AMD A8-6500 3.5GHz PC for NON-HTPC Use

[GreatestOne]

I am looking for some good deal desktops for some clients, and found this

$429
ASUS M11BB-US003O Desktop PC A8-Series APU A8-6500 (3.50GHz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity Windows 7 Home Premium

Been looking for one that has

- Windows 7
- No Dell/HP/Gateway
- Under $500
- Comparable to a mid-level i5
- No refurbs

I cant see anything else remotely similar to this, and the reason I ask about the CPU is I been a bit in a cave with these AMD A8's, and was wondering if this model is similar to a mid-level i5 for "regular pedestrian" use. I usually try to get them something thats a good value that will "last" another several years with some easy RAM upgrades until they need to buy a new one again.

I understand these A8's nix the need for a dedicated GPU which is great, but my peeps dont game anyways so if I am spending $$$ for that, and getting screwed on the CPU power, then I may just keep looking.

I have seen comparisons of this CPU with i7, i5, and i3 of all different speeds, so I am as bit confused. All I can see is it is inferior to my i5 2500K, but if its close to it in real world "email and internet user" performance, then I am fine with it.

 

[wtourist]

Alright, an A8-6500 APU combines a low TDP FX-43XX CPU and approximately an HD6550 GPU. The strength of the APU is the 2 module 4 core CPU and graphics. The weakness is Intel architecture is much better at single threaded applications.
The A8-6500 was about a $110 APU, so competition is a Pentium dual core and discrete card, about $140.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161422
So are primary usage multi or single threaded?
I do not find the APUs superior to I3 builds in CPU performance, the economy is in "saving" the price of the discrete graphics card. OTOH, many common uses are fine with HD4000 Intel iGPU graphics.

 

[GreatestOne]

Alright, an A8-6500 APU combines a low TDP FX-43XX CPU and approximately an HD6550 GPU. The strength of the APU is the 2 module 4 core CPU and graphics. The weakness is Intel architecture is much better at single threaded applications.
The A8-6500 was about a $110 APU, so competition is a Pentium dual core and discrete card, about $140.

So are primary usage multi or single threaded?
I do not find the APUs superior to I3 builds in CPU performance, the economy is in "saving" the price of the discrete graphics card. OTOH, many common uses are fine with HD4000 Intel iGPU graphics.

So basically they wont ever do anything that is graphic intensive, even moderately, so that means the A8 series is a waste here and I should look for alternatives....

 

[Darakian]

Even a modern atom is now overkill for "email and internet user" performance. As gpu compute states to take off the gpu portion of the A8 may get used more for spreadsheets and the like, but either way if we're talked about a computer for grandma then the CPU is not going to matter.

 

[GreatestOne]

Even a modern atom is now overkill for "email and internet user" performance. As gpu compute states to take off the gpu portion of the A8 may get used more for spreadsheets and the like, but either way if we're talked about a computer for grandma then the CPU is not going to matter.

I know what ur saying, but for me, I try to get something that will be fine for at least 5-6 years for someone today, not just fine for now... or else I would just tell them to keep using their Celeron 1.6ghz for another 5 years, which is not realistic, along with their outdated 4MB of RAM. On top of that, I dont want to risk getting something "borderline" and then having their smart aleck son come visit and tell her/him I bought them a piece of crap.

That being said, I might just get this for the price unless something else comes up this weekend.

 

[Darakian]

You, I'm almost of the mindset that a current gen atom is over kill. A neighbor of mine is still using an old sempron with onboard geforce for everything she does. Pretty much everything is a web app these days and you don't need a ton of power. I don't think borderline is a term that applies if all you do is watch netflix.
It's a use case thing, but I tend to advise lower power when possible. Going fanless adds immensely to the longevity of a computer and being lower power helps with going fanless.
These have my eye right now
http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fit-pc4/