14 DAY TRIAL // Though built as mainstream processors, AMD's newest APUs do, nonetheless, have what it takes to operate in gaming systems, something CyberPower was all too eager to prove, given the update to its desktop line.
Even though it took it years to finally get around to it, Advanced Micro Devices finally released the Fusion architecture this year (2011).
The entry-level, mobile APUs (accelerated processing units) were unleashed back at the start of the first quarter, while the mainstream ones only recently made their debut.
Nonetheless, if anything, the A-Series chips, as they are called, besides Llano, have proven to possess not just strong processing capabilities, but also noteworthy graphics.
Said proof did not just come in the form of reviews either, but also in that of gaming systems that adopted them.
CyberPower is the one that, in this particular case, chose AMD's newest products for its gaming rigs, or at least three of them.
More specifically, it is the Gamer Ultra 7000 Elite, Mega Special II and Gamer Ultra 7500 that can now be configured with the A6-3650 or A8-3850, leading to base prices of $595, $65o and $685, respectively.
For those that want to refresh their memory, the former APU is a quad-core model with a base clock speed of 2.6 GHz and the Radeon HD 6530D graphics.
Meanwhile, the A8-3850 is, naturally, the mightier of the duo, with the Radeon HD 6550D integrated graphics and a core frequency of 2.9 GHz.
An ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte FM1 motherboard acts as the platform for whatever chip is chosen, as well as up to 16 GB of DDR3 RAM (random access memory).
Other features one will want to know about are the air or liquid cooling, the possibility of putting in one or two HDDs (or SSDs) and multi-GPU support, for NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX configurations.