AMD A8-7670K
Should AMD be powering your next low-cost Linux desktop? Zak Storey really, really wants to like an AMD chip.
After a string on Intel reviews it’s about time AMD got a look in and now you’ll see why we’ve not been bothering. Oh AMD, you really need to get things in order.
Let us tell you about the experience we had reviewing AMD’s A8-7670K APU. It came in a tiny little white box. Presumably not the retail packaging. Let’s hope not. Though judging by AMD’s lack of marketing share, this could be the real deal. It’s not possible to tell whether the 7670K went to another reviewer before us. Anyway, after setting up our standard benchmarking platform, we installed the chipset and began our preliminary testing.
The processor has a total of two computational cores, providing four threads. AMD may say what it likes about the benefits of compute cores, but benchmarks don’t lie and this processor is quite a slow CPU. Unfortunately, as 60% of the CPU is taken up by the graphical side of things, the overall performance in applications is limited. This also explains why we achieved some pretty mediocre benchmarks, even though the 7670K clocks an average of 3.6GHz at maximum, when it came to computational tasks. In fact, we left it to complete our 30GB archive test, but after taking 30 minutes to complete 49%, we decided it would be a better use of our time to stop the process and continue with other benchmarks.
The biggest problem here is the fact this is still a processor based on an almost five-year-old architecture. It’s only 28nm. It has limited SATA 6GB/s support and continues to only support DDR3 up to 2,133MHz, even though it’s the one platform that would benefit the most from those increased memory speeds.
Left behind
The list goes on. Intel may only be upping performance by 10% every year or so, but most vitally it’s including chipset updates, too. This forces manufacturers to update their motherboards, and in turn provide extra expansion, storage options and more modern features that are appealing.
In gaming terms, the situation isn’t much better. Yes, you can run older titles at acceptable frame rates at 1080p (if 20-30fps is acceptable to you), but unless you’re only playing simple games, you’re not going to get much joy from it. For instance, in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor it achieved an average frame rate of just 4fps at 1080p, while a GTX 950 managed an average of 33fps.
AMD’s A8-7670K can run simple games at palatable frame rates, and it’s great for basic everyday computing tasks. The motherboards are easy on the bank balance, and you have the added benefit of low-power consumption to help keep that electricity bill down.
We understand this is an £82 processor and you shouldn’t be expecting a great deal at this price point. But for compatibility, ease of use and performance, you’d do so much better to head elsewhere. That’s the sad truth, and it’s worrying for the future of AMD in the chip business.
Godavari, AMD’s new APU platform, so far, lacks any substance. It’s aimed at one demographic – people that will likely game on laptops – with most desktop users opting for dedicated GPUs. It’s too limited, too expensive and too basic to provide anything to any form of power user. Please AMD, we need Zen. And we need it soon.