$500~~~ Budget PC

[isandy]

Hello people of Tom's Hardware!
(This is my first post so bare with me.)

I basically want a $500 budget PC that would be used for videos games (ex: Minecraft, Lol), daily school stuff and stuffzz. I still play major games on my PS3 but maybe sometime in the future i'll start gaming on a PC.
I want to build this computer myself so i know what i have in my computer to show off to people and to know whether this could be something i could love to do.
So far i've made 2 AMD builds on pcpartpicker
1) An apu build - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ghpB

2) An AMD Phenom ii x4 build - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gh5L

Parts i don't need: mouse, keyboard, monitor(i have a diff. budget for this) and OS.

So my main questions
1) What build would last me at LEAST 3 years?
2) If i went with option #2 what GPU should i buy for it?
3) I don't plan on buying all my parts till Black Friday- Christmas, I just want to learn as much as i can for my budget so when the time comes I know what to do.

If you believe you have a better idea for what my $500~ should do then tell me with some info/proof

Sorry if I'm completely stupid in this subject. I blame it mainly on because of using a laptop and sadly i think it's starting to die..

P.S. I have a monitor that is about 17" DVI ALSO I want a monitor about 23"-24" that is really good for $150 (suggestions?). Will i have problems connecting monitors to my tower?

 

[stickg1]

Throw a Radeon HD7770 in build two and you will be looking good for gaming. They sell for $115-$150 depending on model. Also you could go down to a 450-500w PSU with that GPU and build. Might get you a few more dollars to spend on a GPU.

GIGABYTE GV-R777OC-1GD Rev2.0 Radeon HD 7770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125435
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102967

Also choosing the 2nd build with this GPU will blow that first APU build out of the water. In both CPU and GPU performance.

 

[vrumor]

You are asking about hardware when you arent even gonna be building it for about 3 months? There will be price drops, prices raises, new technology out before then. Why ask now? The PC you can build today may be completely different than the one you build in 3 months. Wasting peoples time even researching it.

 

[isandy]

You are asking about hardware when you arent even gonna be building it for about 3 months? There will be price drops, prices raises, new technology out before then. Why ask now? The PC you can build today may be completely different than the one you build in 3 months. Wasting peoples time even researching it.

I understand where you are coming from but i want to know as much information from now till christmas time. That may sound stupid but that's all I'm asking.

 

[isandy]

Best answer selected by iSandy.

 

[stickg1]

Hey, glad I could help but AMD released their new line of APUs yesterday. They're worth a look...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280&Tpk=a10-5800k

Requires FM2 socket motherboard

You could just get the APU, mobo, RAM, case, PSU, HDD for now. It has good integrated graphics, since you play most your games on PS3 this chip would be good or casual gaming. If you wanted to get a nicer GPU later you could as well..