picked out some parts and salvaged others, thoughts about the build?

BRENDAN RYTHER

Honorable
Apr 10, 2013
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10,640
so i have $200 to spend on new pc parts, and i figured my RAM, motherboard, and CPU are the ones i should upgrade first. well, even if i only buy those three things $200 isn't a very large budget. besides the CPU, RAM, and motherboard, everything is being salvaged from my current setup. specs:

CPU: AMD Athlon 2 X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core FM2 CPU

Motherboard: MSI FM2-A55M-E33 FM2 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: ADATA XPG V1.0 series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model

HDD: 1x Western Digital 320GB Caviar Blue 1x Western Digital 500GB Caviar Green

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Black Gaming Case

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit on the 320GB Linux Mint on the 500GB

PSU: Generic 350W PSU

CPU Cooler: For now the fan that comes with the CPU

i know it isn't exactly the best, but as i said $200 max and no elbow room at all. so for your average internet tasks, playing minecraft and recording minecraft with a screen recorder (obviously while minecraft and the recorder are both open), editing those videos and recording/editing guitar videos how well will this do? also if there is any place where i can cut back without a noticeable performance drop, please tell me. i want to try and squeeze a GPU out of this too, but I'm already up to $165.95. my motherboard i have now supports up to AM3, should i try to find an AM3 CPU instead? just trying to weight out my options here, but if worse comes to worse i'll just not buy a GPU. also is the RAM speed overkill? and if i decide to add an extra 2GB stick down the road does it have to be that exact same brand for dual channel to work?
 

danirich

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Apr 30, 2013
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18,530
I'm not sure how you'll squeeze a GPU into $35! Maybe a basic one for being a display out (the FM2 Athlons do not have the graphics core of their FM2 APU bretherin and you will need a card, albeit a cheapo one...) Maybe a 6450 until you can afford better? In terms of performance, I just built my brother a new PC with a 760K and the performance is actually very surprising! It is playing BF4 paired with a 7790 at high and 1440x900 at a very respectable 70fps average... Paired with a good GPU, this build looks set to fly through whatever games you wish to throw at it! But before a decent GPU goes in, I think that PSU is going to need an upgrade, I'd be very worried about it crapping out on you! If you want to save a few bucks, you could go for an A10 5800K which will have the same performance as the Athlon, but with the added bonus that it doesn't need a GPU and you can pull the display straight from the motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280