Best budget AMD CPU?

[Matduss]

My cousin wants me to build him a budget gaming PC. I am looking for an AMD CPU since they are less expensive than Intel CPUs. I am not really familiar with AMD CPUs so I want ot make sure that I am choosing the best budget CPU that I can. I chose the A6-6400K wich is currently 60$ on NCIX. Is this a good CPU (I know some call them APUs)? Do you guys think I could have chosen a better one? Please let me know.

[Misanthrope]

I wouldn't go lower than a 6300 for gaming.

[IGetMoreAssThanAToiletSeat]

depends what youre pairing it with (gpu wise) what you plan to do with the system, how much the whole system budget is, etc.

[Ertman]

Honestly depends on what your total budget is, and what GPU you will be using, if any.

 

Its pretty slow for gaming, but if its a super low budget build then maybe.

[Matduss]

depends what youre pairing it with (gpu wise) what you plan to do with the system, how much the whole system budget is, etc.

The budget isn't big, it's about 600$. As for the GPU I am not sure yet, I don't even know if I'm going for Nvidia or AMD...

[i_build_nanosuits]

My cousin wants me to build him a budget gaming PC. I am looking for an AMD CPU since they are less expensive than Intel CPUs. I am not really familiar with AMD CPUs so I want ot make sure that I am choosing the best budget CPU that I can. I chose the A6-6400K wich is currently 60$ on NCIX. Is this a good CPU (I know some call them APUs)? Do you guys think I could have chosen a better one? Please let me know.

get him a nice core i3-4150 and a cheap H series or B85 board instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX)

Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.95 @ Vuugo)

Total: $194.94

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 20:49 EDT-0400

[IGetMoreAssThanAToiletSeat]

and also while intel and amd look similar in comparison, like for example an i5 4440 has 3.2 ghz while an amd athlon 760k has the same number of ghz, THEY ARENT THE SAME PERFORMANCE WISE. You cant even really compare amd and intel using ghz and core counts

[IGetMoreAssThanAToiletSeat]

and also while intel and amd look similar in comparison, like for example an i5 4440 has 3.2 ghz while an amd athlon 760k has the same number of ghz, THEY ARENT THE SAME PERFORMANCE WISE. You cant even really compare and

 

The budget isn't big, it's about 600$. As for the GPU I am not sure yet, I don't even know if I'm going for Nvidia or AMD...

 

In that case maybe a pentium g3258 and oc it? you could also go for 4 core amd athlon x4 860k for the same price but the g3258gives a better upgrade path I find. Instead of buying a new mobo in the future to put an i5 in you know what I mean

[mantylt]

There is a difference between CPU and APU. CPUs don't have integrated graphics, so you'll need a dedicated graphics card. Meanwhile APUs have and can offer acceptable low-mid gaming experience. 

Recommended CPUs - 6300 or 8350/8320 if you have some extra cash. Had both, both are lovely cheap CPUs, just get an aftermarket cooler.

Can't recommend any APUs, never had one.

[i_build_nanosuits]

The budget isn't big, it's about 600$. As for the GPU I am not sure yet, I don't even know if I'm going for Nvidia or AMD...

I would go with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX)

Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.95 @ Vuugo)

Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.55 @ Amazon Canada)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)

Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $577.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 20:52 EDT-0400

[Matduss]

I would go with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX)

Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.95 @ Vuugo)

Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.55 @ Amazon Canada)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)

Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $577.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 20:52 EDT-0400

Wow that's an interesting config, thanks for sharing!

[i_build_nanosuits]

Wow that's an interesting config, thanks for sharing!

the case is cheap but will get you by...for gaming at the budget you have i think it's pretty much the best you could do...

[IGetMoreAssThanAToiletSeat]

I would go with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX)

Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.95 @ Vuugo)

Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.55 @ Amazon Canada)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)

Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $577.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 20:52 EDT-0400

this, but add in the corsair spec 01 to top off the budget and get a nice case bro. 

[Ertman]

its about balance. I_build_nanosuits, give a good budget example. Changes can be made to the components chosen but it gets across the idea. AMD processors just don't cut it for gaming anymore.

[i_build_nanosuits]

this, but add in the corsair spec 01 to top off the budget and get a nice case bro.

i've left some room in the budget for some peripherals and also A LOT of mail in rebates INCLUDED in the price...i felt more would push it over budget that's why i went with the cheapest case available.

[Matduss]

the case is cheap but will get you by...for gaming at the budget you have i think it's pretty much the best you could do...

The case choice doesn't bother me since my cousin already has a case for the PC. Same thing for the memory, I will sell him the memory that I have since I will be getting new memory on Friday.

[Opcode]

I would build around the i3-4150 with a cheaper B85 or so motherboard. AMD will get better with DirectX 12 the problem is every game made in the past ten years wont magically run better as they all are still compiled for older versions of DirectX.

[i_build_nanosuits]

The case choice doesn't bother me since my cousin already has a case for the PC. Same thing for the memory, I will sell him the memory that I have since I will be getting new memory on Friday.

Great, then if you could push a little and get him to order this instead it would be even better:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($211.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.50 @ Vuugo)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)

Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $583.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 21:06 EDT-0400

[Matduss]

Great, then if you could push a little and get him to order this instead it would be even better:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($211.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.50 @ Vuugo)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)

Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $583.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 21:06 EDT-0400

The Micro ATX mobo is very tempting but my cousin's case only seems to be compatible with ATX mobos unlike most ATX cases that can support both...

[Opcode]

Great, then if you could push a little and get him to order this instead it would be even better:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($211.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.50 @ Vuugo)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)

Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $583.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 21:06 EDT-0400

Worth the extra $14 imo for a slightly better board, the VRM on that thing scares me even for a locked CPU.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($211.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($64.95 @ Vuugo) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($58.95 @ Vuugo) 

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card  ($229.00 @ Canada Computers) 

Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply  ($32.99 @ NCIX) 

Total: $597.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 21:13 EDT-0400

[i_build_nanosuits]

The Micro ATX mobo is very tempting but my cousin's case only seems to be compatible with ATX mobos unlike most ATX cases that can support both...

then go with the ATX B85 i linked earlier it's only a few bucks more and it's a better motherboard.

[Ruins]

@Matduss $30 more than your budget but very worth it http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CNwgmG

 

Includes a case which is $32 so if you already have one it is pretty much $600

[GzeroD]

Here is my blatant  modification of Ibuild nanosuits build
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($122.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($77.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($31.55 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($58.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card  ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite V2 550W ATX Power Supply  ($32.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $583.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 21:16 EDT-0400

 

Would take this over an i3 build any day. Quite a bit harder to recommend over the i5 builds. With some overclocking it will be better but youll need to get a new heat sink to do any moderate overclocking.

[GzeroD]

@Matduss $30 more than your budget but very worth it http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CNwgmG

 

Includes a case so it's even less if you already have one 

Could save $10 and go with the B85 asrock itx board.

[i_build_nanosuits]

snip!

looks like you havnt checked gaming benchmark in a while did you? the core i3 that i've linked beat an overclocked FX-8350 in 9 games out of 10 mate.