Maximum PC

I wouldn't recommend their high end the low end are still better than stock and have a low profile although Scythe is a better choice.

Honestly, anything is better than stock Intel or amd heatsinks.

AMD makes good stock heatsinks actually...

Better than Intel yes... but still crap. I just wished Intel and AMD sold tray oem boxes as retail with the full warranty instead of 30 days. Save some cost and not have a stack of useless heatsinks in a shoebox.

Quite digging trash out of the office dumpster. lol That is not too bad a build. You are limiting what he can do on his system. Let's get realistic, anything Intel graphics sucks ass. One of my small thumb drives has three OSs on it. A 2TB HDD with a 60GB SSD on a $500 dollar budget build? You chose storage instead of giving him more processing power. The Antec 620watt ... PSU you chose is nice for what little it costs. No I did not notice he said he was dual booting. Linux was what I would have recommended anyhow. Normally I would give a Nvidia GPU for better drivers, but at this price point it would be better to choose a good APU.

First off all... Explain to me how am I limiting OP's abilities with this build over your much more limited AMD APU FM1 build that doesn't even perform on the same CPU level? Shit, for the same price, the Gigabyte mobo I selected supports both SLI/xfire setups and faster 2133 ram if he wanted more upgrade options over your mobo.. Even then, I could have easily gone down with a cheaper $60-80 H61, H67 chipset motherboard to save some costs and still meet OP's requirements.

Why does he need a beefier gpu core? Read his requirements:

Second, the list you linked is just adding a 2TB drive to the $400 list above it; you can easily budget in a $100 gpu if you wanted to add gpu potential that will beat your APU selection while staying on a more standard lga 1155 socket motherboard that has loads of features. And even then, like I said before, OP's X4 setup is a better choice to match his needs than your AMD APU solution.

Third, i3 2100 series chips are not slow for cpu processing abilities. Dual core with HT and is between the X4 965 and 975 BE at stock speeds for $113?!?! Yes plz. Even beats your FM1 APU by a wide margin. While the IGP HD 2000 gpu core is not very fast for gaming, its more than powerful enough to handle daily tasks, web browsing and HD video; even some older games like TF2. You really don't need more than that for a low budget $500 build, specially if OS isn't needed in the costs.

Fourth, I added a 60GB SSD because its cheap and for his requirements of a desktop browsing computer, even for dual boot, it would be enough. OP also mentioned that he wanted the possibility of adding an SSD. I just showcased that he could in fact afford an SSD on his budget and PC requirements. He didn't say what apps he would be running, but even then, the OS will be very fast and responsive for his needs, then install programs on the optional 2TB drive or whatever sized drive he goes with. I only selected the 2TB in case he wanted more space and there was room left in the budget to add one in; still best $/GB right now even after the floods. Prices will go down to more normal levels, but we are almost there.


Also, the PSU deal is now over so just replace it with a cheap 400-500w psu from a brand name maker for the same cost. You can grab the 600w OCZ for $40 still on newegg.

The APU I recommended is perfectly capable of doing basic tasks too. Trinity coming in the near future. AMD has been better with the socket backward compatibility than Intel ever was. He could add a discrete GPU to the setup if he wanted to.

I'm not doubting that... I have an A6.

It's just that he particularly does not need a faster gpu core or spend the money for such a limited setup. Besides, the A8 is not much faster than the $70 Intel Pentium G620 dual core (no HT) with the same HD 2000 IGP as the i3; saving OP even more money if he wanted to strip it down. Then you could easily spend the cost difference on a decent $40-60 entry level gpu 5570, 6670, GT 440 or above for as good or better gaming potential.

He could easily budget in a $100 gpu like the 6770, 7750, 450, 550 ti or even find a 6850 on sale if he drops the cpu to the g620 and dump either the ssd or 2tb drive.


It will hold an expected higher price point than the current A6/A8's. Also uses the newer FM2 socket... What were you saying about socket change and Intel?

