AMD already has a line of these super cheap chips. Why go through the effort of making another A8 when you already have a complete, sever year old lineup for such a purpose?
Nothing wrong with options. Plus it's probably a fix up of old stock. As mentioned, people can use their same board, with DDR3 RAM and get a bit of an upgrade. Go with Ryzen you need a new board, new DDR4 RAM too.
Could be left over chips, cut downs, part of the GF agreement they needed to burn, etc... Also a 3rd party maker could have got a deal on a lot of older boards/ddr3 memory so for an economy system in a low cost living area these may work well.
Ha, I have a system with an 860k that overclocks to 880k territory without voltage adjustment, and was always a little disappointed that nothing comparable ever came out of Carrizo. They can get 4.2GHz boost out of it at 65W in APU form (see the A12-8870) but never came out with an Athlon part. I always figured they'd release an 890k or something and it never happened.
All the Excavator designs released were tuned for efficiency, rather than high clocks. That includes all Carrizo and Bristol Ridge models. They DID have a Carrizo Athlon, the locked 845. But even if they had an unlocked model, it wouldn't overclock well. Generally if you had an FM2+ platform and wanted a chip that could overclock decent, you'd aim for a soldered unlocked Godavari.
Oh, I get it and am aware of the 845. It's not worth it to buy the Godavari for the upgrade on that machine, but that's clearly what's available. The Carrizo A12-8870 clocks close to my 860k but at lower power, so if they released it as an 855k or something it would also probably wouldn't be worth it either.
That said, I still thought it might happen due to the existence said A12-8870. Also I just looked and the Bristol Ridge review here mentioned a 4.8GHz overclock.
Anyway, not a huge deal, just kind of one of those weird little corners of history.
DDR4 did get insane there for a while. It's dropping back down to reasonable levels. If you don't tax the IGP or you're getting a dGPU, the single CCX config would be served just fine with a $115-120 16GB kit. The IF speed isn't as vital as it is with dual-CCX models in those scenarios. If you want better IGP performance, plan on upgrading the CPU later (but not the RAM), etc you can get a 3200 kit for around $135. That's not counting the occasional sale, either.
Holy Sh%t the shill-force is out defending AMD at all costs today.
But I'm sure when Ice Lake launches you'll call it a rebrand that adds nothing new too, while simultaneously vomiting copy-n-pasted praise on AMD for relabeling their dumpster products.
I never understand why people get so enthusiastic over one manufacturer. You're merely limiting yourself and the obsession with shilling means everyone else takes your opinion less seriously.
Nah, we just realize AMD probably has old stock they want to sell. I wouldn't *buy* one but there's a valid reason in wanting to *sell* them. If AMD can make a profit off the stuff it makes business sense.
These chips are slower than the Godavari chips that were out for FM2+ forever ago. I imagine there was idle 28nm production, and demand in developing nations for cheap chips. It probably also helps clear out old stock boards.
That's an awesome title, Ian. I said what I wanted to say elsewhere multiple times (looks like AMD is re-purposing Bristol Ridge), but still had to comment.
You are taking me back to my Super7 days! I had one K6-III+ (450Mhz w/ 256k L2 on die) hit 672 Mhz (6 * 112Mhz bus speed), about 3 that hit 618Mhz (6 * 103Mhz bus speed) and all of them hit 600Mhz. I even had a few K6-2+ (128k L2 on die) and I put those in a bunch of Toshiba laptops at 570Mhz (6* 95Mhz the maximum I could do and still cope with the heat in a laptop).
Yeah, those Via mVP3 boards with the ATI Rage 128 Pro AGP Video Card, VIA Envy PCI Sound Card (inexpensive alternative to SoundBlaster), 3COM Fast EtherLink XL PCI network adapter, and USRobotics V92 56k PCI Modems and 384MB of SDRam.. All fitted in InWin chassis with an IDE-UD33- LiteOn CD andWEstern Digital Caviar 2.0GB drives. Built soooooooo many of setups exactly like that in the 97-98 time frame (may have my years mixed up... can't remember everything).
