Upgrading APU system - which APU?

arasmpc

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Jan 12, 2014
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I put together a basic gaming system for my children for xmas for the heroic price of <$300 including the monitor. :D

(Can't touch those prices now though...)

They've been very happy with it so far, playing steam games and Minecraft.

My son especially likes to play Left4Dead2 and once in a while when the zombies are really bad he gets a bit of lag. (Settings are high/med)

It's not bad, but we went in knowing we would upgrade anyhow when taxes came in and that system would get them through from xmas until then. Plus I plan on using the parts we swap out to make another cheap computer for Minecraft and general internet use.

We use Linux exclusively.

Here's the Xmas system:

Rosewill Challenger case
Rosewill Stallion 400w PSU
1 TB Toshiba 7200rpm HD
2 - 4Gig GSkill Ripjaw 1600 ram
ASRock FM2A55M-DGS R2.0
AMD A4-4000 APU
24 inch Insignia monitor (5ms refresh)

My budget is $200-$300 but has to include a few things for the new computer as well as the upgrade. So I need the following for that price:

APU
(or possibly CPU+GPU if it's truly better and fits in or under the budget)
Motherboard
Ram - 8 Gigs
PSU

Here's what I've picked out so far -
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2R6Sq

I'm putting the new computer into an old HP Pavillion 700 case that I've stripped down, and using a HD from one of the kids old Asus laptops.
 
Stronger performance in games:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Celeron G1820 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.40 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi B85S3+ Ver. 6.x Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.50 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $299.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-10 22:55 EST-0500)
 

arasmpc

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Jan 12, 2014
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Thanks but...

I really need 8 Gigs of ram...I know that Minecraft relies heavily on ram. I've got a couple of computers with 4 Gigs and 2 core intel processors and they can't handle Minecraft very well...I have to keep those on low settings, only 2-4 chunks loaded or I get lag and one of them actually makes me feel sea sick. :/
 


Biostar Hi-Fi B85S3 is a highly upgradable motherboard. It has four memory slots for 32GB max and it upports CPUs up to 95W TDP, a Intel Core i5-4670, for instance.

So you could have a real upgrade path this time :)
 

arasmpc

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Jan 12, 2014
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Hmm...is there an AMD option? A regular CPU and GPU combination on an AMD chipset? I just don't like Intel's business practices...never have. I only have intel in 2 computers because they came that way...a Sony laptop and a Mac mini. I won't buy anything from them if I have a choice.
 

arasmpc

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Jan 12, 2014
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Thanks...

I couldn't find a combo 8 gigs of ram with a separate CPU/GPU combo for that price or less...

So I went with the A10-6790k, 8 gigs of 1866mhz ram, an ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ FM2+ mobo, and the Corsair PSU for a total of $280.

It's at the high end of my budget, but I think it's worth having the mid-range A10 and faster 1866 ram.

Plus I got a free game that I probably will just sell because I'm not interested in it. (Saints Row IV) So, I'll sell it and make this combo even more economical. :)
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Closest I could get with an AMD setup with dedicated GPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($48.99 @ Mac Mall)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($102.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $301.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-12 16:12 EST-0500)
 

arasmpc

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Jan 12, 2014
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Thanks for trying.

I also need a PSU though and I really wanted to be closer to the $200 range...I knew that was a long shot for a CPU/GPU with all the other stuff I needed/wanted.

Next year at least I won't need so many other parts. :)
 

arasmpc

Honorable
Jan 12, 2014
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It should be. :)

We're pretty happy so far with the A4 actually. It's ok for light gaming, and super for Minecraft.

We only have a 24 inch monitor so I don't need anything crazy anyhow...

I just want to reduce the lag when we play Left4Dead2 and get overrun with Zombies. I'm pretty sure this will do the trick.

:)
 

arasmpc

Honorable
Jan 12, 2014
18
0
10,510
Can Corsair LP 1866mhz be used in that Mobo?

Corsair - CML8GX3M2A1866C9B isn't listed on the Mobo website, but the website also doesn't seem to list any 1866mhz ram although it says it can use up to 2133mhz.

Hmmm...