Testurteil: "78%"
Test: Einzeltest: AMD A8-3870K
Zitat: The addition of an unlocked multiplier is always a fantastic tool to have at your disposal if you´re keen on this overclocking malarkey. We´re still a little bitter about the fact that overclocking Intel´s budget CPUs is so limited too - imagine a Pentium G850 with an unlocked multiplier? We go giddy at the thought too.
Thankfully, AMD has seen sense and created what is essentially an enthusiast-orientated CPU at the budget end of the market - something that only AMD has been willing to do for a while and the A8-3870K is one of the best examples we´ve seen and certainly the most rewarding.
If your motherboard proves particularly capable in tweaking the reference clock too, then you´ll likely see further gains, however it´s worth bearing in mind that power consumption and in turn the need for additional cooling rise steeply. This is nothing a decent modern CPU cooler can´t handle, though, but it´s unlikely you´ll be able to keep a heavily overclocked A8-3870K cool in a mini-ITX case using a low profile CPU cooler for example. It is essentially an overclocked quad core Phenom II afterall.
We can´t ignore the benefits of overclocking it, though, and costing the same as the A8-3850, the A8-3870K is both better value at stock speed, and has the awesome benefit of being a far easier chip to overclock. If you´re on a tight budget and don´t mine gaming at 1,680 x 1,050 and below with modest settings, the A8-3870K should be on your short list. If you´re prepared to overclock it, it´s an even more a great buy.