Final thoughts
AMD's desktop-bound A8-3850 APU provides basic CPU and decent integrated GPU performance when evaluated in out-of-the-box mode. But there exists the possibility of eking out more from the £100 chip by overclocking it through a few simple tweaks in the motherboard's BIOS.
Understanding that AMD limits the maximum multiplier to the chip's native 29x, meaning it's upwards multiplier-locked, the only real option is to increase the master-clock speed. The tight integration of the CPU and GPU portions of the chip means that manipulating this one clock simultaneously increases the CPU, GPU and memory frequencies, though care must be taken to ensure the system remains stable when pushing up the MHz.
Our testing has shown that an AMD-supplied A8-3850 runs comfortably with the multiplier reduced to 27x and master-bus speed hiked to 133MHz. The knock-on effect of such tweaking, which includes slight voltage bumps to key lines, is a final CPU speed of 3.59GHz and the GPU up from 600MHz to 798MHz, while the memory rises to a healthy 1,772MHz.
The net result of this overclocking is an APU that benchmarks 20 per cent higher, for both the CPU and GPU, in most applications when compared with a stock-clocked chip. The downside of such an approach is, at times, an appreciably higher power-draw, thereby negating some of the power-conserving benefits built into the APU.
Make no mistake, folks, an AMD APU running at 20 per cent higher speeds won't challenge a decent mid-range chip and discrete graphics-card combination, but that's not really the point as the APU should cost significantly less.
Perhaps the best compromise and advice we can give readers looking to push their AMD APUs farther is to stick with default voltages and see if the chip-and-motherboard duo can run with a 133MHz master-clock bus. If they can, you'll receive a significant boost in GPU apps and a reasonable jump in CPU performance, all the while keeping power-draw at low-ish levels. Either this or look for a motherboard with explicit control over GPU frequency
AMD's built significant headroom into the range-topping A8-3850 APU, rated at 100W TDP. You can leverage most of this extra power by spending a few minutes in the BIOS, toggling the CPU and GPU frequencies and voltages to a level that comfortably surpasses out-of-the-box performance.
Our hope that AMD will help you out in the near future by providing multiplier-unlocked variants of its performance APUs. Watch this space.
