Build Advice What should the next All Rounder be? An i3 system, an FM1 system or something else?

Did some research after AMD announced they wont be competing with Intel for high end CPU's, and then I came across their APU's. I played around in Scan for a bit and came up with these two systems:

Intel Core i3 system

http://gyazo.com/15e95ae320b2388b824cc44d45e14ff0

- Intel Core i3 2100 3.3 Ghz

- Gigabyte GA-H67MA-USB3-B3

- 4GB (2 x 2GB) Corsair XMS3 1600 mhz CAS 8 RAM 1.5v

- 1GB EVGA GTX 460 SuperClocked, 3800 Mhz GDDR5, GPU 763 Mhz, 336 Cores

- Corsair Builder Series 600W PSU 80 PLUS

- Antec One Hundred Case

- Sony AD-5280S-0B

- 500GB Seagate Barracuda HDD

Total Ex Carriage and ScanSure: £494.62

AMD A8-3870K system (FM1)

http://gyazo.com/9ccdd303df26be99b8da91369043f43c

- AMD A8-3870K Black Edition 3.0 Ghz

- Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler

- Asus F1A75-V Pro

- 8GB (2 x 4GB) Corsair XMS3 1600 Mhz CAS 9 1.5v

- 1GB Asus HD 6670, 4000MHz GDDR5, GPU 810MHz, 480 Stream Processors

- 550W ThermalTake SP-550M SMART 80 Plus Bronze

- NZXT GAMMA Case

- Sony AD-5280S-0B

- 500GB Seagate Barracuda HDD

Total Ex Carriage and ScanSure: £497.37


So what do you think guys? The FM1 setup uses both the APU and the 6670 in Dual Graphics, and the CPU is overclockable and has an aftermarket cooler, plus a high end FM1 motherboard and 8GB of RAM. Whereas the i3 setup has a better graphics card but cant be overclocked, and has a low end motherboard and 4GB of RAM.

Both of these could be a contender for the Builder's Guide All Rounder, but which one do you think should have that honour? Would love to hear your opinions, and possibly your ideas for another setup for £500?

 

I think for starters comparing like for like would be a good idea.
Stick with the same PSU, Case, Drives, RAM and Heatsink for both then comparing price would be much easier. As far as everything else goes look up benchmarks for each.

There are still very few reviews out of the 3870k aswel.

 

Why are you getting an APU with a discreet graphics card? Would a Phenom II x4 not be better for the price? Or even a Phenom II x6?

 

There are indeed few reviews of the 3870k, but I did find this set of benchmark results, although they dont include the i3, they do include the i5 2500k: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_a8_3870k&num=3

Amazing to see it gets close to a 990x, let alone beat it in OpenSSL and John The Ripper and manages to keep up with the 920 in a lot of the tests.

Will get on the price comparison now

 

The point of getting an APU and a discrete graphics card is the ability to use Dual Graphics, where the APU and discrete GPU work together.

And if you think that a Phenom IIx4/6 would be better, hop on Scan and see if you can make a decent setup for £500

 

Oh right, I forgot about that bit of the APU's. Poor APU's, they got swamped over by Bulldozer's flop. Eh you'd only save like £15 switching to a Phenom II x4, so no real point in it then.

 

Did a like for like comparison, kept the AMD build the same and changes the i3 build. The i3 build cam to £523.95 altogether.

http://gyazo.com/b6f1769f876b7a97b2b287edbc984764

 

Having owned two APU setups, I do recommend them, but only on their own. There is no point in going with Llano and a dedicated card, as you wont benefit from the APU if you upgrade in the future.

I'd go with the Intel build in this case, as it is WAY more future proof than FM1 at this time.

Ivy Bridge is around the corner and that will be compatible with H67, and as your cpu and gpu work independently, you can upgrade as you see fit.

 

That is a very good point, thanks for the feedback Out of curiosity what were your two Llano CPU's? And if you remove the dedicated GPU, it brings it down to under £450, which for a starter build, has a good price/performance ratio

 

They were both the 3850, one was overclocked to 3.5ghz and played most new titles very well @1080p except for BF3.

But as soon as you add a graphics card that is bigger than 6670 and not compatible with the apu crossfire, you will feel that it is a bit of a waste.

I say that you either wait for FM2 or go for the Intel build.

 

Yeah, hopefully AMD release a new series of graphics cards and APU's that offer better performance

 

And more importantly, I really hope that they will support the FM2 socket for longer! I LOVE the idea of a single chip system, and if they continually keep releasing faster and faster chips, that would be awesome.

 

I believe these should be AMD's new flagship processor's, they really do have a market in these, especially as parts are becoming more expensive and people are turning to building their own machines. Plus the laptop market would benefit as well

 

Especially as they are more efficient than bulldozer! Another great thing about Fusion is fewer components to cool, it is so simple to make a quiet rig with an APU.