A6-6400k or a8-5500

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dyslecix

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A6-6400k 65 on newegg or a8-5500 for 80 on ebay (new) is there a big performance difference between them? Which do I get?
 
quad core vs dual core.

All things being equal, go for the A8.

If you *really really really* need more single-threaded performance, that A6 isn't bad.
 
I have an A6-6400K and it is quite the performer for only being a 'dual-core' part. Of course I am only using it for general web browsing, when we have company that wants to get on a computer, Minecraft when my son's friends come over, etc. I did throw a few other games at it just to get a feel for it and it handled them nicely. Skyrim was fine at 1680x1050 High settings and Fallout: New Vegas auto-detected for Ultra settings at 1680x1050, which was also playable, but the performance was not as consistent as it is with my A10-7850K. In the interest of full disclosure, I tested them both with Samsung 830 64GB SSDs and the same kit of G.Skill Sniper DDR3-2133 @1.65V, which both CPUs accepted without issue.

Depending on your workload, you may benefit from the 'quad-core' part, but for a daily-driver kind of PC, the A6 is no slouch. Also, be sure to check the pricing on Amazon and/or Tiger for the A6. I grabbed mine for $50 on sale from one of them. I know it wasn't from the Egg...
 
I plan on using it for emulators and as an htpc. Do you guys know how well it works with emulators? Will I get a larger benefit from the a8?
 
dyslecix said:
I plan on using it for emulators and as an htpc. Do you guys know how well it works with emulators? Will I get a larger benefit from the a8?
Click to expand...

Depends on the emulator and amount of threading it employs..

Example: Kaveri can run dolphin slightly above 'native' speeds.

The A8 should get close to that.

the A6 should be about the same if it's single-threaded, or much worse if it's multithreaded.
 
omega-x said:
Depends on the emulator and amount of threading it employs..

Example: Kaveri can run dolphin slightly above 'native' speeds.

The A8 should get close to that.

the A6 should be about the same if it's single-threaded, or much worse if it's multithreaded.
Click to expand...

What exactly do you mean by multithreaded/single threaded is this options in dolphin? or? the A6 is dual core (The one I'm referring to)

Well I have been thinking of running dolphin, but I am more interested in SNES, NES, N64, PS1, GBA emulation? How well would that work out?
 
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The A6 will run *anything* old. short of the dolphin/PS2 stuff, and even those probably half decent.

What I mean regarding ST/MT and dolphin is: I don't know what it does off hand, but if it's ST it will run slightly better on the A6 by virtue of the few % clock bump, and MT will run a ton better on a quad A8, by virtue of twice the CPU power in MT apps.
 
If you want to run dolphin... it i would go with the faster CPU. If you want to emulate older systems both would work well. Personally I wouldn't consider a dual-core ever. Really depends on how much you will use it and your budget.
 
dyslecix said:
Well I have been thinking of running dolphin, but I am more interested in SNES, NES, N64, PS1, GBA emulation? How well would that work out?
Click to expand...
Back in the day (I feel old now), a fast Pentium 4 was capable of emulating all of those, occasionally struggling with an N64. That was 12 years ago. I'm fairly certain any cpu you pick out of AMD's current lineup will handle these emulators just fine.

Dolphin and emulating the Gamecube and Wii is a whole other story as other members have already suggested.
 
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