A6 3670K APU - Budget Build

Silba · Mar 22, 2014

Hey guys, im really tight on money atm and have found myself owning an AMD APU A6 3670K for almost free.

I know all about what games it can and can't run and all that malarkey so what im asking for is the cheapest possible build to get it running and atleast run minecraft @ 30fps.

I've found an XFX 80+ PSU so now all i need is the bare minimum motherboard and ram to get this baby up and running.

I'm thinking 2x2gb ddr3 1600mhz will suffice but can i have some clarification on how much better 1600mhz works with APU than 1333mhz and even if dual channel would even help me out here?

I know the perks of 1600mhz and dual channel but what i dont know is how much they would actually help me out in this case considering that minecraft will be the most demanding program this pc ever sees, remember i need the cheapest to make it work, i dont need a single fps over ~35.

What i struggle on most is motherboard, i dont want any fancy features, i just wanna plug and play its not a serious rig or anything.. it just needs to work.

I'm not going to specify a max budget because that will just lead to "for just £x more you can get xxx and yyy and zzz". I don't want more, i want less and the cheapest possible.

Edit: I'm from the UK please try and get me UK prices/websites.

Hello man · Mar 22, 2014

Silba :

Hey guys, im really tight on money atm and have found myself owning an AMD APU A6 3670K for almost free.

I know all about what games it can and can't run and all that malarkey so what im asking for is the cheapest possible build to get it running and atleast run minecraft @ 30fps.

I've found an XFX 80+ PSU so now all i need is the bare minimum motherboard and ram to get this baby up and running.

I'm thinking 2x2gb ddr3 1600mhz will suffice but can i have some clarification on how much better 1600mhz works with APU than 1333mhz and even if dual channel would even help me out here?

I know the perks of 1600mhz and dual channel but what i dont know is how much they would actually help me out in this case considering that minecraft will be the most demanding program this pc ever sees, remember i need the cheapest to make it work, i dont need a single fps over ~35.

What i struggle on most is motherboard, i dont want any fancy features, i just wanna plug and play its not a serious rig or anything.. it just needs to work.

I'm not going to specify a max budget because that will just lead to "for just £x more you can get xxx and yyy and zzz". I don't want more, i want less and the cheapest possible.

Here is a very reliable ASUS motherboard for cheap: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131796R

And a good 4GB of cheap good quality RAM: http://

Silba · Mar 22, 2014

Hello man :

Thank's alot, i appreciate every reply and i'm going to look for that motherboard in the UK.

About the ram though... I know all about ram from a recent thread here and general experience. I don't need telling which ram to get but rather whether i could get away with 1x4gb ddr3 1333mhz taking into consideration that minecraft will be the heaviest game this computer ever faces..

CTurbo · Mar 22, 2014

RAM means EVERYTHING when using integrated graphics. Get 2x2GB of 1600mhz at least if not 1866. It makes a huge difference. Do not get 1x4GB of 1333mhz as you will regret it.

Silba · Mar 22, 2014

CTurbo :

Had an incling this would be the case

My question is, though... would 1x4gb 1333mhz be enough to just hit 30fps on minecraft? I could even oc the cpua little if need be

CTurbo · Mar 22, 2014

Sorry I can't give fps estimates, but I can say that 2x2GB of 1600mhz will be about 25% better than a 1x4GB at 1333mhz.

Hello man · Mar 22, 2014

CTurbo :

Agreed. The difference between 1333 mhz RAM and 1600 is huge. The price is not that different either.

Silba · Mar 22, 2014

Hello man :

Thanks guys. Yeah it will cost me £3 more to get 2x2gb 1600mhz. I'll be happily getting that then.

Still open to suggestions on a cheap motherboard.

CTurbo · Mar 22, 2014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600167117&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

Silba · Mar 22, 2014

CTurbo :

Those boards arent very cheap here, thanks though. i have however found these 2... they both look good so it seems i might be down to brand preference which is impossible for me since i love asus and gigabyte equally...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/gigabyte-a55m-ds2-socket-fm1-motherboard-n37ln

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/asus-f1a55-m-le-amd-socket-fm1-motherboard-n82lk

Edit: Both are out of stock in my area

Found this though and looks nice
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-A55M-HVS-AsRock-Motherboard/dp/product-description/B005LF8BB4/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=340831031&s=computers

CTurbo · Mar 22, 2014

That ASRock would be fine

Hello man · Mar 23, 2014

CTurbo :

I would agree that the ASRock is good.

sora · Mar 23, 2014

That ASRock is perfect for your needs like other members said. Buy it!

Mykdejesus · Mar 23, 2014

dont purchase a single ram. it would be better if 2x2gb or better if 2x4gb with a speed of 1866 (if supported by motherboard)

ram speeds matters most when it comes to APU procie

Silba · Mar 30, 2014

Thanks guys, I've ended up with an ASRock A55M-DGS motherboard because i found a great deal

Now about the ram... I didn't buy any ram since i wanted to test some thing outs first since i have some spare.

I didnt run any benchmark programs since they are the stupidest things ever created to sell a product and offer no insight whatsoever into real life performance.

There was FPS increases though which means nearly nothing since the lowest configuration still averaged 40fps and anything above that is not noticeable with the average pc monitor.

FPS Averages in Minecraft loaded with 102 mods (BigDig Modpack) 1280x1024 Resolution:

1x4gb 1066mhz cl8 = 40fps - With 20fps lows loading big new parts of the world for the first time
1x4gb 1333mhz cl9 = 40fps - With 20fps lows loading big new parts of the world for the first time

2x4gb 1066mhz cl7 = 45fps - With 30fps lows loading big new parts of the world for the first time
2x4gb 1600mhz cl9 = 55fps - With 30fps lows loading big new parts of the world for the first time

For non modded original Minecraft the average fps was 10-15 higher in each test.

So from this i can sure say 1x4gb 1333mhz is fine for minecraft which was my goal although unless you already have the ram 1600mhz is a better buy since it costs only pennies more.

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