New budget build for lighter gaming

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tduanebarr

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Feb 27, 2012
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Building a tower for my 'lil sis. She doesn't do much gaming, but she plays some games. I'm thinking of going with an APU build, here is the link for what I'm thinking. She has a hd from an old box I'll be transferring to the new one.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/tduanebarr/saved/2YYs

Also, was thinking of maybe going with an fx-4300 to allow her to throw in a bigger gpu if she were to ever want to. She has a little gt210 that she could use for graphics in the mean time.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/tduanebarr/saved/2YZM

What do you guys think? Any Intel folks want to dissuade me from AMD? Is there an i3 build that would come close on price to fx4300? I want to build something that has usb3.0 up front on the case for her.
 
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RazerZ
If you can save a bit more go with this build. Should be able to play modern games on med- high settings.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX...
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tduanebarr

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She mostly plays Worms Revolution right now (lol), pretty low bar there for graphics requirements. But I'd like her to be able to play some lower level games like that in the future and possibly more demanding games at lower settings too.
 
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RazerZ

RazerZ

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If you can save a bit more go with this build. Should be able to play modern games on med- high settings.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $312.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-29 14:30 EST-0500)
 
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tduanebarr

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Thanks for the suggestion. Right now she doesn't really need the gpu power right now (only playing worms), but I was thinking that going with the fx4300 would let her upgrade to a nicer gpu in the future when she wants to. The athlon is only ten bucks less, but do you think the performance difference is substantial between that and the fx4300?

Any thoughts on the fx-4300 vs the a10-6800 for everyday computing tasks?

Also, I suppose she could go with a dual graphics set up later on with the apu- although that technology seems to be pretty troubled right now. What about waiting for the new APUs in January- I hear they are expecting a pretty big performance boost, though that will probably come with a premium.

 
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RazerZ

RazerZ

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If your going to add a graphics card don't get an APU. The athlon and fx4300 are pretty much on par, the fx 4300 only beating it by an almost unoticable amount. The Fx 6300 is the best option for budget gaming right now and they occasionally go on sale for $100. Anyway the option I offered will go faster for gaming than an APU and it is cheaper as well. For everyday tasks the performance should be about the same.
 
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tduanebarr

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Ok, that sounds good if you think the athlon and fx series will be as good or better for everyday tasks then I might go that route and she can just upgrade the gpu in the future if she ever chooses to get into some more serious gaming. Just to be clear though, you don't think the fx-4300 is worth the extra $10 over the athlon? I don't really understand much about processors, all I know is that the fx has l3 cache and has about a 5000 score on cpubenchmark.net vs the 4000ish that the athlon has. I have the fx-6300 in a build at home and I love it, but isn't just an 4300 with a couple more cores? I hear that alot of programs and games don't make use of the extra cores.
 
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RazerZ

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Well that's up to you for $10 more I would go for the 4130 or get a mobo that is AM3/AM3+ compatible if you decide to upgrade the PC in the future. Probably going to go on sale on Cyber Monday.
 
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blake1243

blake1243

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 Mini ITX FM2 Motherboard ($94.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($43.99 @ Mwave)
Total: $293.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-30 16:33 EST-0500)

I think a APU build would call for a little mini-ITX system. Just throwing in some ideas. Some people aren't that fond of mini-ITX systems. But it fits an APU build just fine. Also, for those light games there isn't anything wrong with APUs. Just don't expect to play any modern FPS games or anything on it.
 
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tduanebarr

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Thanks for the input. You'd go with the 4130? I thought the 4300 would be better than that right? It's only $90 right now. Also she has a little gt 610 (not the 210 like I thought) that she got just to run in the optiplex 755 she has right now. How much of an improvement is the richland a-10 6800 over that thing? I'm thinking right now the fx series is the way to go, and she can just buy an gpu later on if she were to want to.
 
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tduanebarr

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Yeah, I was actually thinking about that a little bit. She liked her little small form factor optiplex 755. She would probably like the size of a case like that. It's gonna limit any future video card installs or possible heat sink installs right? Not sure how limited they would be or how important that would be to her anyways. That case looks like it doesn't have a lot of ventilation going on... She wouldn't be playing any graphics heavy games on high now anyways, but I think going with an fx would let her scale more in the future should she want to. How much better do you think the a10-6800 is over the fx-4300 with her current gt610 (I know that card is super weak)?
 
