Hello everyone
First time poster here. I had an old office pc I've been using for media (720p video + music) before it broke, and would like to salvage the case, psu, and harddrive (as its a semi-current 7200 rmp seagate), and put some new parts in there.
Ive been looking at the a6400k as a good startup apu. The only games i play are 3.3.5 WoW (2010), cs 1.6, mw2, dota1, and smash64 emu. So besides those games it will be for netflix and 720p movies. Id love it if I had the option to duel screen tho, so if anyone has any opinions on the a6400k dual-screen ability (especially if overclocked) let me know.
The main thing I have in mind is upgrade ability. I'd like to have a motherboard and ram to last me through case-cooler-and processor upgrades, if possible. I'm looking at Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+, as I had read that a88 is both richland and kaveri compatible (and perhaps the next level of apu) and love the adaptability. If this isnt true, let me know. The other thing is the FM2+ socket. Will the 6400k work in it? or does it work the opposite way, where only fm2+ can work in fm2 sockets? Given that scenario, il have to switch motherboards/processor.
For ram i chose G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133. Id read that the apu benefits from fast ram tremendously but has a cap of 1866 for that gen. Will the apu just bottleneck the 2133 down to 1866, or will it be inefficient? I like the idea of buying the 2133 now, and using it for a better processor in the future when the price drops / my needs increase.
Thanks for reading through all my stuff lads, sorry I'm so clueless with hardware, just trying to made a fun little project pc and would appreciate any input.
My partpicker is http://pcpartpicker.com/user/brightshado/saved/4qYI
So you have the case, PSU, and HDD.
The A6 is a bit weak. I would go with at least an A8 or A10, especially if you want to push the amount of pixels on two monitors (hopefully only one is for gaming)
A88 is the latest chipset, but not the only chipset that is FM2+ compatible. FM2 and FM2+ CPUs will work in FM2+ sockets, but FM2+ CPUs cannot fit into FM2 sockets. If that made no sense, get an FM2+ board; it's compatible with more CPUs.
The faster the RAM, the better.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3v2H7
I got a motherboard with 4 RAM slots, but keep in mind that pretty much anything over 1600mhz clock speed that isn't kit-matched at the factory will be unstable at its rated settings and you'll have to reduce clock speeds and timings. 8GB will be fine for awhile though, so don't worry about it.
Thanks for answering :) Super stoked about my first build
Do you have any suggestions for another cheap apu then? I live in canada, and am apprehensive about paying shipping /duties. At the store I frequent the 6400k is $40 cheaper then the next amd chip (a8 5400k).
I think a88 will make the most sense then :P gotta get some upgrades in a few years for sure. Assuming I just went with the apu and board I chose would it just be plug and play, or would i have to format something for the older processor?
You said the faster the ram the better; then said anything over 1600 mhz will be unstable, whats a good ram speed for a build where im looking to keep the ram for atleast a few years into the future?
Go with A88 chipset... If the APU is only temporary - i have A4 - 5300 and it runs 1080p videos butter smooth... The ram - the faster - the better... However, check the mobo website for the memory support list... Don't just get any memory... Find one cheap enough that will work fine with the mobo...
It should be plug and play. It's a FM2 Richland APU and is not FM2+.
Let me clarify about RAM.
RAM kits are put together at the factory. Each stick of RAM is different from the others. The factory tries to match up two sticks of ram with similar characteristics so that they can run together at higher speeds. When you try to mix and match RAM kits, you run the possibility that the two kits won't want to run at their rated speeds. This is especially true for higher clocked RAM kits. Usually 1333mhz and 1600mhz kits will work with each other just fine, but 1866 and higher clocked RAM will require you to mess around with looser timings or slower clock speed.
I used the CA PcPartPicker to try to get better pricing. Try this:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3vUmq
AM1 platform would be cheaper.
I would wonder how performance would be with a GPU upgrade in there though. Supposedly it's a PCIe 2.0 running at x4 for the GPU.
But interesting thought, though.