Which AMD CPU for Office Workstations?

[Nick_C]

Am putting together a few workstations whose only task is to run Win 8.1, Office 2013 & Firefox.

Question is which AMD CPU to use, I guess a 4-way should be adequate, socket AM3+ or FM2, integrated graphics or not?

I haven't been keeping-up with hardware developments recently and there seems to be a mass of different AMD CPUs available at the moment.

[arbiter1]

Just that task probably a8 would be more then good enough to handle it all even probably a6 would work. But question what you mean by "a 4-way should be adequate".

[Nick_C]

Sorry what I meant was a quad-core.

[Nick_C]

It seems there are three different series of AMD CPUs in this range, just trying to establish the differences between them:

• Socket FM2 - Athlon II
• Socket AM3+ - FX series
• Socket FM2 - A8

Is the Socket 'FM2 - A8' the only series here which has built-in ATI GPU?

[Activate: AMD]

Athlon II on FM2/FM2+ are low end chips without an integrated GPU, AM3+ are AMD's "high end" chips for the traditional ethusiast desktop segment, and the A-series on FM2/FM2+ have an integrated GPU

[TheGlasMan]

I would go with an FM2(+) board for the most up to date features and future compatibility with a low end A series cpu. More than enough processing power and built in decent gpu saves cash.
your actual part selection will depend on your budget.

[kbohip]

I will agree with Glassman that FM2 is the way to go, and pair it with something like an A8 6600k or even an A10-6800k. That being said, I'm in the market to build an office machine right now myself and I'm leaning towards an Intel i3 4360 for the power savings it offers over AMD in real world use. Whatever you decide to do, stay far away from the power guzzling FX series from AMD. I have an office pc with an 8320 in it on a stock heatsink and the fan is noticeably loud even while viewing Youtube videos or doing any kind of light work at all on it.

This breaks the AMD power problem down pretty well.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...i,3725-15.html

[sttubs]

I also agree with the FM2+, otherwise my second choice would be an AM3+ & MB with integrated video output.

[jethro]

Am putting together a few workstations whose only task is to run Win 8.1, Office 2013 & Firefox.

Question is which AMD CPU to use, I guess a 4-way should be adequate, socket AM3+ or FM2, integrated graphics or not?

I haven't been keeping-up with hardware developments recently and there seems to be a mass of different AMD CPUs available at the moment.

If you "haven't been keeping up with hardware" you may want to look into what intel CPUs have to offer these days. Intel CPUs have higher performance, use less power, give off less heat, and are priced competitively these days.

AMD is almost gone altogether from the office market due to the factors listed above.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...n_market_share

AMD only sells 17/100 CPUs sold, and that is mainly due to their cpus being in game consoles and some ultra inexpensive home PCs.

Were I to guess, I doubt they have a 5% market share in the market you are buying for. (office)

[Nick_C]

This is what I have currently decided to go with:

CPU - AMD A8 6500
Mobo - Asus F2A85-V PRO
RAM - 8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600mhz)
SSD - 128GB Crucial M550 SATA III SSD, 20nm MLC-Flash
HDD - 3Tb SATA internal 3.5”
DVD - LiteOn IHAS122-14 22x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12
PSU - 520W Seasonic Bronze S12II-520
Case - Cooler Master N300 Black Mid Tower
Monitor - 22" iiyama ProLite E2278HSD-GB1
KeyB - Microsoft Wired Keyboard 400 for Business USB
Mouse - Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business
Windows 8.1 Professional, 64-bit
Microsoft Office 2013, Home & Business edition

Does this look ok?

[kbohip]

This is what I have currently decided to go with:

CPU - AMD A8 6500
Mobo - Asus F2A85-V PRO
RAM - 8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600mhz)
SSD - 128GB Crucial M550 SATA III SSD, 20nm MLC-Flash
HDD - 3Tb SATA internal 3.5”
DVD - LiteOn IHAS122-14 22x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12
PSU - 520W Seasonic Bronze S12II-520
Case - Cooler Master N300 Black Mid Tower
Monitor - 22" iiyama ProLite E2278HSD-GB1
KeyB - Microsoft Wired Keyboard 400 for Business USB
Mouse - Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business
Windows 8.1 Professional, 64-bit
Microsoft Office 2013, Home & Business edition

Does this look ok?

Why not go for the A8-6600K for $10 less than the 6500? Higher power consumption the issue? Btw, if you have a Micro Center around you can get a much better price on mobo/cpu combos with AMD or Intel.

[jethro]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...6_5.html#sect0

It is no wonder then that most of the Socket FM2 APUs fall behind even the Pentium G2130. So again, the A10, A8 and, especially, A6 are not optimal for office work.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu..._10.html#sect0

Summing everything up, we can say that the Richland-based APUs, like their predecessors, are not good for mainstream computers

AMDs lower IPC, higher heat, higher power have pretty much ended their presence in the PC market these days. Not like the old days when we all bought them to support competition.

AMD has one niche left- cheap PCs/consoles where the ATi GPU tech they bought can overshadow the deficiencies of their CPUs in devices without a dedicated graphics chip. Bad times for those of us who remember when they actually competed with intel.

[Nick_C]

Why not go for the A8-6600K for $10 less than the 6500? Higher power consumption the issue? Btw, if you have a Micro Center around you can get a much better price on mobo/cpu combos with AMD or Intel.

Yes the 65W A8-6500 seemed a more efficient bet than the 100W A8-6600 but probably doesn't make much difference overall. Unfortunately am in the UK so no Micro Center around and all components are a bit more expensive over here.

[Nick_C]

AMDs lower IPC, higher heat, higher power have pretty much ended their presence in the PC market these days. Not like the old days when we all bought them to support competition.

Which is why I would still like to go the AMD route if I can. Admittedly AMD are making it hard to justify anymore, but I think may still win in bang per buck terms.

AMD has one niche left- cheap PCs/consoles where the ATi GPU tech they bought can overshadow the deficiencies of their CPUs in devices without a dedicated graphics chip. Bad times for those of us who remember when they actually competed with intel.

I wonder just how important CPU power is anymore. I am using an old Phenom II x6 and I notice that Office 2013 is a bit slow and not as snappy as I would like to see. However it doesn't seem to be the power of the CPU restricting the speed here, I suspect hard drive IO is more likely the limiting factor in slowing Office 2013 down. This makes me think that having an SSD drive might contribute more to the speed of Office 2013 than upping the CPU power.

[kbohip]

I wonder just how important CPU power is anymore. I am using an old Phenom II x6 and I notice that Office 2013 is a bit slow and not as snappy as I would like to see. However it doesn't seem to be the power of the CPU restricting the speed here, I suspect hard drive IO is more likely the limiting factor in slowing Office 2013 down. This makes me think that having an SSD drive might contribute more to the speed of Office 2013 than upping the CPU power.

I know from personal experience that even my little HTPC with Mini Itx board and A8-6600k boots as fast or faster than my OC'd 2600K Intel setup. Both have the same amount of ram and SSD's. Regardless, an SSD is THE single best investment you can make to speed up your PC now imo, and it's even more important for budget setups.