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July 20, 2012, 07:16:24 PM |
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I know it sucks but FM1 was a disposable socket platform by architecture. The reason isn't the CPU so much but the GPU elements change so darned fast ...
Let's face it, the GPU portion of these chips is AMD's only claim to fame, they will change the graphics components to the last gen of video cards as they release new designs and not every socket is going to be capable of handling a new GPU design no matter how careful you are with pre planning.
The iteration beyond this using GCN likely won't be FM2 compliant, but there are chances that you'll be able to buy an FM2+ board shortly to buy yourself one more generation of CPU compatibility at least. So while FM1 is locked and forgotten, a board featuring the FM2+ design will manage this round and the next round of APUs.
I have an FM1 with a 3870K Oc'd to 3.5Ghz CPU cores and 900Mhz GPU cores at stock volts with DDR3 1866 sitting on my desk in an open frame and it's my favourite test rig ever. Responsive, lots of features and idle power draw is great considering it's got all that functionality crammed on one chip. I have no regrets about buying it and it will make some kid a happy camper when I upgrade the test bed to FM2+. These APU's are definitely my new go to rigs for low cost home computing. Unreal functionality for a very low price.
At this low end of computing, I'm pretty brand agnostic. I just want the most bang for the buck and I think these are it.
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