AMD slashes APU prices: Are they finally better value than a dual-core Intel Core i3?
When AMD launched its Kaveri APU
back in January we praised the innovative heterogeneous design and its
improved CPU and GPU, but expressed reservations over the relatively
high price. Today, AMD is cutting prices across its APU product lines —
and tossing in free games as well. Buy an APU between now and the end of
October, and the company will include a coupon for one of three games —
Murdered: Soul Suspect, Thief, or Sniper Elite 3. All of these are Gaming Evolved titles, with both Thief and Sniper Elite 3 supporting the company’s Mantle API as well.
AMD’s new price chart looks like this:
These
new prices haven’t made it out to all the retailers yet, but the cuts
are significant. AMD is slashing its top end prices by 15-25% — and in
the process, it’s aligning itself to be more competitive against both
Intel and its own FX family. Part of what made the A10-7850K a hard sell
at $189 is that the chip was going toe-to-toe with AMD’s FX-8370
— an eight-core processor with a 4.3GHz top frequency compared to
Kaveri’s 4GHz. Toss in superior multithreaded performance from the Core
i3-4330 parked at $140, and the APU line was difficult to justify for
the average buyer.
With the A10-7850K now dropping to $143, it’s positioned squarely against the Core i3-4330, and while the Intel dual-core will still win that comparison on the CPU side, the A10-7850K’s GPU is far more powerful than anything Intel can summon. Consumers who want lower TDPs and are willing to pass on overclocking also have the option of the A10-7800, a 65W chip with the same GPU core, a very slightly slower CPU, and an even lower price.
Combine
these prices with the fact that AMD motherboards tend to be cheaper
than their Intel counterparts (an Asus Z97-P motherboard at NewEgg is
$120 while an Asus A88XM-Plus runs $88), and there’s a real argument to
made for AMD. It’s particularly strong if you’re considering a
Richland-class CPU + standalone GPU (the A10-6800K is a good contender
for this spot). Conversely, if you want something low-power but with
stronger gaming than an Intel standalone CPU, the A8-7600 is hard to
beat at $93 and 45W.
If you primarily care about strong single-threaded CPU performance, these new price points aren’t going to change your buying preferences, but AMD has just made it considerably easier to argue for an APU. There may come a point in the future where CPU and GPU cores can be equally weighted when choosing a chip, but for now there’s a distinct lack of consumer-level GPGPU applications. These cuts should stimulate adoption of AMD’s GCN-equipped, Kaveri-class APUs at all price points and thereby serve AMD’s own long-term interests admirably.
AMD has also cut the price on its lowest-end chips, with the A4-5300 coming in at $31 and the A4-4000 at $27. While these are likely too underpowered for most users, if you need a really cheap dual-core system, the chips are there.
When AMD launched its Kaveri APU
back in January we praised the innovative heterogeneous design and its
improved CPU and GPU, but expressed reservations over the relatively
high price. Today, AMD is cutting prices across its APU product lines —
and tossing in free games as well. Buy an APU between now and the end of
October, and the company will include a coupon for one of three games —
Murdered: Soul Suspect, Thief, or Sniper Elite 3. All of these are Gaming Evolved titles, with both Thief and Sniper Elite 3 supporting the company’s Mantle API as well.AMD’s new price chart looks like this:
AMD’s new prices. GPUs with an asterisk next to the core count are based on AMD’s older VLIW4 architecture.
With the A10-7850K now dropping to $143, it’s positioned squarely against the Core i3-4330, and while the Intel dual-core will still win that comparison on the CPU side, the A10-7850K’s GPU is far more powerful than anything Intel can summon. Consumers who want lower TDPs and are willing to pass on overclocking also have the option of the A10-7800, a 65W chip with the same GPU core, a very slightly slower CPU, and an even lower price.
Chipzilla vs. AMD
If you primarily care about strong single-threaded CPU performance, these new price points aren’t going to change your buying preferences, but AMD has just made it considerably easier to argue for an APU. There may come a point in the future where CPU and GPU cores can be equally weighted when choosing a chip, but for now there’s a distinct lack of consumer-level GPGPU applications. These cuts should stimulate adoption of AMD’s GCN-equipped, Kaveri-class APUs at all price points and thereby serve AMD’s own long-term interests admirably.
AMD has also cut the price on its lowest-end chips, with the A4-5300 coming in at $31 and the A4-4000 at $27. While these are likely too underpowered for most users, if you need a really cheap dual-core system, the chips are there.
AMD slashes APU prices: Are they finally better value than a dual-core Intel Core i3?