How's this APU build look?

[Seminole]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wGNkCJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wGNkCJ/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($126.99 @ Amazon) 
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($6.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate  1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($69.88 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($20.98 @ Directron) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($110.98 @ Newegg) 
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Headphones: Patriot V360 7.1 Channel Headset  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $541.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 18:09 EDT-0400

 

It's just to hold me down until Zen and Pascal come out and prices switch around. Opinions?

[Colt_0pz]

dont buy custom thermal compound for an apu.

[Seminole]

1 minute ago, Colt_0pz said:

dont buy custom thermal compound for an apu.

Why not? It's just $6

[FirstArmada]

2 minutes ago, Seminole said:

Why not? It's just $6

 Get an 8 gig kit of high speed memory instead of 16 and leave out the thermal paste to with the money you saved buy a cooler like the hyper 212 or whatever you want 

 

I assume this build is for gaming and productivity or?

[j]

5 minutes ago, Seminole said:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wGNkCJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wGNkCJ/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($126.99 @ Amazon) 
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($6.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate  1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($69.88 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($20.98 @ Directron) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($110.98 @ Newegg) 
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Headphones: Patriot V360 7.1 Channel Headset  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $541.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 18:09 EDT-0400

 

It's just to hold me down until Zen and Pascal come out and prices switch around. Opinions?

I would get a nice monitor cause it will last longer, i have a 1440p monitor from like 7 years ago and i am writing this comment on it right now. that monitor will not last you for more than maybe 3 years.

[FirstArmada]

2 minutes ago, j said:

I would get a nice monitor cause it will last longer, i have a 1440p monitor from like 7 years ago and i am writing this comment on it right now. that monitor will not last you for more than maybe 3 years.

 

Mmm ok , dont buy a case fan either not worth it costs 1/4 of the case itself

 

Also get a WD blue instead of  the seagate drive much more reliable in my experience

[Seminole]

2 minutes ago, j said:

I would get a nice monitor cause it will last longer, i have a 1440p monitor from like 7 years ago and i am writing this comment on it right now. that monitor will not last you for more than maybe 3 years.

The resolution doesn't mean it will last longer or shorter. The panel type and display determine it's lifespan. Don't talk about stuff you don't know about.

 

4 minutes ago, FirstArmada said:

 Get an 8 gig kit of high speed memory instead of 16 and leave out the thermal paste to with the money you saved buy a cooler like the hyper 212 or whatever you want 

 

I assume this build is for gaming and productivity or?

 

Yeah mostly for gaming. But I really want 16gb of RAM because with 2 DIMM Slots I'm not going to have any upgradability so I don't want to be stuck with 8gb. Plus DDR3 is cheap anyways. And I might consider ditching the paste and just getting a better cooler, because most coolers come with better paste anyways.

 

8 minutes ago, FirstArmada said:

 

Mmm ok , dont buy a case fan either not worth it costs 1/4 of the case itself

 

Also get a WD blue instead of  the seagate drive much more reliable in my experience

 

The seagate hybrid is better than the WD alternative in this case. It's like 10-20$ cheaper and theoretically 5% faster read speeds. It has a higher RPM so it might die a little faster but at least it will be better and cheaper.

[Citadelen]

There's an APU better than the 7870K, take a look at the 7890K, it's clocked higher while having the same TDP. If it's not that much more expensive you should get it.

[Seminole]

1 minute ago, Citadelen said:

There's an APU better than the 7870K, take a look at the 7890K, it's clocked higher while having the same TDP. If it's not that much more expensive you should get it.

 

Oh wow, I thought the 7870k was the best! I'll check that out

[Citadelen]

3 minutes ago, Seminole said:

 

Oh wow, I thought the 7870k was the best! I'll check that out

Looking at your build you don't seem to have an aftermarket cooler as well, I believe the 7890K comes with the Wraith cooler, which is a LOT better than the old stock one, that happens to sounds like a jet about to take off. It has a illuminated AMD logo as well so that's a plus.

[Seminole]

3 minutes ago, Citadelen said:

Looking at your build you don't seem to have an aftermarket cooler as well, I believe the 7890K comes with the Wraith cooler, which is a LOT better than the old stock one, that happens to sounds like a jet about to take off. It has a illuminated AMD logo as well so that's a plus.

Yeah you're right, the 7890k comes with a Wraith cooler  I'm genuinely excited now. Thanks.

[Shahnewaz]

For 600 USD, you can get a MUCH better build if you spend wisely.

Here's an example:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor  ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer A11 74.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($22.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $574.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 18:51 EDT-0400

[Seminole]

8 hours ago, Shahnewaz said:

For 600 USD, you can get a MUCH better build if you spend wisely.

