AMD A4-5300 w/ 1866 memory

[armapker]

Just a few quick questions on my first build (actually for my friend)

We are building an extreamly budget gaming rig and here were the specs we had in mind

AMD A4-5300 (Dual core 3.4GHz, turbo to 3.6GHz)

MSI FM2 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) *later changed to an ASUS F2A55-M LK PLUS FM2 AMD A55 (Hudson D2)*

4GB DDR3-1866MHz PC3 14900

I recently learned that the A4 only accepts 1600MHz Ram, is that correct? Furthermore I learned that if you pop a 1600MHz ram stick and overclock it to 1866, is that correct? Also, is there any benefit to the RAM stick's lifespan to get an 1866 and "overclock" it to 1866 (because the a4 will only boot the ram sticks at 1600, but appearently will boot with an overclocked 1600mhz stick) Thanks for your responces ahead of time!

 

[DelightfulDucklings]

Coincidentally I am building a budget rig for my friend as well. I would seriously recommend upgrading to the a10-5800k for adequate gaming performance. If you get the a4 I'm sorry but unless you plan on just playing minecraft it's not gonna be able to run anything in a year max maybe 6 months. I wouldn't bother trying to overclock the ram myself as from what I've seen it can be a hassle and the benefits are small, although I do understand that the APUs AMD make do benefit greatly from higher ram speeds. Seriously I would recommend saving that extra little bit and getting a a10 over a a4 because I think you might be dissapointed with the a4's performance.

On a side note AMD announced the successor to the Trinity APUs today/yesterday so I'm not sure if you would want to wait or not for those (probably like 3 months wait). No specs were released so performance is yet to be determined but my guess is a 25% increase (at least I hope).

 

[armapker]

Thanks for your recommendation. I did look at the a10 and I am on a SERIOUS budget with my friend. I got the price down to $197 and that's barley low enough. He is coming from a crappy Toshiba laptop with a freaking dual core 1.3GHz processor, integrated graphics, 3gb of 1333 ram, and a 320 5400rpm hard drive. I believe the a4 will be a fantastic upgrade from his current setup. I decided to go with one stick of this ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145346). I was planning on overclocking through the BIOS, but you don't recommend that, can I ask why?

 

[excella1221]

Imo, RAM is the most annoying to OC compared to CPU and GPU.

Also, the CPU doesn't choose what frequency RAM will run, the motherboard does.
After a second of googling, I found what I think is your motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130661

If it is, the specs say it can support up to 2133MHz as OC, and 1866MHz as native frequency.

If the price difference isn't that big or is negligible, just get the 1866MHz RAM.

I agree the A10-5800K is a big upgrade from what you originally want. If budget is really tight though, the motherboard you chose has the same socket as the next generation of AMD APUs - in other words, you can just upgrade the CPU when the next line comes out and you have the money without changing motherboard.

 

[armapker]

That was my motherboard at the time of the posting, however I recently saw this ASUS that seemed to be the same except it had more SATA 3gb/s ports (we are hooking up 250GB and a 120GB 7200rpm hard drives that I ripped from some old PC's I found around my house). [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131885R] So just to clarify the CPU does in fact support 1866 memory? I knew the motherboard did but multiple sources said the a4-5300 doesn't support memory that fast

[http://youtu.be/aK-LDj-2HlU?t=3m8s]
[http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2012/2012100201_AMD_introduces_retail_Trinity_APUs_for_desktops.html (fifth paragraph)]


If it does in fact support the 1866 naively I would probably get this memory [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148497]
If it does not support 1866 nativity, but supports it when overclocking I would probably get this
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145346]

Im kinda being a freak about the RAM because I know having good ram when using integrated graphics will greatly improve performance, and really for ±$3 I would be willing to go with whatever gets the best gaming performance (light gaming- mc, wow, world of tanks)

 

[Mistergaunt187]

Here's what I'd use

CPU: AMD A4-5300 $54.99
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-F2A85X D3H $99.99
RAM: 8 GB(2 X 4 GB) G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600mhz $49.99
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 2.5" 120 GB Sata III SSD $108.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 Ghz edition $114.99
Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W $44.99

Total: $473.94

Find yourself an OS and a Chassis to house the components in and you'd be all set. To me, this would be a great budget build.

