Question regarding APU+fast ram and a dedicated GPU

332 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Shpongle, Aug 19, 2013

Shpongle

Discussion Starter · Aug 15, 2013

Hi, I'm in the process of piecing together an APU (more-than-likely an A10-6800K) based rig for my girlfriend right now. I understand that APUs perform much better in games when paired with high speed ram. My question is does the ram speed matter as much if I were to add a dedicated GPU later on?

Btw I'm not talking about pairing a 7770 with the APU, but something like a HD 7870 or a GTX 760.

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spec

· #2 · Aug 19, 2013

If you'd only be using the dedicated GPU and ignoring the on-die GPU, then memory speed matters little. The difference between even 1600 and 2400 for CPU only is minimal. The only reason you'd want fast ram with an APU is to feed the integrated GPU, but when using a dedicated card, it already has its own RAM.

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Opcode

· #3 · Aug 19, 2013

Speed matters if you're running off just the iGPU and want the best gaming performance possible. Once you install a discrete card like a HD 7870 then the memory doesn't matter at all. The A10-6800k supports 2133 native out of the box, so I would aim for at least that. Which should be acceptable for gaming with the iGPU as well.

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Shpongle

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 19, 2013

Thank you so much for the replies.

I think I'll go with 2133MHz ram + iGPU for now. By the time a dedicated GPU is needed I'll have gotten my money's worth out of the faster ram.
Just gotta wait for these ram prices to go back down. The kit I'm running in my desktop was $54.00 last August, now it's going for $80+

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