Here's an example:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor  ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer A11 74.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($22.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $574.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 18:51 EDT-0400

 

It's not about the specs it's about the setup. The list you have has no room for peripherals or anything. And if I was going for a ~$600 build with no peripherals I would go for an i3 or an i5 and a 380 or 380x... an FX would really be out of place for that build.

[Shahnewaz]

5 hours ago, Seminole said:

It's not about the specs it's about the setup. The list you have has no room for peripherals or anything. And if I was going for a ~$600 build with no peripherals I would go for an i3 or an i5 and a 380 or 380x... an FX would really be out of place for that build.

No peripherals? No problem. I can fit those for you in something much better than your current build.

I couldn't fit what you said you would choose for $600 no peripherals budget, but I'd love to be wrong.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer A11 74.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($22.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($39.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 370 2GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card  ($123.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($20.98 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply  ($32.79 @ Directron)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Headphones: Patriot V360 7.1 Channel Headset  ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $567.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 07:39 EDT-0400

[Seminole]

1 hour ago, Shahnewaz said:

No peripherals? No problem. I can fit those for you in something much better than your current build.

I couldn't fit what you said you would choose for $600 no peripherals budget, but I'd love to be wrong.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer A11 74.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($22.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($39.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 370 2GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card  ($123.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($20.98 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply  ($32.79 @ Directron)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Headphones: Patriot V360 7.1 Channel Headset  ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $567.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 07:39 EDT-0400

I might actually consider just totally switching over to a build like that. It's definitely better.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mYnmyc

 

and yes you are wrong

[Shahnewaz]

1 hour ago, Seminole said:

I might actually consider just totally switching over to a build like that. It's definitely better.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mYnmyc

 

and yes you are wrong

I don't recommend any Core i3 for any gaming setup simply because of the lack of 4 or more cores. Sure, it's single threaded performance is much better, but many games will choke with 2 cores, and the situation will only get worse in the future.

 

Also, be careful with EVGA power supplies.

[Evanair]

That MOBO is running the stipped down chipset with only 2 slots for RAM.  APU's are VERY dependent on the clock speed of the ram and the amount available.  Why not switch to a 4 slot board that supports higher clock speed DDR3 with room to overclock?  You're getting an unlocked processor, so why not support it?

[Seminole]

3 hours ago, Shahnewaz said:

I don't recommend any Core i3 for any gaming setup simply because of the lack of 4 or more cores. Sure, it's single threaded performance is much better, but many games will choke with 2 cores, and the situation will only get worse in the future.

 

Also, be careful with EVGA power supplies.

Uhmm you selected an off brand uncertified PSU... why are you talking about the reliability of EVGA?

 

1 hour ago, Evanair said:

That MOBO is running the stipped down chipset with only 2 slots for RAM.  APU's are VERY dependent on the clock speed of the ram and the amount available.  Why not switch to a 4 slot board that supports higher clock speed DDR3 with room to overclock?  You're getting an unlocked processor, so why not support it?

The one I selected is dual channel and supports up to 2400mhz with room to overclock. APUs like to have 8gb of RAM or more, their speed is very dependent on the clock speed yes, but the amount of RAM available doesn't change much. You can only allocate 2gb of RAM to an APU so getting lot's of RAM won't change anything for graphics performance.

[Shahnewaz]

30 minutes ago, Seminole said:

Uhmm you selected an off brand uncertified PSU... why are you talking about the reliability of EVGA?

Lol, Antec isn't off-brand. It's a good brand.

Certification doesn't mean it's a good PSU. It just certifies good or better load efficiency.

 

EVGA's 100 series PSUs have been notorious, regardless of their brand name.

[Evanair]

21 minutes ago, Seminole said:

The one I selected is dual channel and supports up to 2400mhz with room to overclock. APUs like to have 8gb of RAM or more, their speed is very dependent on the clock speed yes, but the amount of RAM available doesn't change much. You can only allocate 2gb of RAM to an APU so getting lot's of RAM won't change anything for graphics performance.

 

With the APU being very Ram Clock speed dependent, grabbing memory that supports 2400mhz+ would be ideal.  8gb sticks max out at 2400 MHz (least the ones I can find).  You can get 3100mhz sticks of 4GB each instead, which would widen your OC margin quite a bit.

[Seminole]

5 minutes ago, Shahnewaz said:

Lol, Antec isn't off-brand. It's a good brand.

Certification doesn't mean it's a good PSU. It just certifies good or better load efficiency.

 

EVGA's 100 series have been notorious, regardless of their brand name.

So have you tested every "Antec" PSU for it's power efficiency? Because they probably did, and obviously it wasn't good enough for even an 80+. Also 430w would not be able to handle the components you chose efficiently.

PCPP estimated it would pull about 304w. That's about 2/3 of 430w. So the PSU would have to have a minimum efficiency of 66% at idle. Then under a workload you would have to be way over 80% efficiency. And if it drops below that (which an unrated PSU will almost certainly drop below 80)

then you can suffer PSU damage and damage to your other components.

