AMD Price Cuts

[AtenRa]

Well the thing is, a lot of the new inventory (the E chips) came in at prices higher than what we were told would be MSRP, especially the 8370E and 8370. I have no idea what options (if any) were available to anyone in the channel when it came to adjusting to the new pricing scheme on everything else. The 9590 dropped like a rock, but the 8320 and 8350 which were supposed to get downward adjustments just sort of sat there (or, in the case of the 8320, went up in price). It's impossible for me to know exactly why that happened without knowing more about inventory levels, sales rates, and other factors.

From the consumer point-of-view, it's silly to announce these price cuts as being "effective immediately" or "real soon now" when it takes forever for them to be reflected in actual retail prices. The 8320 is still at inflated prices ($140 from NCIX is the cheapest I see right now, the Egg wants $150). Ridiculous! You can get the 8320E for less, and its turning out to be an ace of an overclocker, not to speak of the OEM 8310 which is $110 right now with a special coupon and "instant savings" from TigerDirect. Looks like that deal is good through the 24th.

FX8320 and 8320E MSRP from September 2014 is $146,99 according to AMD, Newegg has them at $149,99.

FX8370E MSRP is $199,99, Newegg has it at $194,99.

So whats the problem ???

edit: Newegg prices on the high-end SKUs (9370 and 9590) are way higher than MSRP.

 

[rainy]

Seems more of screwed up sales projections than inventory cleaning. There are much better and discrete ways to clean your inventory if sell-through is good.

You sound like a broken record to me - I don't know what sort of job you're doing, however quite obviously it must be boring or rather boring if you seek an "excitement" on the AT forum (or SA).

Btw, at 92 dollars A8-7600 is a really nice deal IMO, also A10-7850K price is more reasonable.

 

[Erenhardt]

I didn't proclaim an intel dual-core. I just have a problem with the pricing of the APUs. The iGPU is overpowered for anything 2D/office use and medicore at best for gaming. The main point is with a cheaper CPU (could be an Athlon) + dGPU you don't pay much more $50-$100 depending on GPU but will easily get double fps in most games (eg. non-cpu limited ones). And an average gamer spends way more than $100 on games. so why cripple the experience of all games if you could have gotten so much better experience for $100 more?

Example: my little sister. Plays new sims game on apu and she's happy that it runs so much better than on her old athlon x2 with HD4650.

Could I build her PC with dGPU? Yes. But what GPU could you buy for the $30 difference between FM2 athlon and Apu? HD5450? GT630... all slower then IGP.

I could add $50 to get 7750 DDR5, or add another $50 on top and double the performance by getting 260x.... or add yet again $50 and get R9270x which again doubles what 260x gives... but what's the point. The casual games (sims, LoL, dragon ages etc.) play nicely on the apu, why spend more?

The advantage of going apu is not only you don't pay for excessive gpu power, but you can later crossfire it with used r5-240 for really cheap and get better performance for less $ than going with 7750.

Would love to get me cheap A6-7400k to play with overclocking ^^

The jump in performance from APU integrated graphics to a lowly GTX 750 is massive. And you do not need expensive RAM.

The price difference is also massive for someone on the budged.

What is with the myth with expensive RAM for APU? I bought 2x4 GB 2400MHz DRR3 cheaper than the 2x4 GB 1600MHz kit.

 

[sm625]

Precisely. If DOTA2 (60fps @ 720p on HD4600 iGPU) and even 2009 era games like LoL (40-60fps @ 1080p on HD4600) are the new "benchmark" for 2014 PC gaming simply to avoid quoting the many other 15-25fps vs 50-60fps benchmarks for more modern games (Watch Dogs, Crysis, Shadow of Mordor, Metro Redux, etc), then the "low bar" for 2014 gaming has just fallen through the floor...

HD4600 actually cannot handle LoL. It will dip below 30fps during some teamfights and will cost a good player some kills. Pretty much any kaveri is much smoother even for such a low spec game.

 

[Insomniator]

Kind of depressing people arguing for the performance or these APU's, even at a low price. Just a sign of the state of PC gaming these days. If $50-100 bucks is preventing you from getting a card like a 750... which performs so so so much better than the APU's, maybe buying the PC in the first place isn't a good idea.