Actually I think I got infected with morbus upgraditis in those Socket 7 days, starting with a K5, going on with K6, K6-2, K6 II+, K6 III/III+ from 75 to 550MHz in lots of painfull little steps...
I reveled in L3 induced benchmark frenzy and banged my head when Socket 7 memory bandwidth killed those games evidently designed on those really wide Slot 1 CPU buses...
That's probably why I am still hunting for leftover Z170/D3 boards to recycle the last DDR3-2400 modules I bought for underperforming Kaveris with some grandfatherly Kaby Lake when I really should make a clean break with DDR4: But 32GB at those prices?
Just in case anybody wants them, I think I still have a full set of A10-5800K (Trinity), A10-6700K (Richland) and A10-7850K (Kaveri) to swap for an ordinary i5-7600K if anyone is interested....
Old davo opened some boxes at the back of the warehouse ... oh look , what are we going to do with these? relabel em and ship 'em out ... yep ,$50 a go
When the Carrizo-based Athlon X4 845 came out, there were reports that the graphics part of the Carrizo was disabled because FM2+ does not provide the right power delivery for the Carrizo graphics. Were these reports wrong? If yes, why did we not get a desktop Carrizo with graphics then? If not, how come we now get a desktop Carrizo with graphics.
One speculation I have read is that the A8-7680 is actually a Bristol Ridge that uses the DDR3 controller instead of the DDR4 controller of the Bristol Ridge (according to the source, Bristol Ridge has both). However, I expect that the power delivery problem of FM2+ (if that report is true) would also affect the Bristol Ridge.
This would be the most cost effective way to add dedicated hardware HEVC decoding to an existing FM2+ platform. Anyone running FM2+ with Kaveri or earlier would benefit from the upgrade.
They could sell these CPU's for $10 and it is not worth it because of the high ddr4 prices. Personally I would like to see AMD or Intel releasing low end CPU takes the older ddr3 memory.
That really is a zombie-chip. Yes, probably trying to sell off old stock, or working down existing manufacturing agreements they couldn't get out of, but still.. But, it just reminds everybody of the bad old days at AMD (slower, hotter, always two steps behind Intel). The APU promise (GPU assisted computing) never materialized. So, unless this is a closing out of stock or old GF contracts, it wouldn't make sense to dedicate resources to this vs. rolling out more Zen/Vega-based Athlon variants for the entry-level and business desktop market segment.
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kulareddy - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Why AMD why? I mean why? But why?Jleppard - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Not everything is about high end gaming. These are affordable and capable chips for foreign markets were wealth is not great.TheinsanegamerN - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
AMD already has a line of these super cheap chips. Why go through the effort of making another A8 when you already have a complete, sever year old lineup for such a purpose?kulareddy - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
I agree0ldman79 - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
They probably didn't make anything.They probably took existing stock off the shelf, maybe some minor changes for retail customers.
bananaforscale - Friday, November 2, 2018 - link
This.Alistair - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
they already have a new dual core option... weird...albert89 - Thursday, November 1, 2018 - link
Completely right. Everyone relax.Believe it or not, Carrizo was the most
advanced AMD APU on the planet.
CheapSushi - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Nothing wrong with options. Plus it's probably a fix up of old stock. As mentioned, people can use their same board, with DDR3 RAM and get a bit of an upgrade. Go with Ryzen you need a new board, new DDR4 RAM too.Marlin1975 - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Could be left over chips, cut downs, part of the GF agreement they needed to burn, etc...Also a 3rd party maker could have got a deal on a lot of older boards/ddr3 memory so for an economy system in a low cost living area these may work well.
