AMD A10-7870K launched, goes after the Core i3

Just recently AMD launched the A10-7870K, a new APU from AMD that costs around RM520. AMD also claims that it’s a value-for-money choice for playing online PC games such as DOTA2 and CS:GO which are quite popular in Malaysia.

The refreshed chip called “Godavari” uses the same architecture as the “Kaveri” chip, but this time around it is packed with new features and refreshed specifications. The A10-7870K has a slightly faster CPU clock speed which is increased from 3.7GHz in its predecessor the A10-7850K, to 3.9GHz and the GPU base frequency also gets a similar boost, going from 720MHz to 866MHz.

So what else is new about the chip other than speed bump? The chip supports AMD’s latest technologies such as Virtual Screen Resolution (VSR) which may be helpful to those still using non-1080p monitors, as well as FreeSync on compatible displays. The support for newer APIs is much more interesting to me. Vulkan, AMD Mantle and most importantly for me, DirectX 12 which will be available on the upcoming Windows 10 that might increase the performance of these chips in the future, are all supported by the A10-7870K.

Okay that’s enough as the introduction, now let us talk in more detail about the performance. AMD claims the A10-7870K beats the Intel Core i3 4370 coupled with a Nvidia GT 740 card as we can see in the image below. Sound promising?

For anyone keeping tabs on the progress and advancements of AMD’s APUs, they must know that APU performs better when paired with fast RAM and in the picture above we don’t know exactly what configuration AMD used for the test. That lead me to be curious about the performance and how it will fit in Malaysia market. Later I will show a comparisons of system builds based on the Intel Core i3 and the AMD A10-7870K itself.

Courtesty image of tomshardware.com

Referring to the image, 49fps on DOTA2? I’m not sure whether that is the average or minimum fps. Furthermore, what RAM frequency was used in the test system? Not to be forgotten, is the chip overclocked or is it running stock clocks? Lastly, how about the temperatures? If the CPU speed was untouched and paired with 1600MHz RAM in the test system, that will be a commendable result since we know how we can boost the fps by overclocking the CPU clock and GPU base frequency. These question will be answered later when the reviews get released on the internet.

Okay, now let we make a comparison between the new AMD Godavari against the Intel Core i3 in terms of complete system build price.

It’s easy to see that the AMD A10-7870K system will be cheaper compared to the Intel Core i3 system, but is it really worth the money? I believe so. And why? Take a good look and compare the hardware used. The AMD system is not only equipped with faster RAM, but it is able to fit an ASUS A88X-PLUS motherboard into the budget, which is better overall, featuring extra 2 RAM slots and more PCIe lanes compared to the ASUS H81M-K. With faster RAM speeds and a little overclocking on CPU and GPU speeds (you definitely require an aftermarket cooler for this), I believe the AMD A10-7870K will outperform the Intel Core i3 4370 system.

But wait, I m not done. We know that the AMD A10-7870K is cheaper than Intel Core i3 4370 system by RM179, but let’s not forget about the temperature of the AMD A10-7870K which might increase if we OC it, compared to the Intel system in which the Core i3 will be fine with the stock cooler alone. With the hot and humid climate in Malaysia, running the AMD system with a stock cooler especially after overclocking is not a brilliant idea. So in the end, the total cost of this system will be the same at RM1790 if we add a better cooling system, such as the Cryorig H7 which costs exactly RM179.

Pokdepinion : The price of the Godavari chip is surprisingly cheap, with the features it offer, I believe the system performance will get better in Windows 10. If you are looking for a new DOTA2 PC on a limited budget, the AMD A10-7870K can be considered as the best choice out there. Now let’s hope that the price of the chip in Malaysia will fit well into most gamers’ budget.