AMD Fx - 6300 vs Intel i3 4160

If you won't be overclocking and just want a simple setup, a non-k locked i5 and H series motherboard is your best platform.

i3 4160 + any H97 or Z97 motherboard

i3 plays dragon age just fine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBYA9FXjoiM

=1781&cmp[]=2317&cmp[]=307]http://cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1781&cmp[]=2317&cmp[]=307

i3 performs better in single-core applications, but FX has more cores so if the application takes advantage of it it can match or exceed the i3.

As can be seen with the recent GTA V release, we're starting to see more games that require quad-core CPUs -- & not even "dual-core with Hyper-Threading", but actual quad-core CPUs -- as their minimum. So you'll start to see more & more applications that can take advantage of the FX's larger # of cores.

As for Tom's recommendations, the FX-6300 was last month's budget recommendation. It's dropped to "honorable mention" in the under $100 category now (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-2.html), but they specifically state that the i3's slighlty higher performance is hard to actually see in real life...in other words, the extra bucks you'll spend won't really translate into noticeable increase in bang.

As for the i3 allowing you to upgrade later to an i5 or i7...that's with the LGA 1150 socket, which shortly will be as "dead" as the FX's AM3+ socket (Skylake, the new chips coming out this year, will forsake LGA 1150 for the new LGA 1151 socket).

The biggest thing is that your GPU confirms you're looking for a budget build, as I would guess your monitor probably tops out at 1080p resolution (if even that high). So, given the choice between a $100 CPU & a $120 CPU, I would normally save the $20.

The question, though, is what you mean by "cheapest" motherboard. That will depend on a) what features you need (onboard Wi-Fi, # of SATA ports, SATA2 vs. SATA3, maximum RAM you want, etc.), & how big your case is (mATX, ATX, etc.). Plus, while you're currently doing a budget build, you don't want to scrunch yourself into a build with so little wiggle room that any future upgrades will require a complete rebuild. For example, mid-tower cases can fit both ATX & mATX boards, but mATX boards tend to have less of everything: less PCIe slots, less RAM slots, less SATA ports, etc. Plus, they're meant for mATX cases. So knowing what case you have, what future plans you're considering (more RAM, more drives, additional optical drives, etc.), in addition to knowing the budget you have for the board itself, can help us make better suggestions. For example, both the FX & i3 will work with low-end mATX boards that will run $50-60. ATX boards tend to be a little cheaper for the i3, but the FX boards also tend to have higher maximum RAM sizes (both # of slots & per slot).

Get the FX-6300, Dual cores, hyperthreaded or not, are not wise for future gaming.

I got the Asrock 970M pro3 for a build I am currently doing, its certainly priced well, it ended up costing me somewhere around $60, and has all the features I wanted in my current build, seems put together well.

Buying new id get an i3, unless the fx was found dirt cheap.

If you already have fx 6300 or great there is no need to "upgrade to i3/i5 intel

Consider athlon 860k and a better gpu like 270x/280/gtx960. What resolution/hz is your monitor ? Thats the question.

if you already have a 270x, you wont notice a huge difference until 280x/290/290x gtx 970/980

For budget builds i usually recomend a i3 and a cheap h81 motherboard:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $155.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-21 15:05 EDT-0400

I dont like to recomend cheap motherboards with FX CPUs due to choking VRMs.