AMD A8-3850 & Gigabyte A75M-UD2H Review

Multimedia & Gaming Benchmarks

Futuremark PCMark7

PCMark7 is a very recent multimedia benchmark from Futuremark. Designed for Windows 7, it is ideal for the purposes of our testing. Like its predecessors, it tasks all core components of the computer. The Processor, GPU, RAM and HDD/SSD appear to have a significant bearing on the scores that follow.

By all means, these are very respectable scores. While our Core i5 2300 was not in hand for this test, it is known that the obtained score is roughly around the same ballpark, if a little lower than a comparable i5 configuration. PCMark 7 does appear to benefit from having more CPU grunt on tap and this is where a Core i5 setup would cover the gains that the AMD A8-3850 would otherwise gain from the Video/Gaming related benchmarks.

Futuremark 3DMark Vantage

We all know 3DMark Vantage for the reliable benchmark measure that it tends to be. It is hoped that this application will fully leverage the A8-3850 for what its worth.

It certainly did. While it identifies the AMD’s core processing limitations, it also backs up claims that the A8-3850’s 400 stream GPU will allow it to perform considerably better overall.

Far Cry 2

But how exactly does this AMD APU fair in real life gaming? Far Cry 2 is certainly not the latest gaming sensation however it remains to be a reliable measure for GPU performance.

The results are not bad at all. With image settings cranked up and copious amounts of Anti Aliasing, the game was surprisingly playable. Aside some stuttering when the whole gaming environment is engulfed with explosions, the fluidity was generally quite playable overall.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said at 1080p resolutions. It is clear that some more GPU grunt and some dedicated graphics memory is required to really deal with 1920×1080 and above.