Honestly playing Dota 2 and SC2 almost exclusively now I could get buy on an APU... but those times I start up Bioshock or Crysis 3 I'm glad I'm not running them at 720p/low settings. I don't care which CPU you buy, the APU's in the AMD chips are still in the 'pathetic' category with Intel's chips. I'm not against the idea, and I think in another generation or two we will have useful APU's, but I haven't been impressed yet. Low performance CPU's matched with old GPU technology that get by because they are SO cheap? I'll pass...

 

[AtenRa]

From Newegg,

2x2GB 1600MHz = $44,99
2x2GB 2000MHz = $49,99

$5 more for the 2000MHz kit, you can run it at 1866MHz or you could OC higher.

2x4GB 1600MHz = $67,99
2x4GB 2400MHz = $72,99

$5 more for the 2400MHz kit.

 

[AtenRa]

Kind of depressing people arguing for the performance or these APU's, even at a low price. Just a sign of the state of PC gaming these days. If $50-100 bucks is preventing you from getting a card like a 750... which performs so so so much better than the APU's, maybe buying the PC in the first place isn't a good idea.

Honestly playing Dota 2 and SC2 almost exclusively now I could get buy on an APU... but those times I start up Bioshock or Crysis 3 I'm glad I'm not running them at 720p/low settings. I don't care which CPU you buy, the APU's in the AMD chips are still in the 'pathetic' category with Intel's chips. I'm not against the idea, and I think in another generation or two we will have useful APU's, but I haven't been impressed yet. Low performance CPU's matched with old GPU technology that get by because they are SO cheap? I'll pass...

What is pathetic is that people doesnt know the performance difference of those CPUs they are talking about.

 

[Idontcare]

The chanel(retail and e-tail) doesnt get rebates for price cuts. Only the official distributors get rebates for price cuts from the manufacturer(AMD in this instance). The chanel gets rebates if and when they reach a goal or they get better prices for large volume orders etc.

At least thats how it works here.

Interesting. I believe you, but dang that sure penalizes the folks who get holding the bag (inventory) when a price cut is officially rolled out.

Not sure about the USA in general, or which retailers differ from distributors, but a year ago Office Depot (have a family member who was a store manager) got the rebates passed on from OEMs (HP, DELL, etc) who passed along their rebates from the IC supplier (AMD or Intel).

Office depot may have simply been large enough to have the clout to make that happen though. Could very well be that most other retailers got screwed with inventory adjustments.

You sound like a broken record to me - I don't know what sort of job you're doing, however quite obviously it must be boring or rather boring if you seek an "exciment" on the AT forum (or SA).

No need to make it so personal and negative.

 

[MeldarthX]

Who knows what's going on with some of them; those that keep going on that pentiums are always the better buy they aren't.

I've built several systems out of AMD's apus; they were always perfect for the job; ran everything fine *though way some make it they shouldn't run the code at all*

last one I did 7600 mini ITX system; damn thing surprised me just how quick and good it was......I did price out Intel version; it was about 1.5x to double in price; with the fact I needed it to be able to run solidworks well without dedicated vc; so that actually totally put Intel out of the running.

I'll check prices nearer to Christmas before putting together another apu system for the kids as the 6600k system runs everything solidly for them on high 35+ frames at 1440 by 900.

For us; no most apus don't make sense; then you have the rest of the world; they do and they do their job well. now if I could just find damn 7600p laptop to replace my work laptop and get better light gaming on the go I would be a happy camper.

 

[ShintaiDK]

What is pathetic is that people doesnt know the performance difference of those CPUs they are talking about.

At least stop using your own numbers that you posted on that shill site. It would give you a chance for the numbers to actually be taken serious rather than simply dismissed.

 

[BSim500]

I could add $50 to get 7750 DDR5, or add another $50 on top and double the performance by getting 260x.

A $70-$80 X4 750K / G3258 + $75 7750 for extremely light games ($145-$155) isn't remotely "$100 more" than a $150 7700K.

The price difference is also massive for someone on the budget.

Likewise, $110 FX6300 / i3-4150 + $95 7770 ($205) vs $180 7850K is barely $25 ($20 once $5 high-speed RAM premium is taken into account and that turns into $0 for a 7750)...

