I’ve contacted AMD and received the AMD Test Drive hardware specs directly from their social media team.  For those who received a e-mail confirmation to be the first 95 AMD Test Drive participants, you probably were like myself left wondering exactly what hardware you’d be receiving.  I ran across a forum post where a user explained what they were sending, and figured i’d check with AMD to confirm that.  They gave me a bit more information then I could find on the internet or that forum, so I thought I’d release it here.

This is the e-mail AMD’s social media team sent me:

Now, let’s take a look at what AMD test drive hardware is being shipped out, and see how much it cost.

• CPU

Everyone AMD Test Driver will receive the newest APU from AMD, the A10-6800k.  This CPU comes with a 4.1Ghz base clock, or 4.4Ghz with turbo enabled.  To compare, the FX-8350 comes clocked at 4.0Ghz with 4.2Ghz when tubro is enabled.

• Motherboard (Various models, all of which are unknown)

Since we won’t know which motherboard we’ll recieve until the package arrives at our door, I picked one that I thought suited the AMD Test Drive program the best.  The Gigbayte GA-F2A85X-UP4 supports RAM up to 1866Mhz (What AMD is sending to test drivers), and allows expansion all the way from RAM to dual GPUs.  However, keep in mind the AMD a10-6800k on board GPU can be crossfired with a HD6670 by itself.  Something I feel is important for AMD Test Drivers to test out.

• RAM

2x4GB AMD RP1866 DDR3 (2X8GB Kit $131.99 at Newegg)

AMD will be sending 2x4GB of their AMD Rp1866 RAM.  This particular RAM does not appear to be on sale in longer in this configuration, however the 2x8GB kit is available on Newegg for $131.99.  If you’re looking to get ahead of the game, or push your Test Drive kit overboard, you can always pick up 4 of these sticks and push your rig to 32GB of DDR3.

• Case

I think AMD did it right by sending out the Fractal Arc Midi.  This mid-tower comes at a decent cost while packing all the features AMD Test Driver’s need to really grind into the A10-6800K based system.  Below I’ve listed a few specs to give you an idea on what the case comes with.  It should also be mentioned that this case has received 5 stars on both Newegg and Amazon by all reviewers.

• 2x USB 3.0 ports, front audio ports, 2 x 5.25″ Drive bays, 8 x 3.5″ drive bays, and 2 additional 2.5″ SSD spots behind the motherboard tray.
• It comes with 3 fans pre-installed, and can support up to a total of 7.
• Water cooling is available with dual 120MM radiator supports on top.
• The Fractal Arc Midi supports GPU’s up to 290mm in legth, or 470mm with the HDD cage removed.

• Power Supply

Clixxer and I were both shocked when we saw AMD was sending out a gold rated power supply.  I was only expecting a bronze rated PSU honestly, so I was thrilled when I saw it was gold.  It’s not modular, so don’t expect it to have sex appeal, but it will definitely get the job done.

• SSD

I’m slightly disappointed here with the decision on this one.  I suppose they either expect everyone to have extra storage lying around, or really don’t want us to crank out the benchmarks and reviews on the AMD Test Drive hardware we receive.  I have problems with storage using my 120GB SSD in my laptop, I fear lots of uninstalling and installing is in my future with this configuration of AMD Test Drive hardware.

• Optical Drive

Not much to say.. it’s an optical drive.  I’m just glad it’s included and can burn DVDs.  I imagine it’s something similar to the one above.

• Operating System

I guess AMD is about as pleased with Windows 7 as most of the PC industry is, and by that I mean they aren’t pleased.  However, there’s no telling which version of Windows 7 we’re getting here.  Seeing that they’re sending a quality mid-tower along with a gold rated PSU, i’m going to guess they’re sending out Windows 7 Ultimate or Professional, I’d be shocked if was home edition.

AMD Test Drive Hardware List Total Cost

So now that we have the parts list for the AMD Test drive program, we compiled the cost.  The total cost for the AMD Test drive hardware is…

Somewhere between $670 to $815 dollars.  It really just depends on what motherboard and operating system they decide to send.  Of course I highly doubt it cost AMD that much, especially considering they manufacture the RAM and the CPU.  Either way, the complete system is definitely somewhere along the mid-range build here.

If you were to build the exact build we have listed on this page it would cost you $884.39!  That’s of course with 8GB more of DDR3, and assuming the test drive rig is shipping with Windows 7 Ultimate.

 

So are you pleased with the AMD Test Drive Hardware parts list or do you think something should have been changed?  If I were to change anything about the AMD Test drive hardware, it would be the SSD.  I think I would have preferred a 500GB HDD over the 60GB SSD here.  We’re going to need more storage!