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blake1243

blake1243

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Surprisingly no, i have seen people fit MASSIVE cards in that case. It's kind of tight when putting in extra large GPUs like the GTX 680 (although it can be done), but mid-range cards work alot better in it. And as for the GT 610, i am pretty sure the IGPU on the 6800k is quite a bit better than it. And in the future if you threw a R9 260x in that case along with the A10-6800k you would a nice entry level gaming build.
 
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blake1243

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Surprisingly no, i have seen people fit MASSIVE cards in that case. It's kind of tight when putting in extra large GPUs like the GTX 680 (although it can be done), but mid-range cards work alot better in it. And as for the GT 610, i am pretty sure the IGPU on the 6800k is quite a bit better than it. And in the future if you threw a R9 260x in that case along with the A10-6800k you would a nice entry level gaming build.
 
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tduanebarr

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Oh, good to hear that she could throw a gpu in there in the future. I like the APU idea, and the idea of possibly throwing something in to dual graphics in the future should she want to. That would give her some decent graphics power for now and then maybe she could step up too later.

However, what I've seen here on Tom's is that this dual graphics technology isn't really ready for showtime. Do you think it will improve in the future? Or do you think it actually does work ok now? Also on the subject of APUs. What about waiting for the Kaveri series in January? It seems like that will be a big improvement with this HUMA technology it carries. What are people speculating the cost of the A10-7850K is gonna go for?
 
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blake1243

blake1243

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Actually dual graphics isn't worth it at all. You actually get worse performance than if you just use the single card and disable the IGPU on the GPU. What i would figure if you wanted to upgrade was that you guys would use the IGPU on the APU for however long you plan on using it (maybe a year?) and then throwing in a $100 entry level GPU that would absolutely demolish the APU while disabling the IGPU completely. With this, you would have a decent quad core CPU with a decent GPU. As for the A10-7850k, if you are willing to wait for that to come out you might aswell just wait another month or 2 and save an extra $200 or so and just build a overall better quality build that will last alot longer like a FX 6300/i3 4330 with a R9 260x/GTX650 Ti.

 
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tduanebarr

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Cool, thanks for the help. It's great to have all you knowledgeable people out there willing to help me out. My sister is a poor college kid who works part time and isn't going to be able or willing to save up much more money anytime soon.

Is your suggestion of steering clear of the A10-7850K based on her being able to afford better by that point? If so, that likely isn't the case. At the speculated intro price of the A10-7850K would that put me in the i3 price range anyways?

Speculated prices I heard for A10-7850K were only around $140 which is only $20 more than the 6800K. I feel like the estimated 25% increase in performance could be worth waiting 4-6 weeks and paying an extra 20ish dollars. I read the new APUs will require a new socket, though and I would assume that could mean spending a bit more on a mb?


What's with this dual graphics technology anyways, do you think driver updates can fix it in the future or is it somehow inherently broken?
 
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blake1243

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 740 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A85XA-G43 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $293.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-30 19:58 EST-0500)

That blows all the APUs away. The CPU is a tad slower, but the 7750 is years ahead of the IGPU on the APU.
 
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tduanebarr

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Alright, you are second user now to suggest the Athlon and 7750 combo for a cheaper gaming tower. Sounds like that may just be the way to go forward. AMD claims the new A10 will be comparable to the 7750 in graphics power, although at ~$130 for the athlon/7750 pair vs ??? However much the A10 7850K will cost ???(Sub $150 is the latest rumor).

Maybe I'll just recommend she wait a bit to see the prices and actual performance on the A10-7850K. If anything, I expect if we build in January, the price of building the Athlon type will probably be less anyways. It seems that tech prices seem to just steadily go down over time.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'll let you know where what we go with. Feel free to give me more input.
 
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IRONBATMAN

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+1 Great Build
 
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tduanebarr

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That does look sweet, I'll have to see if she want's to go with the smaller build.
 
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tduanebarr

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Here is what we have so far:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/tduanebarr/saved/2YYs

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208053&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182032&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Memory (extra high speed in case we go with one of the APUs): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231585&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
 
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