Yes, the AMD Athlon X4 845 quad core processor was my second choice, as the slightly more expensive Kaveri A8-7600 with the quite fast iGPU was more tempting. When comparing the two processors, I noticed other differences too, like:
- the Athlon 845 has only 2MB of L2 cache, but has 2x more and better L1 cache
- the Athlon 845 is one generation newer, so it executes about 15% more IPC (instructions per clock) than the old Kaveri chips
- I really want to upgrade my video card in the future, in which case the iGPU would have been a waste of money (The A8-7600 processor is about 15 USD more expensive than the Athlon X4)
- the Athlon 845 should be 10% faster than the older Kaveri A8-7600 APU
I read many comments on the internet about the cooler that comes with the Athlon chip. The majority has a bad opinion about it, but the technical aspects are actually quite good. In fact it features a silent fan and the heat sink itself can handle up to 95W TDP processors. Even though the Athlon processor cannot be overclocked, it's nice to have a higher performance cooler, because then it can run much quieter than on the 95W processor it was meant for.
The cooler doesn't have heat pipes, nor a copper base, but it's large enough to keep the 65W processor under 60*C even at low fan RPM. There is just one problem I'll have to fix with this cooler, I need to isolate the fan from the heat sink, because if it's firmly attached with screws, then all the vibration gets transmitted to the heat sink, processor, mainboard ... then to the case.
I found an excellent anti-vibration material in the strangest place: in the sole of a work safety shoe. That material is a bit soft, but also doesn't lose it's form over time. It's some kind of rubber sponge/foam thing ... meant to protect your feet when you're working long hours on hard floors.
So I'll cut small peaces from this material and replace the screws with it, leaving a small gap between the fan and heat sink, in order to let the fan vibrate without transmitting it to the rest of the computer.
First I'll have to see how silent the fan is, but unfortunately current brushless motor technology isn't all that great. Switching between the 4 phases creates significant vibrations...
A word about ALTEX.RO ... many customers are dissatisfied with their services, as delivery time can reach 10 days and beyond. BUT this store guarantees the smallest price, or they pay you 2x the difference, if you find the product cheaper somewhere else. In fact is it the cheapest store most of the time, but the price difference can sometimes be just a couple of cents, so in these cases you might think about shopping somewhere else, at the second or third cheapest places, as they offer better service and shorter delivery times.