 

[armapker]

Oh gosh, that is way too expensive. He is on a serious budget and is literally selling old games to get the money. For any other person that would be a budget build (like me, for example) but not for him. Thanks anyway for your input, and wouldn't you want to spend a little more on the CPU if the total was 473? like maybe drop the SSD. It is after all, for "gaming" (As in crappy low quality gaming)

Edit: I would probably get this SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820721106

and this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113282

 

[excella1221]

An SSD doesn't have a place on low budget builds. Spend the saved money on a better APU.

 

[armapker]

Your probably right. This CPU would be the best thing to do paired with a 7200rpm hard drive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113281

 

[excella1221]

If the budget can't be squeezed a bit more to get the A10-5800K, then yes the A8 would be fine.

I believe the next line of AMD APUs are still gonna utilize the FM2 socket, so you can just upgrade to whatever is the best there when it comes out and you already have saved money.

 

[nikoli707]

you should be aiming for the a10-5800k and some cheap 2133 ram.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-bandwidth-scaling-trinity,3419.html

to be honest, im impressed for what looks to me could be a $400 dollar build if you find all the sweet deals.

i personally own an hp 15.6 laptop 1366x768 with an a10-4600m i picked up on special for $399 about two months ago. i can play skyrim and battlefield 3 on medium/high settings on both games no problem, and thats all off of 35 watts. all i did was throw in an extra 120gb ssd and threw in some low voltage cl9 1600 8gb ram to boost performance and battery life.

 

[Mistergaunt187]

Oh gosh, that is way too expensive. He is on a serious budget and is literally selling old games to get the money. For any other person that would be a budget build (like me, for example) but not for him. Thanks anyway for your input, and wouldn't you want to spend a little more on the CPU if the total was 473? like maybe drop the SSD. It is after all, for "gaming" (As in crappy low quality gaming)

Edit: I would probably get this SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820721106

and this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113282

After doing some more research, I wouldn't advise using the A4-5300 or the A6-5400K. Can you say GPU bottlenecks galore? If your friend is on a serious budget, I would advise him to do a little saving, so he has the money to get something better(that will actually play demanding games: BF3, Skyrim, Etc) I put this build together on Newegg.com last night

AMD A10-5800K-$129.99 or A8-5600K-$99.99
Open Box: Asus F2A85-V Pro-104.99(Some Serious CPU/iGPU OC'ing via ASUS UEFI BIOS w/little effort)-$104.99
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 2133-$63.99
Western Digital WD Blue 500GB 7200(16 MB Cache)-$59.99
Rosewill Stallion Series 450W ATX V2.2-$44.99

Total-$403.95 w/A10-5800K($503.95 with OS)or $373.95 w/A8-5600K($473.95 with OS)

Same as before, Find yourself an OS and a Chassis. This setup would be pretty boss, especially after OC'ing the iGPU

A10-5800K iGPU OC-1 ghz(Stock cooling)
A8-5600K iGPU OC-950 mhz(Stock cooling)

 

[armapker]

After doing some more research, I wouldn't advise using the A4-5300 or the A6-5400K. Can you say GPU bottlenecks galore? If your friend is on a serious budget, I would advise him to do a little saving, so he has the money to get something better(that will actually play demanding games: BF3, Skyrim, Etc) I put this build together on Newegg.com last night

AMD A10-5800K-$129.99 or A8-5600K-$99.99
Open Box: Asus F2A85-V Pro-104.99(Some Serious CPU/iGPU OC'ing via ASUS UEFI BIOS w/little effort)-$104.99
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 2133-$63.99
Western Digital WD Blue 500GB 7200(16 MB Cache)-$59.99
Rosewill Stallion Series 450W ATX V2.2-$44.99

Total-$403.95 w/A10-5800K($503.95 with OS)or $373.95 w/A8-5600K($473.95 with OS)

Same as before, Find yourself an OS and a Chassis. This setup would be pretty boss, especially after OC'ing the iGPU

A10-5800K iGPU OC-1 ghz(Stock cooling)
A8-5600K iGPU OC-950 mhz(Stock cooling)

Thanks very much for your input! We already have a hard drive pulled from an older computer (250GB 7200rpm , it's small but it will do). And the thing is he wont be playing many demanding games. I think his library consists of the following (major) games: Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Supreme Commander 2 (if you don't know what this is, it has equivalent graphics of starcraft2), Team Fortress 2, World of Tanks. All will probably be played at medium settings and if he gets 30+ fps he will be fine. Also the case we are getting has a PSU in it. Do you really think that 8GB of RAM is necissary? I am basing this build off of this

Spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NoONgFEUo8

+ a bit cheaper (partially because we are not buying all the parts - some are coming from older builds)

 

[Mistergaunt187]

Thanks very much for your input! We already have a hard drive pulled from an older computer (250GB 7200rpm , it's small but it will do). And the thing is he wont be playing many demanding games. I think his library consists of the following (major) games: Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Supreme Commander 2 (if you don't know what this is, it has equivalent graphics of starcraft2), Team Fortress 2, World of Tanks. All will probably be played at medium settings and if he gets 30+ fps he will be fine. Also the case we are getting has a PSU in it. Do you really think that 8GB of RAM is necissary? I am basing this build off of this

Spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NoONgFEUo8

+ a bit cheaper (partially because we are not buying all the parts - some are coming from older builds)

I think 8 GB of RAM is VERY necessary. The iGPU will use 2048 MB of shared memory.

How about this?

AMD A6-5400K-$74.99
Open Box: Asus F2A85-V Pro-104.99(Same as before, MUST have for OC'ing iGPU)-$104.99
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 2133-$63.99(Same as before, another MUST have for OC'ing iGPU)

Total: $243.97($343.97 w/ OS)

AMD A6-5400K CPU OC-Utilize the Auto Tuner found in the ASUS UEFI BIOS to achieve max recommended frequency
AMD A6-5400K iGPU OC-950 mhz(Stock cooling)
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 2133 OC-If 2133 mhz isn't stable, try 1866 mhz

It's been difficult to find information about OC'ing the A6-5400K iGPU, but OC'ing the iGPU to 950 mhz SHOULD work, in theory, since the default iGPU clock is identical to that of the A8-5600K.

Hope this helps with your decision!

 

[nikoli707]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-bandwidth-scaling-trinity,3419.html

Here is toms review on trinity and ram, very informative, and i agree, for the small price of ram compared to the total price of the system build, getting 8gb of nice fast ram for an a10-5800k is more than worth it.

Plus i notice that the a10-5800k is on sale right now for $110, swoop on that deal.

plus i saw newegg had a nice shell shocker deal (that is expired now but they come around every and then) for 8gb of 2133 cas 9 ram

http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/335344

i know its out of your budget but a rig based on these two alone would run any modern game no problem on medium settings. you could even send the video out as 720p(1280x720) to a modern lcd or plasma and it will out perform a ps3 or 360.

 

[armapker]

I am going to formulate a new build based on all of your suggestions and get back to you guys tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[nikoli707]

sorry, forgot to link that 5800k in my last post

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4501108&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=Es5Ekr9eEBk-y9522jJkwBnkCkT5gNKbTg

 

[armapker]

Ok I created a document with the two options I have in mind:

Option #1:

AMD A8-5500 3.2GHz Quad core (3.7GHz turbo) Locked multiplier *** $104.99

Crucial Ballistix 4GB DDR3 1866 $29.99

MSI FM2 A55 motherboard $51.99

Some cheap case with a 480w PSU $40.99

Total: $248.52 (tax and shipping included)

***Reason I did not go with the A10 on sale is because unless its on sale when we buy it (which probably wont be within a month) its too expensive

Option #2:

AMD A4-3300 2.5GHz Dual core $39.99

Geforce 630 1GB DDR3 128bit $34.99

Team Elite 4GB DDR3 1333 $21.99

ECS A55F-M4(1.0) FM1 AMD A55 motherboard $51.99

Some cheap case with a 480w PSU $40.99

Total: $207.10 (tax and shipping included)



Which one do you guys think is better?

 

[Mistergaunt187]

The build with the A8-5500 would be best, and it's the most future proof

 

[Mistergaunt187]

On a side note,(still APU related)I successfully overclocked the AMD A6-3400m APU in my Toshiba Satellite L755D-S5218 notebook from 1.4 ghz(stock) to 1.8 ghz w/ a boost of 2.3 ghz using stock voltages. That's a 25% overclock

 

[armapker]

On a side note,(still APU related)I successfully overclocked the AMD A6-3400m APU in my Toshiba Satellite L755D-S5218 notebook from 1.4 ghz(stock) to 1.8 ghz w/ a boost of 2.3 ghz using stock voltages. That's a 25% overclock

Wow! I have achieved 2.8 GHz with my i7-2670QM on my laptop (stock 2.2GHz)

 

[esrever]

2x2GB is good enough. If you are on a budget here what I'd recommend.

