Great little chip. Runs hot just like any other AMD. GPU is squarely in the "not bad" category and still some of the best you can get onboard without spending a small fortune on top end Core i7 with IrisPro. The onboard GPU is its big sell so don't mess with the APU series unless you are specifically avoiding discrete video or don't have room for it...or you got one for free ;-) Would probably not purchase one again, opting instead for a bigger box with discrete GPU. Very niche.

Overall, great little APU. It's no performance king vs it's AM3+ bothers or intels cpu's but it will allow you to play your games and work on other productivity task at need.

Pros: 1. It's overall fast for most needs with 4 cores for your needs. (It matches my stock Core i7 920 in most tasks.)

1. Fast integrated graphics. This will allow you to play your games at low settings to medium settings depending on resolution.

This APU also allows you to build a compact system without a gpu or allows you to have some graphics in your system for now and to be able to save your money for a dedicated gpu down the road.

1. Adjustable TDP target. If you dont the high performance of this APU and/or trying to keep have a extremely quite system, you can adjust the TDP target between 95w (or disabled on my motherboard), 65, and 35w's.

Also useful for keeping temps under control if your using a cooler that cant perform under the cpu's full load.

1. Really good overclocker. On my Motherboard, I was able to get a 4.4Ghz clock with a gpu clock of around 1000Mhz.

And I think this Apu could go farther if it was on a better motherboard but im limited to ITX motherboards in my case.

Although I do have a con about the overclocking.

Cons:

1. This thing runs hot! Having a decent iGPU and 4 cpu cores (or 2 modules as AMD calls it) generates a lot of heat.

Unless you adjust the TDP target or have a good cpu cooler, be prepared for the stock cooler to be running like a jet when you have any load on it.

1. GPU overclocking and CPU overclocking. While i was able to get those said clocks above, there is a catch. Whether it's power delivery from the motherboard or a TPD target (95w), My APU will not run both at full speed no matter what.

If you have both gpu and cpu sides of the apu @ 100% loaded, the cpu will downclock itself (i've seen it go as low as 3GHz). This issue only disappears when the gpu is not loaded.

1. Tempature monitoring. Unlike other AMD products and intel products, you can NOT use normal temp monitoring programs like coretemp, HWmonitor, etc, as AMD is using a different method of reporting temp.

They report the temperature in Thermal Margin. As in, How much overhead you have till you hit the max temp. So big numbers like 70c is really good. Small numbers like 5 or 10c is really bad.

To monitor temps, You'll need to use AMD overdrive software.

Becoming a fan. If you are thinking about an i3, think about this one instead.

This APU is a beast! Stays quiet even under load (until you add a dedicated GPU, MSI R9 380 4GB in my case, which runs quiet but really heats up the APU because it sits so close to it. You can add a liquid cooler to get rid of that problem). It can handle many games at 1080p. Games such as GTA5, FarCry 3, Saints Row IV and the like run in console quality and sometimes better.

Decently fast cpu, good onboard graphics.

Don't build a system with an APU for over $350. Its not worth. Works great tho!

Fine for what it is.
Not going to be equal to a good CPU + GPU set-up for games.
Has powered my Linux PC with no problems at all.

Great for entry level pc. not so good for high end gaming. I will say its a good overclocker, I got my chip to 4.4 ghz stable but that may vary from chip to chip. best left to apu builds

This chip is amazing! It plays every game I have. Not at the best settings (obviously) but at acceptional ones.

I currently have this overclocked to 4.4 on the CPU and 960 on the GPU. Running stable so far, no issues. As long as you spring for decent ram, 2133 speed or better, you will get a good response from this chip.

Very much recommended for HTPC's or any system that requires a smaller case, or less voltage.

Overclock settings can be viewed in the photos of this build