Colin1497 - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Ha, I have a system with an 860k that overclocks to 880k territory without voltage adjustment, and was always a little disappointed that nothing comparable ever came out of Carrizo. They can get 4.2GHz boost out of it at 65W in APU form (see the A12-8870) but never came out with an Athlon part. I always figured they'd release an 890k or something and it never happened.Alexvrb - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
All the Excavator designs released were tuned for efficiency, rather than high clocks. That includes all Carrizo and Bristol Ridge models. They DID have a Carrizo Athlon, the locked 845. But even if they had an unlocked model, it wouldn't overclock well. Generally if you had an FM2+ platform and wanted a chip that could overclock decent, you'd aim for a soldered unlocked Godavari.Colin1497 - Sunday, November 4, 2018 - link
Oh, I get it and am aware of the 845. It's not worth it to buy the Godavari for the upgrade on that machine, but that's clearly what's available. The Carrizo A12-8870 clocks close to my 860k but at lower power, so if they released it as an 855k or something it would also probably wouldn't be worth it either.That said, I still thought it might happen due to the existence said A12-8870. Also I just looked and the Bristol Ridge review here mentioned a 4.8GHz overclock.
Anyway, not a huge deal, just kind of one of those weird little corners of history.
IGTrading - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
It is very nice of AMD to provide an upgrade path with all the benefits of a mature manufacturing process.Goes to show again that choosing AMD always have long lasting and sometimes surprise benefits.
If the parts are anyway in stock for AMD, this will be a perfect upgrade path for all the A6-7400 and other users with low-end chips.
vkristof - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
I am typing my comment on an A6-7400K based system now. The relatively high price of two sticks of DDR4 has held me back from upgrading to a 2200G.And this system has some flavor ASrock uATX motherboard...
Alexvrb - Wednesday, October 31, 2018 - link
DDR4 did get insane there for a while. It's dropping back down to reasonable levels. If you don't tax the IGP or you're getting a dGPU, the single CCX config would be served just fine with a $115-120 16GB kit. The IF speed isn't as vital as it is with dual-CCX models in those scenarios. If you want better IGP performance, plan on upgrading the CPU later (but not the RAM), etc you can get a 3200 kit for around $135. That's not counting the occasional sale, either.CajunArson - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Holy Sh%t the shill-force is out defending AMD at all costs today.But I'm sure when Ice Lake launches you'll call it a rebrand that adds nothing new too, while simultaneously vomiting copy-n-pasted praise on AMD for relabeling their dumpster products.
Manch - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
Need to throw IGTrading and HStewart in a ring and let them shill to the death. SHILL SHILL SHILL SHILL!!!!philehidiot - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
The vomiting is making me want to vomit.I never understand why people get so enthusiastic over one manufacturer. You're merely limiting yourself and the obsession with shilling means everyone else takes your opinion less seriously.
bigboxes - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
You're just as bad.bananaforscale - Friday, November 2, 2018 - link
Nah, we just realize AMD probably has old stock they want to sell. I wouldn't *buy* one but there's a valid reason in wanting to *sell* them. If AMD can make a profit off the stuff it makes business sense.Alexvrb - Wednesday, October 31, 2018 - link
These chips are slower than the Godavari chips that were out for FM2+ forever ago. I imagine there was idle 28nm production, and demand in developing nations for cheap chips. It probably also helps clear out old stock boards.ET - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
That's an awesome title, Ian. I said what I wanted to say elsewhere multiple times (looks like AMD is re-purposing Bristol Ridge), but still had to comment.quorm - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
I wish they would unexpectedly release a new AM1 processor with hardware x265 support.PeachNCream - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
I need something for my Socket 7 motherboard to replace an AMD K6-III. :P0ldman79 - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
I've got a K6-III+ mobile chip that is guaranteed to hit 600MHz right in front of me.I actually pulled it from my family's system after they killed the board. It was unique.
HardwareDufus - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
You are taking me back to my Super7 days! I had one K6-III+ (450Mhz w/ 256k L2 on die) hit 672 Mhz (6 * 112Mhz bus speed), about 3 that hit 618Mhz (6 * 103Mhz bus speed) and all of them hit 600Mhz. I even had a few K6-2+ (128k L2 on die) and I put those in a bunch of Toshiba laptops at 570Mhz (6* 95Mhz the maximum I could do and still cope with the heat in a laptop).Yeah, those Via mVP3 boards with the ATI Rage 128 Pro AGP Video Card, VIA Envy PCI Sound Card (inexpensive alternative to SoundBlaster), 3COM Fast EtherLink XL PCI network adapter, and USRobotics V92 56k PCI Modems and 384MB of SDRam.. All fitted in InWin chassis with an IDE-UD33- LiteOn CD andWEstern Digital Caviar 2.0GB drives. Built soooooooo many of setups exactly like that in the 97-98 time frame (may have my years mixed up... can't remember everything).