2x2gb 1866 ram. Make sure you have 2 sticks do not get 1x 4GB or 1x 8GB. you also do not need 8gb.

A8 or A10 APU, do no go lower than A6.
cheap cheap cheap motherboard for about $50
recycle any parts
no ssd
cheap case
no dedicated gpu

An antec earthwatt green 380D psu. This is important if you want the computer to not die. Do not cheap out on a powersupply.

 

[Mistergaunt187]

Ok I created a document with the two options I have in mind:

Option #1:

AMD A8-5500 3.2GHz Quad core (3.7GHz turbo) Locked multiplier *** $104.99

Crucial Ballistix 4GB DDR3 1866 $29.99

MSI FM2 A55 motherboard $51.99

Some cheap case with a 480w PSU $40.99

Total: $248.52 (tax and shipping included)

***Reason I did not go with the A10 on sale is because unless its on sale when we buy it (which probably wont be within a month) its too expensive

Option #2:

AMD A4-3300 2.5GHz Dual core $39.99

Geforce 630 1GB DDR3 128bit $34.99

Team Elite 4GB DDR3 1333 $21.99

ECS A55F-M4(1.0) FM1 AMD A55 motherboard $51.99

Some cheap case with a 480w PSU $40.99

Total: $207.10 (tax and shipping included)



Which one do you guys think is better?

Okay. I think I have some even better suggestions than before.(did more research)

AMD A6-5400K-$74.99
ASUS F2A55-M-$79.99(still has all the beeps, wires, whistles, and tubes you'll need for OC'ing the CPU/iGPU)
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x4GB) DDR3 1866-$44.99(Same as before, another MUST have for OC'ing iGPU)
CORSAIR Builder Series 430W-$44.99(esrever is correct. DON'T CHEAP OUT ON THE PSU)

Total-$244.96

IMO, the best cheap case I've seen is the BitFenix Merc Beta-$29.99($9.99 shipping)

 

[armapker]

Okay. I think I have some even better suggestions than before.(did more research)

AMD A6-5400K-$74.99
ASUS F2A55-M-$79.99(still has all the beeps, wires, whistles, and tubes you'll need for OC'ing the CPU/iGPU)
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x4GB) DDR3 1866-$44.99(Same as before, another MUST have for OC'ing iGPU)
CORSAIR Builder Series 430W-$44.99(esrever is correct. DON'T CHEAP OUT ON THE PSU)

Total-$244.96

IMO, the best cheap case I've seen is the BitFenix Merc Beta-$29.99($9.99 shipping)

What was your reason for chosing that MB? If I get the A6-5400K then I wont need to OC the GPU becuase its already a decent iGPU (192 @760) <I think so, Off the top of my head. RAM seems fine, and PSU also seems fine.

The case is a problem that I wont bother you guys with solving but I feel I need to bring up. He is into ascetics more than anything. He knows little to nothing about computers so his idea of a gaming computer is a good looking one. So I need to find a cheap, but also good looking case

Edit: Also, not that it really matters, but whats your opinion on this PSU? Its $5 cheaper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029

Edit2: Nevermind, I see that with shipping its only $2 cheaper not including the $10 mail in rebate with the one you suggested

 

[Mistergaunt187]

What was your reason for chosing that MB? If I get the A6-5400K then I wont need to OC the GPU becuase its already a decent iGPU (192 @760) <I think so, Off the top of my head. RAM seems fine, and PSU also seems fine.

The case is a problem that I wont bother you guys with solving but I feel I need to bring up. He is into ascetics more than anything. He knows little to nothing about computers so his idea of a gaming computer is a good looking one. So I need to find a cheap, but also good looking case

Edit: Also, not that it really matters, but whats your opinion on this PSU? Its $5 cheaper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029

Edit2: Nevermind, I see that with shipping its only $2 cheaper not including the $10 mail in rebate with the one you suggested

I just think the ASUS boards have the best performance and special features. As for Oc'ing the iGPU. Why not? Boot it up to 950 mhz and the experience would be that much better.