If people want an APU - good for them, but it's hardly some "OMG, I just saved $150 not buying a GFX card" thing that some like to make out when the GFX card selected is even remotely in the same low-end class which for a 7850K isn't even a $75 7750 even when OC'd... :whiste:

 

[Cerb]

What is with the myth with expensive RAM for APU? I bought 2x4 GB 2400MHz DRR3 cheaper than the 2x4 GB 1600MHz kit.

Cheapest prices from PCPP, right now:
1x8GB DDR3-1600 CAS 9: $59.99
2x4GB DR3-2400 CAS 11: $72.99

Myth, indeed. Often, the spread is larger, as 2133MHz-2400Mhz varies in price at any point in time much more than 1600MHz. It's not huge, or anything, but that's effectively a discount for a video card, if comparing the two. So, a R7 260 v. IGP would reasonably be ~$90 v. ~$100, FI.

 

[Insomniator]

What is pathetic is that people doesnt know the performance difference of those CPUs they are talking about.

What are you trying to show me here? The A10-7850k (~7750) has a little better than half the performance of a GTX 750 (which has been as low as $75)... Whats the total price of an A10-7850k system vs a Pentium + 750 (that will have double the performance btw)?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1131?vs=1140

 

[rainy]

No need to make it so personal and negative.

I have a lot of respect for you because of the knowledge you have, however this guy likes to behave as a troll - not just here and also on SemiAccurate forum (as nvidiot).

 

[Enigmoid]

HD4600 actually cannot handle LoL. It will dip below 30fps during some teamfights and will cost a good player some kills. Pretty much any kaveri is much smoother even for such a low spec game.

LOL runs fine on the HD 4600.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1407284/intel-hd-4600-running-league-of-legends

I can give multiple sources but a simple search brings them up. If you still want higher performance simply take off AA.

What are you trying to show me here? The A10-7850k (~7750) has a little better than half the performance of a GTX 750 (which has been as low as $75)... Whats the total price of an A10-7850k system vs a Pentium + 750 (that will have double the performance btw)?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1131?vs=1140

a10-7850k is not anywhere close to a 7750.

Performs about 10% faster than a R7 240 DDR3.

 

[Insomniator]

A $70-$80 X4 750K / G3258 + $75 7750 for extremely light games ($145-$155) isn't remotely "$100 more" than a $150 7700K.



Likewise, $110 FX6300 / i3-4150 + $95 7770 ($205) vs $180 7850K is barely $25 ($20 once $5 high-speed RAM premium is taken into account and that turns into $0 for a 7750)...

If people want an APU - good for them, but it's hardly some "OMG, I just saved $150 not buying a GFX card" thing that some like to make out when the GFX card selected is even remotely in the same low-end class which for a 7850K isn't even a $75 7750 even when OC'd... :whiste:

Exactly what I was just saying. The APU's are not a 'value' option. They are simply an even lower end tier. I certainly don't remember the Geforce FX5200 being heralded as a great product... neither was the Geforce 4MX. But now that GPU's with that level of performance are integrated suddenly its a great budget PC gaming option? Give me a break.

 

[Insomniator]

LOL runs fine on the HD 4600.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1407284/intel-hd-4600-running-league-of-legends

I can give multiple sources but a simple search brings them up. If you still want higher performance simply take off AA.



a10-7850k is not anywhere close to a 7750.

Performs about 10% faster than a R7 240 DDR3.

LOL that makes the argument even more obvious. The APU's are even worse than I thought. Was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[DominionSeraph]

The apus make perfect sense for gaming and have respectable performance.

No it doesn't, and no they don't. You don't even have to leave AMD Fanboyland for there to have been much better options.

7850k = $180

X4 750k (previous)/X4 860k (now) = $80
260X = $90

FX-6300 is now under $100, and it's has been available around $109 for a long time. So for just a little more there's six cores and a ton more cache to go with your 260X.
A 260X is something like 4 times the power of a 7850K.

 

[Seba]

From Newegg,

2x2GB 1600MHz = $44,99
2x2GB 2000MHz = $49,99

$5 more for the 2000MHz kit, you can run it at 1866MHz or you could OC higher.

You can get a single 4GB DDR3 1600 module for around $35. No need for Dual Channel if going with dedicated graphics card.

