Help please - A newb so lost!

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Pupil2Prodigy

Pupil2Prodigy

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Aug 6, 2013
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I want to build an AMD budget rig for around $400 but I don't know where to start.

I'm upgrading from a fossil-like laptop in order to play EVE Online. I'd also like to multi-task in windows and web applications.
I've spent hours comparing Tigerdirect, Newegg and pcpartpicker but draw more questions than answers...

Recommended System Configuration:
• OS: Windows 7 / 8
• CPU: Intel i7 Series or AMD X4 @ 2.0 GHz or greater
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Video: AMD Radeon 6790 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 or better with at least 1 GB VRAM

Bang Per Buck Q&A
1. Video card+Fx or integrated APU graphics? L2/L3 Cache importance?
2. Core Clock, CUDA Cores, Effective Memory Clock, Mem. Interface?
3. Sacrifice ram size for speed? i.e 8gb of 2133 or a lot more 1866?
4. I require very little storage, SSD, 10k 64mb cache or 7200 128mb cache HD?
5. Motherboard form factor?

First consideration:

CPU - AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor - $142.99
Motherboard - ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard - $49.99
Memory - G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory - $77.99
Storage - Corsair Neutron Series GTX 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk - $124.99
Case - Topower TP-1687BB-300 (Black/White) MicroATX Desktop Case w/300W Power Supply - $25.98
Optical Drive - LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer - $15.99

Base Total: $431.94
Shipping: $5.99
Total: $437.93


Second consideration:

CPU - AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core - $119.98
Motherboard - ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 - $49.99
Memory - G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 - $43.99
Storage - Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM - $59.98
Case - Topower TP-1687BB-300 (Black/White) MicroATX Desktop w/300W Power Supply - $25.98
Optical - Drive LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer - $15.99

Base Total: $319.92
Mail-in Rebates: -$10.00
Shipping: $5.99
Total: $315.91
 
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20salmon

20salmon

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Jun 23, 2013
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don't get that case with the included PSU. The power supply is a component you want to spend a bit of money on and go with a good brand like Seasonic or Corsair. Im also concerned that 300w won't be enough. I use a 650w PSU for the A10 6800K and a HD7950 GPU.

I would recommend getting a GPU if you want to play games. The A10 6800k seems like overkill for your needs, it also runs pretty hot so you might want to invest in a good after market cooler for it if you are bothered about noise. If you're gonna do that then you need to pick your case very carefully: Make sure it can fit a large CPU cooler, if you want to keep the case small you may need to spend quite a bit on an All in One water cooling system for the CPU, for this you need at least one 120mm fan slot close to the CPU, preferably 2 120mm fan slots right next to each other so you can fit a 240mm cooler like the Corsair H100i or Swiftech H220.

A micro ATX motherboard will be fine, you want to get one that supports 6GB/s SATA for your SSD.

**********
Edit:
I didn't notice the "budget" part of your post so disregard what I said about the AiO water cooler, it will be pricy. Go for a CPU that produces less heat then you wont have too worry too much about an after market cooler. The A10 6800k is 100W TDP, you can get good AMD ones that are as low as 65W TDP.
 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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Some things to consider:

If you are not going to purchase a gpu, the amd apu's will give you the best bang for your buck. Do NOT buy the case/psu combo - those psu's are not known for their quality/stability, and if they go they can take your m/b and cpu along for the ride. Also - you have not budgeted for your o/s - windows will cost you ~$100, so be sure to put that in your budget. For your budget, kingston blue memory will be fine, and you really won't need anything faster than 1600. Use a regular HDD, not an SSD at this point.

THIS is about as barebones as you can get.
 
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iamthepieman

iamthepieman

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Jul 9, 2013
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Do you need a monitor? It looks from your questions like you need an OS. If you need both those you won't get much for 400. Windows 7 alone is $80. Don't get a case with an included power supply. They are almost always junk, the one you picked is no exception.

What are you going to be using this for besides playing EVE? Do you need any peripherals like mouse keyboard, speakers, headset?
 
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Pupil2Prodigy

Pupil2Prodigy

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Aug 6, 2013
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I have a nice flatscreen monitor and Win7 - I only want to purchase what I need - not going to play any FPS or anything like that. I've also got mice, keyboards etc

Just want to run EVE while streaming Netflix**

Do not want to pay a dime more than what that calls for-
 
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Pupil2Prodigy

Pupil2Prodigy

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Aug 6, 2013
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I definitely don't want over kill, the cheaper the better, EVE+Netflix, that's all I'll be running. I don't want to run EVE on max either, mid settings would be great. What kind of APU should I be looking @?
 
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20salmon

20salmon

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Jun 23, 2013
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Go for an AMD A4 5300 CPU, and a cheap graphics card. according to Eveonline.com any graphics card with >= 256 MB VRAM or more that supports Shader Model 3 & DirectX 9.0c is good enough. Meeting the game requirements is pretty cheap. If I were you I would spend the bulk of my money on the power supply (between 500-650W), the case and the motherboard. that way you can easily replace a cheap CPU and GPU should ever want more from your rig in the future.
 
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20salmon

20salmon

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Jun 23, 2013
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Indeed, my bad, didnt see that recommendation

 
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Pupil2Prodigy

Pupil2Prodigy

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Aug 6, 2013
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This started on the Memory board but I think it's more relevant here, your help is greatly appreciated, thanks-


I've watched a lot of youtube, posted questions on the various component boards here and I've learned a great deal. I've familiarized myself with pcpartpicker, an excellent tool. I registered and saved many different configurations. I've gone AMD on all of them because my budget is sub 400.

Recommended System Configuration:
• CPU: [strike]Intel i7 Series[/strike] or AMD X4 @ 2.0 GHz or greater
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Video: AMD Radeon 6790 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 or better with at least 1 GB VRAM

I want to spend as little as possible to play EVE Online with Mid-High settings

Some configurations are as follows:

A bit above my liking: $467.89
CPU AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core $142.99
Motherboard ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 $49.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 $77.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $59.98
Case Topower TP-1687BB-300 (Black/White) MicroATX Desktop w/300W Power Supply $30.98
Optical Drive LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer $15.98
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.98

Not bad at all @: $320.90
CPU AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core $119.98
Motherboard ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 $49.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 $43.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $59.98
Case Topower TP-1687BB-300 (Black/White) MicroATX Desktop w/300W Power Supply $30.98
Optical Drive LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer $15.98
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (32-bit) Already Own**

Carded @: $338.90
CPU AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core $89.99
Motherboard ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 $49.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 $43.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $59.98
Video Card PowerColor Radeon HD 6670 1GB $48.98
Case Topower TP-1687BB-300 (Black/White) MicroATX Desktop w/300W Power Supply $30.98
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer $14.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (32-bit) Already Own**

Carded #2: $323.90
CPU AMD Athlon II X4 631 2.6GHz Quad-Core $64.99
Motherboard MSI A55M-P33 Micro ATX FM1 $47.98
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 $39.99
Storage Western Digital AV-GP 250GB 3.5" 5400RPM $43.99
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1GB $79.99
Case Topower TP-1687BB-300 (Black/White) MicroATX Desktop w/300W Power Supply $30.98
Optical Drive LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer $15.98
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (32-bit) Already Own**

I want to focus my attention on uncapped resources. I've seen a whole lot of bench marking videos showing even games like crisis on max don't use more than 1.25g of vram, win32 cant address any more than 4g including vram) I'd like to spend a disproportional amount of my budget on the cpu itself-
 
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