AMD APU desktop inspired by the Console Killer(Budget $650)

Hardware Build a PC
1

Hi guys,

need some suggestion regarding this build which was inspired by the $450 Console Killer PC build, but with some parts which I be planning to purchase them online and the rest from my local PC store

My old Pentium 4 desktop has finally kicked the bucket, and thus I need a replacement for my desktop PC which was my all-round use for web surfing, downloading movies, and old titles like Mechwarrior or Need For Speed PC game series

I don't really expect to play AAA grade titles like BF3 on this desktop but I still need a PC which could run Mechwarrior Online or the upcoming Need For Speed Rivals on 720p medium resolution. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1MCfR

Partlist as follows:

AMD A10-6800K Quad Core

CoolerMaster Seidon 120XL water cooler

Asus A88XM-A MATX Mainboard

8GB RipJaws-X 1866MHz CAS 8 memory

SanDisk Ready Cache 32GB

Western Digital Black 1TB 7200rpm

BitFenix Prodigy M mATX Midnight Black

The PSU and DVD are optional as I have a 500W PSU rated at 78% efficiency and the DVD Writer which could be salvaged from the old desktop.

As to the max budget I have is around 650 USD or around 800 Singapore dollars excluding shipping charges.

Things which I need shipping from US web stores will be the BitFenix Prodigy M casing and the mainboard as my local stores do not carry the 2 items. 

While some will suggest dropping a SSD into the setup, but my budget is the limiting factor and SSD prices in Singapore are pretty high as the capacity goes up. I wished i could use the previous HDD but they are IDE based HDD and have really puny capacity of 60GB and 250GB and are large & bulky as compared to the current HDDs

The reason for buying the casing is that the form factor of the Prodigy fits very well my desk space as I could just place the PC right in the middle of my desk and still have space for the 2 monitors which I have currently as my displays. I wish i could place the casing on the floor but my floor needs constant cleaning due to the nearby construction and i fear the worst if my mum uses her cleaning equipment and keeps knocking into the PC especially when the system is powered on. Not only my environment is dusty, it can be quite warm, so i need some form of cooling from my floor standing fan and the extra cooling from the water cooler system. I might do some overclocking on the integrated GPU to bump up the speed to 1GHz from 844Mhz thus I find that the Seidon 120XL just able to fit into the small space.

Advance thanks for the upcoming suggestions

Regards

Dragoon20005

 

PS: just contributed to the help Tek Syndicate fund :)

2

I personally think the Bitfenix Prodigy M has horrible airflow.  The direction air is made to travel (hot air is exhausted downwards), making cooling less efficient than it could be.

That Seidon is dirt cheap after a MIR.  Pretty damn good deal.

You would get a much better gaming with a dedicated GPU and an FX CPU.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1MD9B

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor.  6 Cores for higher performance.

MOBO: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard.  USB 3.0 compatible, has a decent chipset

RAM: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory.  Typical 1600mhz ram, due to change from apu to dgpu

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive.  I couldn't fit the WD black in the budget.  These work pretty well too.

SSD: At this budget, just keep your HDD in nice condition, and your boot times will be bearable.  Use the money somewhere else.

GPU: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card.  Can play almost all games at 1080p no problem.

PSU: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply.  These are made by Seasonic, and run really cool(I have one).  If using the Bitfenix Prodigy M, it's very important to have a good, cool PSU so that the hot air does not rise back into the case.

 

3

I like the idea of going with a discrete graphics card as well. I personally run a 7850 and it will get you Ultra to High setting on almost any game at 1080p. I personally with use Air Cooling in this rig. The Siedon is over 80 dollars! The best for thermals would be to get a nice air cooler (I'll put some links to ones that are nice), get two 120mm fans for the top(exhaust), and get oine 230mm for the bottom(intake). Note that it would probably be wise to slap a magnetic dust filter on the bottom. With that setup, everything will run cool. You are working with working with positive airflow and convection. 