 

[Roland00Address]

Gah, I look at the A8-7600 45w performance and all I can think is, why can't AMD be on the latest node. Can you just imagine the performance of such chip in a laptop? The A8-7600 looks pretty awesome if its power consumption was half of what it was, and often 1 node allows you to decrease power consumption by 30% so two nodes is roughly half the power (.7*.7=.49)

The latest node plus some high bandwidth memory (stacked memory) and the APUs make sense on so many levels. Without it though there is very little reason to go AMD in non itx form factors and laptops and even then if you are willing to spend only $50 or $100 more often you can get better performance with a two chip solution and not a one chip even in those small form factors.

-----

I want my horses! I am tired of wishes (please tell me you get this English Idiom). I see talent in AMD even with the legacy of bulldozer, all the job cutting, and out of date fabs but it is strangling under the weight of choices made over a decade a go. The $92 dollar a8-7600 is not a bad piece of silicon for that price, but just imagine it being 1/4 the die size (thus cheaper to make) and with 1/2 the power consumption and thus being able to put in even smaller form factors. Hopefully Lisa Su, Jim Keller and other talented people can turn AMD around. Hopefully GF licensing samsungs process means their fabs are not 3 years behind TMSC and even more against intel.

 

[ElFenix]

and now we have the typical AMD thread

 

[Roland00Address]

and now we have the typical AMD thread

Sorry? After we internalize new information and there is nothing new to talk about it makes sense it turns into the AMD and Intel Holy War.

Yes this is depressing. No it should not turn into this, but this is human nature, once no new information either the topic is dropped or it changes into something that suits people's preconceived notions.

I will try my best not to do the back and for with AMD vs Intel.

 

[Yuriman]

Some valid points - it's pretty rare that someone can't budget in another $20-40 on hardware when they have a huge stack of $50 games.

My thoughts:
-Most people don't overclock, and a low-end AMD quad will probably offer a better experience than a stock Pentium or Celeron for general use. 4 cores is the sweet spot in gaming, with 2 of the FX-6300's going largely unused, and the Pentium being 2 short and causing stuttering in some games. Single-threaded performance is adequate, and a quad will make more a generally more snappy machine.

-Most people don't upgrade their computers, meaning the iGPU won't become useless silicon that they paid for immediately upon buying a discrete card.

-The iGPU in a Pentium is right at the border of useless for gaming. It will run Minecraft fairly well, granted, but I wouldn't gift my little cousin Titanfall if he's running on the Pentium iGPU. Quite simply, today, these APUs *will* run any game out there adequately at low settings, which can't be said for what you get with a Pentium.

-As for a discrete GPU with the Pentium offering considerably more graphical grunt, see point #1. I tend to prefer putting more emphasis on the CPU as computers are often more than just gaming machines. If I was building a real gaming machine for anyone, I'd spend another $50 and make it an i3 with a discrete card.

This is the CPU I'd put in a build for my father, or a young cousin. For occasional gaming, his computer will run them adequately, and perform better in other areas than a Pentium would. An i3 without a discrete GPU wouldn't really have the option of basic gaming, and a (non-overclocked) Pentium isn't as good an all-around chip due to it being a dual. This is a very delicate place to be for AMD though, because even slight changes in price or increased requirements for games will make their barely-adequate iGPU no more useful than what you get from Intel, and at that ~$100 pricepoint I'd then take an i3 instead.

 

[crashtech]

Yeah, I owe some apologies for all the times I have been sucked into this pointless debate. At least this time I was trying to stay on topic, even if APUs don't do much for me. I want instead to see budget 860K dGPU systems giving the G3258 a run for its money, and if they dropped the price a wee bit more I think we would see more of that.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

A $70-$80 X4 750K / G3258 + $75 7750 for extremely light games ($145-$155) isn't remotely "$100 more" than a $150 7700K.

Honestly, who makes that kind of comparison? The 7700K is a quad core CPU, the G3258 is not.

A dual core G3258 would match up to a dual core A6-6400k..... The A6 sells for about $60 to $70. So, yeah.... Going APU versus dedicated video card would be around a difference of $100.

I bought my A6 for $35 used on eBay for a backup game machine.... No way can you buy a decent CPU and Video Card for that amount of money.
The APU's are an excellent option for a casual gamer (720p resolution)..... Even the cheap A6 plays modern games well. I'm actually stunned at how well -- considering how much trash talk on forums I've read about them.

And a casual gamer probably doesn't invest $50 in games.... There are a ton of great free games for PC gamers now.... Hawken, Planetside, Battlefield Play4Free, Need For Speed World, etc.