Build a better extreme low end gaming box than me in the next 30 days

[cbn]

I'd rather have a cheap CPU and dedicated GPU than an APU for gaming. Just my $.02 adjusted for inflation

In general, I would definitely agree with you.

However, at the super low end and most entry level I **might** make an exception with the A8-6600K (depending on sale prices of components including memory kits and discrete video cards)

For only $10 more (at regular price) than the Richland based Athlon x4 760K it gives the user 256 VLIW4 stream processors. At $89.99 the iGPU was free.

EDIT: A deal like this looks pretty decent to me also--> http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2393379 (In fact, I think it would probably make a good extreme budget build with this case---> http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2393220 and this PSU ---> http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2392689. $155 spent, and all a person would need is RAM and storage to finish off.)

With that mentioned, one disadvantage I see with using an APU in a budget gaming scenario is the need for dual channel memory kit (which is a variable cost adder dependent on whether fast or stock speed 2x 2Gb or 2 x 4GB kits are selected). Meanwhile budget cpu users with discrete video cards can get by with a single 4GB stick of value ram.

 

[mfenn]

If you're looking for an APU build, the new Kaveri (Bulldozer + GCN) parts are the way to go. The recently released (but long announced) A8-7600 looks like a winner. It's near enough as makes no difference to the A10-7850K in most cases, but avoids the 7850K's fatal flaw: price.

 

[cbn]

If you're looking for an APU build, the new Kaveri (Bulldozer + GCN) parts are the way to go. The recently released (but long announced) A8-7600 looks like a winner. It's near enough as makes no difference to the A10-7850K in most cases, but avoids the 7850K's fatal flaw: price.

I noticed the A8-7600 actually beats the A10-5800K in the following benchmarks (from your link):

(NOTE: Most of the APUs including A10-6800K, A10-5800K and A8-7600 used 2133 Mhz RAM according to a previous Kaveri review article --> http://www.anandtech.com/show/7677/amd-kaveri-review-a8-7600-a10-7850k/9. The rest of the APUs used 1866 )

With that in mind, I think the following two things will be interesting:

1. Future sale prices of A8-7600 as well as Trinity and Richland A10s and A8s. (Looking forward to seeing some good discounts and processor/mobo bundles in this area)

2. Future sale prices of fast RAM compared to 1600 speed RAM. (How much will this factor into APU selection for the lowest budget gaming boxes?)

 

[ahenkel]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (Purchased For $74.99)
Motherboard: MSI B85M GAMING Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $29.99)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (Purchased For $72.99)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $59.99)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card (Purchased For $84.00)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $49.99)
Total: $371.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-05 19:04 EDT-0400

I did cheat a little and got the case free and the HDD is a recycle from an upgrade.

There's a ten dollar rebate on the motherboard so only being over by 10 bucks isn't half bad. I probably could have gone with 4gb and dropped the SSD for a slightly better GPU. I just can't stand not having an SSD in any build I use. So I'll take the small over budget hit.

 

[cbn]

Thanks for all these builds.

Each one beats my own build in the OP in some tangible fashion related to performance. (My build is the smallest however 😛)

P.S. If anyone wants to supply a Z97 Pentium G3258 entry, there is this deal to consider:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2395424

Also an AMD AM3+ hexcore entry would be interesting as well.