best budget build for my purpose?

[Senpuu]

As the title states, I'm looking to build a cheap system for a friend and I wanna know what kind of options I have for this? I was thinking maybe a Phenom II X2 or C2D build. Doesn't really need to take any gaming in mind. Really just mobo + cpu please.

Thanks.

 

[Sylvanas]

If it's just email, web browsing and office tasks you don't need even a P2 or C2D, but seeing as it's a new build you may as well go for something like an Athlon X2 and a Biostar 790GX throw in some cheap ram and your done. Seeing as you didn't mention a budget I'm just guessing here, but you can go even cheaper if you want.

 

[alrightgame]

The 7750 Kuma is currently the best Athlon X2 processor due to the cache, and is 60 dollars as opposed to the 90 dollars x2 6000. The 6400 don't really exist in the market right now.
If your friend is going to run anything processor intensive, I can't really recommend a duo core though as things will just get worse for the duos as software matures to quad core.
If you want to spend 120 for something that is futureproof, buy a Phenom II x3, as it is DDR3 capable so if you ever need to replace a dieing motherboard, you can plop this in to a ddr3.
The motherboard linked above is currently the best board for that price as it has onboard video which is great if you are not gaming.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: alrightgame
The 7750 Kuma is currently the best Athlon X2 processor due to the cache, and is 60 dollars as opposed to the 90 dollars x2 6000. The 6400 don't really exist in the market right now.
If your friend is going to run anything processor intensive, I can't really recommend a duo core though as things will just get worse for the duos as software matures to quad core.
If you want to spend 120 for something that is futureproof, buy a Phenom II x3, as it is DDR3 capable so if you ever need to replace a dieing motherboard, you can plop this in to a ddr3.
The motherboard linked above is currently the best board for that price as it has onboard video which is great if you are not gaming.

It's not. You'll note the 7850 comes 2nd to the Athlon 250 in nearly everything. Not to mention that 7850 is really the old 65nm Phenoms which clock horribly and can act erratic at times (I know, I had one). The X2 250 is cooler and overclocks much better than the 7850 and is generally a better buy. If you want to go cheaper just for a budget build just get an older 4850e X2 and you'll be fine.

 

[alrightgame]

The 7750 clocks exactly the same as the 7850, one is more of a ploy to get 10 dollars more from someone who doesn't understand you can just bump the multi up one and get 2.8ghz without a voltage bump. Neither processor tends to go above 3.4Ghz on air.

The x2 250 is listed under Athlon II, not Athlon.


You had said Athlon, so I didn't want him going out and buy a more expensive Athlon x2 6000 instead of getting a Kuma which is oddly named for an Athlon x2 but is an Athlon x2 none the less. (Actually it is a Phenom with 2 cores disabled, but newegg lists them under the Athlon x2).

And to correct myself, the price has dropped on the 6000, but it is still more expensive then the Kuma.

And yes, the Kuma is outdated, but it is the cheapest of the duos that I consider still worthy to buy.

 

[yh125d]

http://www.dell.com/

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: alrightgame
The 7750 clocks exactly the same as the 7850, one is more of a ploy to get 10 dollars more from someone who doesn't understand you can just bump the multi up one and get 2.8ghz without a voltage bump. Neither processor tends to go above 3.4Ghz on air.

The x2 250 is listed under Athlon II, not Athlon.


You had said Athlon, so I didn't want him going out and buy a more expensive Athlon x2 6000 instead of getting a Kuma which is oddly named for an Athlon x2 but is an Athlon x2 none the less. (Actually it is a Phenom with 2 cores disabled, but newegg lists them under the Athlon x2).

And to correct myself, the price has dropped on the 6000, but it is still more expensive then the Kuma.

And yes, the Kuma is outdated, but it is the cheapest of the duos that I consider still worthy to buy.

I said Athlon but I linked to the Athlon II X2 250- it was pretty self explanatory what I meant. Getting 3.4ghz on a Kuma would be rare which is why it deservedly slots into how the older Phenoms overclocked- which is pretty poorly. The Athlon II X2 on the other hand reached 3.75ghz in AT's review which is not uncommon due to the changes the Phenom had in the transition to 45nm which is demonstrated in the higher clockspeeds. For office and web browsing the Kuma, IMO, should not be considered at all. Either go budget with the older Athlon 4850e AM2 CPU + mobo on a budget, or, at a higher price bracket get an Athlon II X2- which overclocks better. The 'middle ground' Kuma is in limbo as it neither overclocks better or performs much better than the original 6400+ which it edges out in most benches.

 

[alrightgame]

All you say is quite true, just didn't want a misbuy on his part.

 

[Senpuu]

Thanks for the suggestions and the link to the processor comparison article. I think I've decided on the X2 250. And I've chosen this mobo for the moment.

Any thoughts on this mobo selection? Do you know of anything cheaper that will accommodate the above chip, have reasonable on-board graphics, and be reliable? The previously linked Biostar TA790GX doesn't support socket AM3 processors unless I'm misreading something.

I have no plans on overclocking this machine for her btw.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: Senpuu
Thanks for the suggestions and the link to the processor comparison article. I think I've decided on the X2 250. And I've chosen this mobo for the moment.

Any thoughts on this mobo selection? Do you know of anything cheaper that will accommodate the above chip, have reasonable on-board graphics, and be reliable? The previously linked Biostar TA790GX doesn't support socket AM3 processors unless I'm misreading something.

I have no plans on overclocking this machine for her btw.

CPU support list The latest Bios supports the Athlon II X2 250 and all the current AM3 CPUs. Remember an AM3 CPU works in a AM2+ board, all an AM3 CPU means is that it can also be used in a DDR3 board as it's memory controller provides support for that.

 

[Senpuu]

Thanks for the heads up about AM2+. I actually read one of the stickies after asking and realized my misunderstanding. I haven't done anything with AMD CPUs in over 10 years, so I was really out of the loop on some stuff. Seems like a fun time to mess around with their hardware though. I guess I could probably have