OK, so I have been doing some more research and I am going to go with the AMD Phenom route. For the price and low power duties, it is good enough. I did change the Case to an Antec 300. Power supplies and RAM are always subject to change so it is never certain. I'm planning on having this all put together by May, so maybe prices will go down some. So here is the basic build and an upgrade plan. Upgrades of gfx card and SSD probably later this year but not in a hurry.

[2] BASIC OUTLINE
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M4A88T-M Micro ATX AM3 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($35.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Scorpio Black 160GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.21 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($55.24 @ Amazon)
Total: $389.41
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-24 15:39 EDT-0400)

[2]POSSIBLE UPGRADE PLAN
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M4A88T-M Micro ATX AM3 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($35.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Scorpio Black 160GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.21 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Corsair Force Series GT 90GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($55.24 @ Amazon)
Total: $634.39
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-24 15:40 EDT-0400)

But Intel is a lot better and actually allows you to have A LOT of room for future upgrades. An x4 is basically top of the line AMD and it performs on par with the core i3, now with Intel you get the i3 now and later if you need more power you can put an Ivy Bridge CPU in there, since the z68 chipset has a lot of life left in it. The phenom II is also using a lot more power than an Intel so you are paying more for electricity because it is less efficient.



This was measured from the ATX pins going to the CPU^




This was full system load so subtract about 50 watts and it is comparable^

AMD is never a choice for a build. Don't listen to people on here that don't know what they are talking about, AMD loses by large margins in all real world tests, they use more power, and they run hotter.

I did consider the fact that an x4 barely beats the core i3. I'm really not sure an i5 is worth it for me. The most intensive game I play is TF2. The extra $100 for an i5 doesn't feel necessary.

Please answer this doubt I have: The i3 is already 2 generations behind in Intel's lineup. How obsolete will the i3 be compared with the Phenom in about 4 to 5 years? From what I read, AMD desktop cpus are on their last leg, probably giving up. I don't know...Sorry if I confused you all.

I'm no AMD/Intel fanboy. In my entire life, I had 2 desktops (1996 Celeron, 2004 P4) and a 6-month old laptop(AMD A6). I don't upgrade every 18 months and I'm in it for the long run. This is my first build so I want to get it right.

The i3 isn't really a low end chip it's just not the flagship. And it is roughly the same (most of the time better http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bes ... 859-3.html ) as the x4 except it uses a lot less power and is based on a newer platform with more modern components such as onboard audio, raid controllers, network controllers, etc. And you have the opportunity to get the new Ivy Bridge CPUs later if you feel you need it, or find a good deal. AM3 is a dead end platform with little prospect for future expansion if the need arises. You are definitely better off going with an i3.

I might point out that the extra electricity thing is a moot point depending on where you live, how often it's under full load, and other things. But it usually takes a year or two before anything you save on AMD catches up with going Intel.

Then again, my budget is $500 right now. Future expandables don't count. So far, I see nothing wrong with the AMD Phenom x4 for a low budget, low power build.

Maybe, if I can get an i5 for around $150, I would buy it.

You don't need an i5 the i3 is a great chip and better than the AMD in most places. The future upgrade potential is that Intel is still developing CPUs for that socket so you can go to Ivy Bridge in a year or two relatively easily. There isn't much of an upgrade path for AMD right now so you are paying for the slightly better performance of the i3 and the potential to get chips from Intel that aren't yet at a later date if you need to. If you get the 965 you are capped at 965 performance with no easy way to upgrade in the future.

Anyway if you live near Microcenter you can get an i5 2400 for $150 http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0354590 in store only. http://www.microcenter.com/at_the_stores/index.html store locations, Based on your name I am going to assume you live in Philly, and in that case there is one near you.

I forgot that it would be on a different socket. That changes everything. Sorry, my mistake. I would not go with AMD APUs then. Tech changes so rapidly that unless you keep your eyes taped open you would miss something. lol AMD has been pretty good about backward compatibility compared to Intel. I am not a huge fan of either company.

@phillyj I would at least save up three hundred dollars more before building a system if you can. A pre-built desktop on clearance might offer more bang for your buck.