24'C) (i run the test with air cond on, not that I cooled the chip directly with it). Apart from going gun-ho on CPU frequency, a
more balanced setup can be stroke, like having
2400MHz on ram & cpu nb and higher iGPU frequency (> 1GHz). With voltage & temperature are playing nice, one can have alot of combinations of overlocked setup to suite their computing needed. For example, for gaming intensive setup, one can have high iGPU frequency while keeping ram and/or cpu nb @ 2133MHz, while for those with stronger discrete GPU can push CPU & Ram frequency all the way to their limits. Yes, it might sound too easy on paper while not a walk in the park practically, but with a
decent OC friendly board in ASUS F2A85-M Pro (or any other reputable FM2 mainboards), overclocking or tweaking an FM2 rig
can be real fun (at least CPU, iGPU & CPU NB part, ram tweaking can be PITA sometimes). If one doesn't overlock, he/she can still play with
undervolting to keep them as low as possible while being stable, good for saving electricity bill (though i doubt it will make much difference) &
keeping everything cooled.
Last but not least, I would like to extend my gratitude to
AMD SG for sending me the wonderful 6800K chip, as well as
ASUS SG for their technical supports whenever they're in need. I hope this quick test (OK, not so quick after almost 2 months of testing) can serve as a
guide/reference for those who are interested to get an APU setup for themselves.
Thank you very much for spending some of your precious time to read up this article, have a great day ahead...
