Best bang4buck AMD rig under $500 - Page 2

^ WOOAAH. If you limit to a 1x4GB single channel kit you will be severely bottlenecking the setup!

I say A10 apu with at least 1600mhz dual channel memory. you can skimp almost everywhere else. Easily under $500 and gameable.

Awesome thread. I'm looking to build a budget rig myself. Keep the recommendations coming!

Woah there! That HDD right there is a Samsung Spinpoint F3, which was one of the best HDDs on the market before the Thailand floods. It was neck-to-neck with the WD Caviar Black in some benchmarks, and often $20 - $30 cheaper. People still talk of the days when $50 bought you a 1TB F3.

And besides, Seagate bought Samsung's HDD department. If that isn't one of the leftover F3s, then it's most likely a Seagate anyways. And it seems that Seagate gets a lot of flak for unreliable hard drives.

Even so, at that current price, that 1TB WD Caviar Black is a better deal. But F3's are not untrustworthy.

Actually Samsung spinpoint F3 are fine when it was still Samsung, nowadays under Seagate quality are suffering much like there Barracuda line. What a junk!

Stop using Case/PSU combos, the PSUs included are truly junk. If you want your components to last, you will buy a good quality PSU,

Here is a quick build Cheap build (Click to show)

CPU upgrade paths are pointless on extreme-budget general use rigs that will simply be replaced every 4-7 years. If a "dead" socket offers a better value, it is actually often the better choice for rigs like this.

The iGPU in this build will have very little bandwidth requirement since it won't be playing games. Basic 1333 stuff would be perfectly fine here.

---

bob808,

My suggested builds are as follows:

---

AMD Llano Build:

CPU/GPU/Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1074719
This quad core llano is about the same price an A6-5400K Trinity dual core. Apply promo code: EMCJNJA38 for free shipping on optical drive. Save $11 in this combo.

MOBO/RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138361
This Hudson D3 based FM1 board comes with a free 2x4GB 1600-9-9-9-1.5V memory kit. Enjoy!

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147164
or: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=71145&vpn=SSDSC2CT180A3K5&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1295
or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236&name=Internal-SSD&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
256GB or 180GB or 120GB SSD options, skip the mechy drive, just pick the size you think is appropriate for their needs.

PSU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr360gp
Seasonic reliability and warranty. 80+ GOLD efficiency. Long lasting, cool running, quiet.

Case: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=58341&vpn=FD-CA-CORE-1000-BL&manufacture=Fractal%20Design&promoid=1295
This is selected based on price, internal build quality, and looks. This is a mature looking case that will be at home in an office environment.

That's $335, $393 or $420 depending on the SSD chosen.

Drop to the dual or triple core llano's (available in the same sort of combos with that same optical drive), to save an additional $10-30. I see the quad as the better value for the machine as a whole personally.

---

Intel builds:

CPU/GPU/Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1075025
(use same promo code as above for free shipping on optical)

MOBO/RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138358
Again, free 2x8GB kit with purchase of MOBO here. This is actually a pretty full featured board here that would normally seem "out of the price range" for such a budget build, but the free RAM kit deal sort of dissolves the price discrepancy of the board here.

Same Case/PSU/SSD options as the build above. That's $395, $453 or $480 depending on the SSD

Drop to a G850 for $70 + $16 optical (purchased separately) to cut $50 from the build costs listed above.

---

AMD Trinity build:

CPU/GPU/MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1076931
Don't settle for D1 and D2 chipsets when there are good deals on D3's that have SATA 6Gb, which will improve SSD performance.

PSU/Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1095195
(use the same promo code for free shipping on the optical drive as above, yes, it works in combos I checked)

RAM: 2X: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147094

Same Case and SSD options as listed in the builds above. $381, $439, or $466 Depending on SSD.

Drop to the A4-5300 or A6-5400K to save $35-45. They're available in the same $10 off combo special with the motherboard.

---

ALL of the above are viable, good builds, for general office use. The 9 possible CPU and 3 possible SSD options shown or optioned out here covers all of your best possible options within the $300-500 range. I think the quad core llano build, which is in the same price class as the dual core trinity and G850 build options, wins from a value perspective by a small margin, but I would happily put together any of the systems above for a friend for family member.

Regards,
Eric
Edited by mdocod - 10/23/12 at 10:59pm

You want to win brownie points? Find a way to work an SSD into the budget. The rig will feel so much faster and more responsive than any PC he's ever used. My Mom throught I spent $1000 on parts when I get her a new rig with an SSD in it. In reality the processor was an AMD A4-3300, the cheapest CPU I could have possibly put into that $60 Socket FM1 motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138333 motherboard AND 8GB of ram for 80 bucks.

Case $ 40 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076

PSU $ 45 (25 after rebate) : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

CPU: $95 after coupon code : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106001

HDD/SSD: $120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148837 (I know it isn't the fastest, but considering anything else would be a higher price, it is the best I could do, and if nothing else, it would be easy to install and use)

And get any CD/DVD drive you want that is cheap.