5 minutes ago, Evanair said:

 

With the APU being very Ram Clock speed dependent, grabbing memory that supports 2400mhz+ would be ideal.  8gb sticks max out at 2400 MHz (least the ones I can find).  You can get 3100mhz sticks of 4GB each instead, which would widen your OC margin quite a bit.

The motherboard doesn't support RAM higher than 2400mhz. From experience I know that putting in a RAM speed that the motherboard doesn't support will cause major instability issues. So that's not a good idea. 2400mhz is very price efficient and can be overclocked far past that, that's why I chose that speed. 3100mhz would be a big budget hit and would leave me at only 8gb of RAM.

[Shahnewaz]

2 hours ago, Seminole said:

So have you tested every "Antec" PSU for it's power efficiency? Because they probably did, and obviously it wasn't good enough for even an 80+. Also 430w would not be able to handle the components you chose efficiently.

PCPP estimated it would pull about 304w. That's about 2/3 of 430w. So the PSU would have to have a minimum efficiency of 66% at idle. Then under a workload you would have to be way over 80% efficiency. And if it drops below that (which an unrated PSU will almost certainly drop below 80)

then you can suffer PSU damage and damage to your other components.

Jesus Christ. You probably don't understand 80 Plus ratings and what they mean.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

Quote

Launched in 2004 by Ecos Consulting, it certifies products that have more than 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load, and a power factor of 0.9 or greater at 100% load. Such PSUs waste 20% or less electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSUs.

This has nothing to do with load stability, voltage regulation, or any sort of electrical performance or stability for the matter.

 

I couldn't care less about the efficiency. As long as it delivers stable, noise free and well regulated current, I'm fine.

[Seminole]

13 minutes ago, Shahnewaz said:

Jesus Christ. You probably don't understand 80 Plus ratings and what they mean.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

This has nothing to do with load stability, voltage regulation, or any sort of electrical performance or stability for the matter.

 

I couldn't care less about the efficiency. As long as it delivers stable, noise free and well regulated current, I'm fine.

If you're losing more electricity than you need then that is the definition of instability. Take a weekend off and study thermodynamics and computer science.

[Shahnewaz]

1 minute ago, Seminole said:

If you're losing more electricity than you need then that is the definition of instability. Take a weekend off and study thermodynamics and computer science.

I really don't have a weekend off (I have exams), so I'd rather take your highly knowledgeable words to understand how losing more electricity than one needs is the very definition of instability.

 

Start of by tell me, where the extra electricity lost goes.

 

Also, I am a Computer Science student, and unfortunately, CS at UofT doesn't teach you about power supplies. Since you're an expert on Thermodynamics and Computer Science, you should start teaching at UofT, and I'll gladly take your courses, no questions asked.

[Seminole]

9 minutes ago, Shahnewaz said:

I really don't have a weekend off (I have exams), so I'd rather take your highly knowledgeable words to understand how losing more electricity than one needs is the very definition of instability.

 

Start of by tell me, where the extra electricity lost goes.

 

Also, I am a Computer Science student, and unfortunately, CS at UofT doesn't teach you about power supplies. Since you're an expert on Thermodynamics and Computer Science, you should start teaching at UofT, and I'll gladly take your courses, no questions asked.

Let me tell you about thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is about the transfer or state of energy. In this case our energy is polarized electrons, or electricity. Every electron has the potential of turning into heat which is normally looked at as a "decay".

This is why power plants have to be close to cities, because for every amount of distance the electricity must travel, a certain percentage turns into heat (and sometimes other forms of energy as well). The percentage discussed is what determines efficiency.

Now for the math. Let's say your computer consumes 300w at idle, and 400w under load and you have a 500w power supply rated with 80+ efficiency. So we know at 20%, 50%, and 100% of usage you will see at least 80% efficiency. Since our computer ranges 300-400 watts, we know we will not dip below the 20% range so we will always have 80% efficiency.

So the PSU is giving our components 300-400 watts of electricity at any given time, and losing up to 20% of that electricity, but that's okay because 20% of 400w is 80, and 400w + 80w is not greater than 500w, so we would theoretically have no power issues.

But let's say we replace the PSU with a 500w unrated power supply. Now we are missing a whole part of our math problem, we don't know the efficiency. But let's just assume it is 75+ efficiency. 25% of 400w is 100w. 400w + 100w is 500w, meaning our PSU would theoretically output it's maximum amount of electricity, and if it dips below 75% efficiency or if our computer needs 1 more watt of electricity, everything shuts down and components are possibly damaged.

 

tl;dr inefficiency is electrons being unstable and turning in to heat energy. This in turn cuts a percentage of the power to your computer, if your computer doesn't have enough power, it crashes with the ability to damage components.

 

Therefore, instability.