 

Heatsink Options:

Hyper 212 Evo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Xigmatek Dark Night II: https://secure.newegg.com/NewMyAccount/AccountLogin.aspx?tojump=0&nextpage=https%3a%2f%2fsecure.newegg.com%2fNewMyAccount%2fDashBoard.aspx

 

230mm Fans:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007998%20600339700&IsNodeId=1&Description=fans&bop=And&Order=RATING&PageSize=20

 

120mm Fans:

Corsair 120mm Air Flow (x2): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181021

Notcua NF-F12 (best 120mm fans out there): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608026

4

i posted this on someone else's thread, but i think you'd like this too.. only thing is, you'd have to buy it today, because a lot of the promo codes expire today!

CPU: AMD FX 8120 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103961

Promo Code: EMCWXXM25

$124.99

--------------

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565

-- Allows up to 125 W Processor, which is the 8120. Has USB 3.0.

Promo Code: EMCWXXS26

$48.49, after $10 Mail In Rebate

------------------------------

GPU: PowerColor 7870 Ghz edition - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131492

$154.99 after $30.00 Mail In Rebate + has 2 free games

-------------------

PSU: 500W Thermaltake - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153165

Promo Code: EMCWXXM237

$19.99 after Mail In Rebate

----------------------------

RAM: 8 GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148540

$64.99

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HDD: Seagate 1TB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Promo code: EMCWXXT22

$59.99

--------------

SSD: OCZ Refurb 120GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227928

Promo Code: EMCWXXM57

$61.99

--------------

Optical Drive: Lite-On DVD Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Promo Code: EMCWXXT23

$14.99

--------------------

Case: Rosewill RANGE-M - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147122

Promo Code: EMCWXXT34

$24.99 ------------

Total before Mail In Rebates & Promo Codes: $710.91

Total AFTER Promo Codes: $633.41

Total AFTER Mail In Rebates: $573.41

 

If you need an operating system, here's 2 FREE and LEGAL options..

 1.) Ubuntu - http://www.ubuntu.com/ You can game on this using WINE or PlayOnLinux.

2.) Windows 8.1 Beta: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/preview-iso

 

Don't try to overclock without some kind of aftermarket cooling! :) which you could totally afford in this build. maybe some water cooling? you'd have to check the dimensions on the case. but yeah. :)

here's the cooler master seidon 240m - $69.99 after mail in rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103179

which would bring your total to $643.40... still under budget. :) not sure if that cooler master cooler would fit in there, because i didn't look at the dimensions, but i'm just showing that you could even have a water cooled system with that budget. :)

5

whats with the over rated psu? you know a apu system without a dedicated video card will pull almost less than 200 watts.

6

thanks for the inputs guys again

as mentioned before the 500W PSU is one of the optional items as i have a PSU which was salvaged from the old Pentium 4.

I wished i can get a simple casing but my desktop space is limited with 2 odd size LCD monitors already in placed(HP 20" and Philips 19"). The prodigy is the perfect size which can be squeeze in between the monitors.  As to why i chose WD drives over Seagate was a matter of bad experience with Seagate drives which was in my NAS and died on me and I lost like 4TB of videos which was a pain to re-download. All my WD drives even the IDE based are still soldiering on up to this day. And many of the systems I built for my friends use WD and have no issues.

6 cores CPU are nice to have but the games which I am playing are only optimized to run on 4 cores at best.

My idea is that I needed a system that could let me play games at typical graphics settings without the need of a GPU at the moment. 

Only after 1 or 2 years down the road when the games becomes more graphics demanding, will i start dropping in a mid to top range GPU which by that time i will be able to afford it.

Thanks again

7

hey, no problem. :) i had fun putting parts together. lol :) sorry you couldn't use the build, but it was nice of you to get back with everybody. :) thanks! :)

8

would love to see pics of the system.

9

thanks again for the suggestions you guys gave

i am now waiting for the good time to order the APU & mainboard combo and the casing at one go when the price is right for me.

in the meantime my notebook is connected to my 2 monitors one using VGA and the other using DVI

another reason why i only want to game at 720p was because these monitors are old school 4:3 ratio screens which were bought with the Pentium 4 system and the HP was a bin bargain sale.

HP 20" has 1600x1200 resolution and the Philips is 1280x1024 resolution