AMD’s APU technology is perfect for computer shops or offices who want to have PC builds with cheaper hardware and energy-cost without compromising average workloads. This technology allows you to use cheap hardware to handle up to heavy computer processing without the lack of graphics muscle to still carry medium gaming and browsing. These build will be running almost 24 hours and they don’t want to spend more money for overkills. In fact, it also a perfect build for a personal computer which is only used in slight gaming, entertainment, and office/school work. AMD APU is just the right piece for these needs.
1. It is cheaper.
2. Dual-cores are enough for my personal or encoding/browsing/slight gaming computer.
3. Above 3GHZ only on full load is just enough power if I really need it.
4. Powerful On-chip graphics that could run my games from low to medium settings while taking care of my browsing needs will save me more money and energy than buying an after-market graphics card.
Getting the job done with a powerful graphics and lesser power-consumption compared to my gaming machine, this build is just right for me. You might have a more powerful AMD APU at your disposal right now or planning to build one, here are some tips for you to take advantage of AMD APU technology:
1. Choose dual-core APUs only. If you are on this build, you might be saving money and you don’t want buying more cores with more power consumption.
2. Choose the latest APUs because they have the better graphics. FM2 sockets APUs are better than FM1s. You might want to forget the Ks because they will just increase your TDP.
3. Run on normal mode only where the processor will only run to the labeled speed at full load. You can have this setting on your BIOS. This will save you energy.
4. Still on your BIOS settings, force the APU to use the IGP or Integrated Graphics all the time and choose the maximum shared memory size. In my case, I choose 2GB full which is more enough for me but this is the part that you really want to take advantage. If you want to play modern games and browse modern sites most of the time, 2GB is the best choice. You can also step down to 1GB depending on your needs.
5. For the fourth tip to really work effectively, you need at least 6GB of RAM running at 1600MHz. You can choose bigger memory size and speed until your motherboard supports it. This leads to the suggestion that you also need to have a more advance motherboard or a board with a higher FM2 chipset to support high speed RAM. I am using 8GB of RAM. Actual memory running is 6GB only; the 2GB is shared on my graphics. RAM is cheaper these days than a graphics card, so you better take advantage of it.
6. Use only low resolution monitors. Of course, in this budget bracket you are not aiming for 1080p. While you can do that with your APU, it will increase your load and decrease your headroom. Meanwhile, a 20-inch monitor with 1600x900 resolutions works very well for me.
7. Be sure to download and install AMD Catalyst for your APU to function well.
You have more tips to share? Write a comment below. Thanks.
