APU supplement with a new GPU recommendation

Hardware GPU
1

Hey guys, 

 

I built one of the recommended builds about 8 months ago, and since then I've added to have two screen and am gaming more often. I have noticed the APU alone is not sufficient and would like some recommendations for a graphics card to add to my PC. My price range is $200-300, but cheaper would be better. 

Thanks :)

 

  • CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor
  • Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS Micro ATX  FM2 Motherboard
  • Memory: G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
  • Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply 
2

7870xt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024&Tpk=7870xt&IsVirtualParent=1

or a gtx760 would be ok as well. Both well within your budget. If you havent got a cpu cooler yet, spend the remaining on something like a CM 212 EVO. Should be able to then hit some nice speeds with the trinity apu you have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130933

3

7870 would be a good idea actually, with that APU, you can run the GPU alone, or you could even run the APU & GPU together in hybrid crossfire mode, but you'd probably have to upgrade the PSU for that to work efficiently.

So just like deejeta mentioned, I'd suggest a 7870 to go with that setup.

deejeta: I'm surprised at how cheap the gtx760 is in the US! over here in Australia, you're looking at a minimum AUD$320. So AMD generally is a better choice for Aussies price-wise.

4

Thats always been the case with nvidia gear. We always get screwed here for some reason. (im in Perth)

5

Dont think you can use hybrid crossfire with the 7870

http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/dual-graphics/Pages/dual-graphics.aspx#3

unless im reading it wrong 

6

I think you get screwed pretty much wherever you go here when it comes to nvidia... always so overpriced! and I'm in Sydney!

Speaking of getting screwed, AMD is the only way to go for hybrid APU/GPU crossfire... so anyone with an nvidia card.... good luck running a hybrid sli with either cpu manufacturer :P

7

looking at it again, you'd be right.. although it's a different story with the new 8670D on the A10 6800K APU, can't find much info on AMD's website, but it seems from speculations in reviews and forums that this APU would be compatible with HD 7750 in hybrid crossfire.

8

I was literally looking at the 7870 myself (ASUS)

http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8643

I got pretty excited at the thought of the crossfire setup up to be honest.

As for the cooler, I ended up getting a Coolmaster: HyperX TX3 EVO cooler as the horrible little stock CPU cooler was so noisy and at such a high pitch it was unbearable. 

Thanks a lot for the recommendations guys, I will definately get the 7870.

Might take a look at the 7750 too.... sounds tempting to have crossfire....

:)

9

7870 and 7870xt are very different gpus, a 7870 is still a perfectly good card, i have one myself, but a 7870xt is considereably more powerful

a 7750 would only crossfire with a 6800k i believe, but i think it's still a waste to use more than a 6670

also i will keep yelling this untill people get it, crossfire/sli is not a good thing, you DO NOT end up with more than the sum of your parts, you end up with less, sorry, i've been having a bad day with that

10

Yeah if you afford a 7870 then go with that, it's twice the performance of crossfired A10.

11

I appreciate the yelling overlordnick, message received. I've found the Saphire 7870 XT for around 15 bucks cheaper than the ASUS 7870HD I posted earlier. I read that it is a better card in reviews so I'll endeavor to buy that one. Gotta research more on Crossfire/SLi, surely there is some benifit of having two cards? I have a friend who mentioned he will get one for sure but he's still a computing greenhorn.