help picking out budget AMD APU system

JohnnyR · Feb 17, 2014

i need help picking out a motherboard and a apu for a build. i have 4gb of gskill rip x ram(2x2gb). i also have the following:
cx600m corsair psu, 1tb hdd for media storage and 120gb samsung evo 840 ssd. i really dont need a gpu because i really dont game. budget is only like $150-160 US. i currently have a terrible hp desktop from 2008 and its a struggle. i will appreciate the help. thanks

CTurbo · Feb 17, 2014

Geez a 600w psu is massive overkill for an apu system, but since you already own it, oh well.

Anyway, The A10-6790k is $109 and that's a great deal. You could probably find a fm2 motherboard for $50 but it's not going to be all that great.

lazyboy947 · Feb 17, 2014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113281 - A8 5600k $90 after promo, and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130747 - MSI a78m-E45 $60, has heatsinks to keep board cool, HDMI, VGA, and DVI, its Matx to put into a small case if u want, total of $150, and I would personally get the A10 5800k but its $20 more but the A8 should do the job

CTurbo · Feb 17, 2014

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/G3Ae
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/G3Ae/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/G3Ae/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($53.81 @ NCIX US)
Total: $143.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-17 16:27 EST-0500)

JohnnyR · Feb 17, 2014

CTurbo :

lol i had that psu for another build but the mobo and cpu were toast so rather than wasting 200 i rather tone it down with an apu system. i also read that the a10-6790k runs hot and by the looks of the reviews a heatsink fan upgrade is need and i dont have that in my budget at the moment. can recommend anything else?

CTurbo · Feb 17, 2014

The A10-5800k is the same price as the A10-6790k. I have never heard about the 6790k running hot. I have the 6800k and it runs rather cool at stock speeds. You could always underclock/undervolt a little if you're worried.

JohnnyR · Feb 17, 2014

CTurbo :

thank you the quick response. i will consider both of these answer. thank you both you guys seem well educated in pc building unlike some that misled, like happened to me before. this is a completely different question but why do some 240 pin dimm slots look bigger in picture, are there different types or is it just how they're laid out on the board

AshyCFC · Feb 17, 2014

Curiously what is the purpose of this PC?

I've never understood the point of purchasing an APU over an Athlon 750k/60k + cheap graphics card.

1. Often cheaper.

2.You don't need an expensive graphics card if you aren't gaming!

The only reason i can think of is for a very small itx build.

logainofhades · Feb 17, 2014

AshyCFC :

Agreed

JohnnyR · Feb 17, 2014

AshyCFC :

ash the purpose the build is web browsing and to watch streams. my current pc could barely handle these tasks, my pc is from 2008

logainofhades · Feb 17, 2014

What are your system specs that it is struggling with such tasks? My old Phenom II X2 with an HD 3870 was sufficient for such things. Unless you managed to get some really bad single core setup, you should not be struggling.

AshyCFC · Feb 17, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A75M-HD2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $139.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-17 16:54 EST-0500)

$140

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-HD2 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $134.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-17 17:02 EST-0500)

$135 with a simpler board.

Intel Alternative:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $157.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-17 17:05 EST-0500)

logainofhades · Feb 17, 2014

Actually, the cost is higher because you have mail in rebates turned on.

AshyCFC · Feb 17, 2014

true, the OP didn't say if they'd do rebates or not though.

I think the intel alternative is a worth a look at. That CPU is $10 off with a promo code as well.

It's a bit faster than the 6790K in terms of CPU speeds(at stock)

That said the integrated graphics is worse but as you're not gaming you won't mind.

logainofhades · Feb 17, 2014

CTurbo :

I would probably go with this combo instead since the board is an FM2+

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $149.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-17 17:08 EST-0500)

JohnnyR · Feb 17, 2014

logainofhades :

CTurbo :

I would probably go with this combo instead since the board is an FM2+

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $149.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-17 17:08 EST-0500)

thank you. i will take this into consideration

AshyCFC · Feb 17, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $157.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-17 17:05 EST-0500)

I don't want to be biased just because this my own build or something but won't this better suit the OP's needs than an APU?

CTurbo · Feb 17, 2014

Getting a 750k and a HD 5450 is a terrible idea compared to an apu. It offers NOTHING over an A8 and in fact, it's worse.

An i3-4130 would do just fine. It's roughly equal to an A10 in cpu performance and it's igpu is plenty good enough for what you need.

AshyCFC · Feb 17, 2014

realised now that the 750k + gpu is probably only worth it compared to the 7850k style builds.

JohnnyR · Feb 17, 2014

CTurbo :

AshyCFC :

so what would you recommend considering the other inputs suggested?

CTurbo · Feb 17, 2014

Probably this
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $149.98

CTurbo · Feb 17, 2014

The A10-5800k or 6790k would be better if you could swing the extra $20 but they aren't necessary. I would get an fm2+ motherboard if possible for maximum upgrade possibilities in the future. The fm2+ motherboards offer great features too.

JohnnyR · Feb 17, 2014

CTurbo :

thanks turbo. but i try to avoid asrock mobo because my past experience with and their terrible tech support. what about the msi mobo that suggested earlier

AshyCFC · Feb 17, 2014

The MSI mobo will be fine or this gigabyte one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaf2a75mhd2

Just your prefered brand really although the gigabyte is FM2+ meaning it supports the new 7series of APU's

PSYCOTRIP · Feb 17, 2014

If theres a microcenter around you can get a A10-7850k with a motherboard for 129.00+tax.

help picking out budget AMD APU system

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