0ldman79 - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Nice.My Super Socket 7 board could only do 100. I had to use CPU Cool to actually make it stay at 100MHz for some reason. Can't remember why.
I had an K6-2 550 and upgraded to a K6-III+, 25 micron to 18 micron. Sis 630 chipset, quite horrible chipset, but it did the trick.
The K6-III+ was faster encoding divx than my Duron 700 that replaced it. The Duron had to hit 948MHz to match the K6-III+.
abufrejoval - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Seriously? Did you need to mention that?Actually I think I got infected with morbus upgraditis in those Socket 7 days, starting with a K5, going on with K6, K6-2, K6 II+, K6 III/III+ from 75 to 550MHz in lots of painfull little steps...
I reveled in L3 induced benchmark frenzy and banged my head when Socket 7 memory bandwidth killed those games evidently designed on those really wide Slot 1 CPU buses...
That's probably why I am still hunting for leftover Z170/D3 boards to recycle the last DDR3-2400 modules I bought for underperforming Kaveris with some grandfatherly Kaby Lake when I really should make a clean break with DDR4: But 32GB at those prices?
abufrejoval - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Just in case anybody wants them, I think I still have a full set of A10-5800K (Trinity), A10-6700K (Richland) and A10-7850K (Kaveri) to swap for an ordinary i5-7600K if anyone is interested....hojnikb - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
That would actually be very awsome. Something like stoney ridge would be perfect.GreenReaper - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Forget x265, go for AV1!krumme - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Nosta is happykrumme - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
The rise of Soironx have begun !mickulty - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Oh for gods sake, are we really still doing he stupid 'acting like CMT is SMT' stuff? Come on Ian, they're slow cores, not SMT-style threads.dromoxen - Monday, October 29, 2018 - link
Old davo opened some boxes at the back of the warehouse ... oh look , what are we going to do with these? relabel em and ship 'em out ... yep ,$50 a goSamus - Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - link
Intel's turn to release a new Pentium 4!AntonErtl - Wednesday, October 31, 2018 - link
When the Carrizo-based Athlon X4 845 came out, there were reports that the graphics part of the Carrizo was disabled because FM2+ does not provide the right power delivery for the Carrizo graphics. Were these reports wrong? If yes, why did we not get a desktop Carrizo with graphics then? If not, how come we now get a desktop Carrizo with graphics.One speculation I have read is that the A8-7680 is actually a Bristol Ridge that uses the DDR3 controller instead of the DDR4 controller of the Bristol Ridge (according to the source, Bristol Ridge has both). However, I expect that the power delivery problem of FM2+ (if that report is true) would also affect the Bristol Ridge.
ajlueke - Thursday, November 1, 2018 - link
This would be the most cost effective way to add dedicated hardware HEVC decoding to an existing FM2+ platform. Anyone running FM2+ with Kaveri or earlier would benefit from the upgrade.pugster - Tuesday, November 6, 2018 - link
They could sell these CPU's for $10 and it is not worth it because of the high ddr4 prices. Personally I would like to see AMD or Intel releasing low end CPU takes the older ddr3 memory.eastcoast_pete - Wednesday, November 7, 2018 - link
That really is a zombie-chip. Yes, probably trying to sell off old stock, or working down existing manufacturing agreements they couldn't get out of, but still.. But, it just reminds everybody of the bad old days at AMD (slower, hotter, always two steps behind Intel). The APU promise (GPU assisted computing) never materialized. So, unless this is a closing out of stock or old GF contracts, it wouldn't make sense to dedicate resources to this vs. rolling out more Zen/Vega-based Athlon variants for the entry-level and business desktop market segment.