got an APU, post in here.

latetogaming said:

My single playing thought process got me a A8-6600K on the Gigabyte F2A88X-D3H and since it had 4 or 6 gpu somethings I tried playing my Steam games sans dedicated video card, quickly realized I had made another bad choice I added the MSI Radeon R9 270 Gaming card. Playing Crysis 2 and BF4 at 20-30 fps is no joy, BF4 slowed to stopping many times but I played my library anyway. Metro LL was playable but soon I was thinking about making another bad choice - buying a new system with a FX-9570 with my new 290 Gaming card, 4GB and 1007 oc'd core does wonders with my current playing set, all my games are now at least a solid 60 frames or better, have yet to play BF4 but I've decided to wait and see if I can be happy with my current setup, so no Cyberpower yet. I ask our APU community if the 6600K is going to sputter and freeze when I finally do play BF4, is the 6600 the bottleneck in my system? Is there hope that the 6600K + 290 + 8GB 2133 vengeanceLP with a good CS650M watts will let me play my games happily? I've been playing Crysis 2 on the highest settings and it's a steady 100 fps! Would getting a A10 APU really make a difference, since spending another $300 for that 290 has made all my games playable and they look great using the MSI gaming app. I'm poor and I told myself the $300 for the 290 was all that reason should permit. So unless somebody can convince me that sinking more money into a system that I should not have bought in the first place, I'm sitting on this system for as long as I don't break it. Last thought, I've had this ASUS 24" monitor for @5yrs and it still does the job, but with the 290 is it possible that I can get a larger monitor, say 27-30 in. If someone can recommend a cheap larger monitor I'd be set, I figured a budget system only gets a 24" but I've always wanted a good reason to go large and now with the 290 ....I'm going to research this and will update. This forum is great I've been kicking myself ever since I got this APU and just the second time I'm online I find this thread, sympatico.

Click to expand...

ShrimpBrime said:

A8-3850 De-lidded as depicted. Runs OCed 3200mhz daily from 2.9ghz 111 reference clock.

The board is Asus F1A75-V PRO.

Faster than a FX-4300 at similar clocks having the 32nm Phenom type core config.

It's a good Cpu. Been holding up daily since release.

Click to expand...

chrisjames61 said:

Not much room between the edge of the heat spreader and those transistors. Do you use a razor or utility blade ShrimpBrime?

Click to expand...

ShrimpBrime said:

I use double edged shaving razors on Intel or AMD processors. Super sharp, super thin and super dangerous having double sides blades. RGone suggested using some tape to help protect the fingers. This I will pass along to others that would use a razor like that.

An Utility blade on the other hand is thick, hard to get between IHS and PCB especially on soldered processors. So this is the main reason I don't use them, but most people do and have success. I've found the shaving razor cuts the glue around the PCB like butter. Actually helps the cut job go a little faster. I take three passes around the cpu to ensure a good cut.

One issue with many AMD chips however is the glue they use is really similar to high temp gasket maker. Often times this gets on and between the chips surrounding the processor core area. This can make for difficult IHS removal even while the solder is a liquid cause the glue is still holding the IHS plate. High temp glue doesn't let go while the IHS plate is hot, So I fab'ed a way to hold both the PCB in a small model vise and a pair of vise grips on the IHS plate. This gives me "hands free" while I'm heating the IHS plate.

For AMD chips, this is a pretty high risk procedure, I've killed 1 FX-9590 already. And Killed a 4100 also. Maybe one more, can't remember. Out of some 12 or 14 something like that successful de-lids.

Click to expand...

chrisjames61 said:

I was thinking that those old school razor blades was what you maybe were using. They are dangerous. Sharp and two sided. Taping fingers sounds like a good idea. You still have pretty much all your dexterity. 12 out of 14 is a great percentage. Too bad it was a 9590 you killed. Isn't a 9590 soldered? Was that one you had to use a torch on?

Click to expand...