$500 Build

[Shadow Gamer]

So I challenged myself to plan a $500 build... and this is what became of it: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3PKGV

 

CPU: Yes. Overkill Kaveri. $500 build. I know what you're thinking. GO FOR A STINKING A10-5700 AND USE IT TO UPGRADE THE RAM! No. Just no. Behold the pure awesomeness of a overkill APU for a budget build.

 

Motherboard: I am in love with this mobo, could no resist using it again. 

 

Memory: Yeah, crappy 4 GB Kingston Blu. Well, I wanted it to be different than my previous[and my first] build, so I had to sacrifice memory for CPU.

 

HHD: A segate standard all around. 

 

Case: I love this line of cases, and I have used a source 220 in my actual build. It works wonders. 

 

PSU: Corsair's cheapest, and admirably, quite good. 

 

OS: Windows 8.1, really fast when installing and combos with AMD'S APU'S make it cheap.

 

Well, a few cents away from $500, I feel like it really did the job, albeit being very similar to my actual build. This will go over the mark by the 26th. I will not actually build this, but you may want to.

 

Enjoy, 

 

-Shadow

 

[wng_kingsley7]

You should rename it $500 Test build for Cost Effective steam box or PC Beginner's guide $500 budget. But then again Linus has uploaded a video with this price tag also Tek syndicate too. 1600mhz is a little sloppy for the kaveri apu. I'd get 1866mhz or 2133mhz although by that time when the apu is getting over 30fps in a highly benchmarked game might aswell buy a decent lvl graphics card like the R9 270X or GTX760.

[i_build_nanosuits]

in fact you could do a much better PC with 500$...here:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($84.73 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard:  MSI A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center)

Memory:  Kingston Blu 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.99 @ Best Buy)

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.43 @ OutletPC)

Video Card:  MSI Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card  ($139.99 @ Newegg)

Case:  Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply:  EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $489.10

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-23 22:34 EDT-0400)

This one will perform much better ! especially in games and 3d applications.

[C1intFunWood]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3PLod

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3PLod/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3PLod/benchmarks/

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.49 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E45 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($62.05 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston Blu 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.43 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $520.92

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-23 22:39 EDT-0400)

 

 

Way better graphically wise but $20 over budget

 

EDIT: I just noticed the one above I guess this one would be for them nvidia fanboys

[NerdNinja]

You should rename it $500 Test build for Cost Effective steam box or PC Beginner's guide $500 budget. But then again Linus has uploaded a video with this price tag also Tek syndicate too. 1600mhz is a little sloppy for the kaveri apu. I'd get 1866mhz or 2133mhz although by that time when the apu is getting over 30fps in a highly benchmarked game might aswell buy a decent lvl graphics card like the R9 270X or GTX760.

 

Ok. Would you be so kind as to explain why high mhz ram is preferred for apus?

[wng_kingsley7]

Ok. Would you be so kind as to explain why high mhz ram is preferred for apus?

Well if you would like it I can link you to the video(s)

I forgot the video name of pc perspective's apu video/podcast.

[Shadow Gamer]

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3PLod

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3PLod/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3PLod/benchmarks/

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.49 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E45 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($62.05 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston Blu 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.43 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $520.92

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-23 22:39 EDT-0400)

 

 

Way better graphically wise but $20 over budget

 

EDIT: I just noticed the one above I guess this one would be for them nvidia fanboys

 

This looks great, actually. I might have used it in my build, but I really wanted that 8GB of ram, the source 220, a semi-modular and a capable APU.

[i_build_nanosuits]

what about mine? the r7 265 is a MUCH more capable graphics card than a GTX 750 or ANY APU !.. and i managed to include that beast in a 500$ machine !

...and it has 2GB of VRAM !

 

Here, check this out!:

R7 265 vs GTX 750

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1127?vs=1131

 

As for comparision with the APU you've selected wich is comparable to a r7 250 graphics card, it's day and night in performance :

 

R7 265 vs A10-7770K (r7 250)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1127?vs=1124

 

A10-7700K

As for the A10-7700K, the deck doesn't mention specifics but CPU-world suggests it also has a four-core CPU side, albeit with lower 3.5/3.8 GHz core/turbo clocks. It also claims that the graphics processor is cut down to six GCN compute units for a total of 384 shader cores at 720 MHz, comparable to the recently released Radeon R7 250. While not as impressive as the A10-7850K, the A10-7700K looks like a respectable part in its own right and, based on specifications alone, is probably faster than the Trinity-based A10-6800K.

[Shadow Gamer]

what about mine? the r7 265 is a MUCH more capable graphics card than a GTX 750 or ANY APU !.. and i managed to include that beast in a 500$ machine !

...and it has 2GB of VRAM !

You downgraded mobo and the case/PSU. You reduced features, reliability, quietness and compatibility. And by the way, this was a amazon/newegg/no rebates build, for reliability. 

 

And yes, that means @C1intFunWood's is also invalid. It might be something around $530 or $535 instead. 

[i_build_nanosuits]

You downgraded mobo and the case/PSU. You reduced features, reliability, quietness and compatibility. And by the way, this was a amazon/newegg/no rebates build, for reliability. 

 

And yes, that means @C1intFunWood's is also invalid. It might be something around $530 or $535 instead. 

 

the view of this graph ALONE should convince you that i made the right choices! :

 

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1127?vs=1124

 

also i disagree i reduced reliabilty, this machine will last years every components i picked are proved to be tuff and reliable, BTW you sounded really mean in your last post! i'm out!

Also this thermaltake case i picked is in fact MUCH nicer:

http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=c_00001579

[Shadow Gamer]

also i disagree i reduced reliabilty, this machine will last years every components i picked are proved to be tuff and reliable, BTW you sounded really mean in your last post! i'm out!

Suit yourself, my friend. I'm not going to be the one to start a flaming war. 

[i_build_nanosuits]

Suit yourself, my friend. I'm not going to be the one to start a flaming war. 

???? what's your problem man? you should have stayed in bed this morning or what?

[Shadow Gamer]

???? what's your problem man? you should have stayed in bed this morning or what?

I simply do not want to derail this topic or start a flaming war.

 

And, no, I got a lot of sleep today. Nine hours, to be exact. 

[i_build_nanosuits]

I simply do not want to derail this topic or start a flaming war.

 

And, no, I got a lot of sleep today. Nine hours, to be exact. 

 

ok great !...btw if you're to build this AMD APU build you posted, if it's for gaming...get a PS4 instead!

[Shadow Gamer]

ok great !...btw if you're to build this AMD APU build you posted, if it's for gaming...get a PS4 instead!

No, I am not going to build it, I just built a similar but better one very recently.

 

Some people like PC games and multipurpose PC's in general, to type documents and browse the internet easily. So it wouldn't just be for gaming. 

Also, building a PC is an experience in itself, it cannot rival buying a system. That's why I built vs. bought.

 

Well, those are just my opinions. 

[i_build_nanosuits]

No, I am not going to build it, I just built a similar but better one very recently.

 

Some people like PC games and multipurpose PC's in general, to type documents and browse the internet easily. So it wouldn't just be for gaming. 

Also, building a PC is an experience in itself, it cannot rival buying a system. That's why I built vs. bought.

 

Well, those are just my opinions. 

yeah i totaly agree with all this, it's why i mentionned : ''If it's for gaming'' because i know a lot of young people on this forum (and older ppl like me ) are gamers and some of them have build APU amd systems for gaming on budget and they pretty much all got disapointed by the performance, they only later realise they should have saved like 100$ more and get something like the 500$ build that i posted but wich feature a MUCH more capable 2GB true graphics card and a stronger CPU with the 760K...it could even have been the X4 750K with an r7 260X it would have also been much better for gaming...saving some money by not buying a fancy case and motherboard to get a better CPU and GPU is a very good idea in most cases to get better gaming performance.

[Shadow Gamer]

yeah i totaly agree with all this, it's why i mentionned : ''If it's for gaming'' because i know a lot of young people on this forum (and older ppl like me ) are gamers and some of them have build APU amd systems for gaming on budget and they pretty much all got disapointed by the performance, they only later realise they should have saved like 100$ more and get something like the 500$ build that i posted but wich feature a MUCH more capable 2GB true graphics card and a stronger CPU with the 760K...it could even have been the X4 750K with an r7 260X it would have also been much better for gaming...saving some money by not buying a fancy case and motherboard to get a better CPU and GPU is a very good idea in most cases to get better gaming performance.

My system doesn't even have a Kaveri APU, just a 6790K, and I'm more than pleased with the gaming performance. I got a splendid case[source 220], and a splendid motherboard, and still got over-the-top performance, atleast for me. 

[i_build_nanosuits]

My system doesn't even have a Kaveri APU, just a 6790K, and I'm more than pleased with the gaming performance. I got a splendid case[source 220], and a splendid motherboard, and still got over-the-top performance, atleast for me. 

wich games did you play/played?

at what resolution?

at what settings?

and at what framerates?

[Shadow Gamer]

wich games did you play/played?

at what resolution?

at what settings?

and at what framerates?

Minecraft, "stock" settings and 60 fps when in singleplayer with a boatload of entities. 

Planetside 2, "stock" as well, not sure what I'm getting, but I do get a bit of input lag sometimes, probably because of the crappy wireless laptop mouse I use.

 

I know, I play alot of games, but I did play 9 hours of planetside in three days, with no complaints. 

[i_build_nanosuits]

yeah ok, but most people buy PC's to play AAA modern titles like battlefield 4, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3, Tomb raider, Hitman, Max Payne...racing games, sports games...etc.. and most of them intend to play those at 1080p with at least medium settings and at least 40 to 60FPS...to achieve that you need at least a minimum of GPU power...r7 265, r9 270, and GTX 660 should be considered as a nice minimum for 1080p modern games.

 

I personally want all those titles to run on maximum settings @ 1080p with at least 60FPS all the time...you can't do that with a 500$ build but you can at least try to catch medium/high settings @1080p with 45 to 60FPS in most of those games...

Download FRAPS if you want to monitor your frame-rates in games easily.