The real cheap throwaway build

[Chibo]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, photochopping, gaming, etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Kinda flexible, but as low as possible
3) Where do you live?
Arizona
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, cpu, videocard, mobo, etc
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe, not really a priority. I plan to unlock the fourth core though.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
2-3 weeks out
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Don't really need anything special.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Win7 x64 student will be purchased.

AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX450WFGMBOX
BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT
XFX HD-685X-ZNFR Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w/ 1 x 120mm fan
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Total shipped: $490.57
Total after MIRs: $450.57

Am I smoking crack with this build? I am looking to play a little Diablo 3, BF3, Tera Online, GW2, etc as they come out later this year. I don't mind dropping details and I don't care about my FPS as long as they are above the refresh rate for the majority of the time.

I know that the PSU is 500watt and everyone recommends 600w+ but from the Guru3D review of the 6850 they came out with 393W for full load with crossfire 6850's so I could drop to even a 450 or 400 watt.

I'm not opposed to switching to Intel, but I couldn't come up with a cheaper build.

 

[PoopsMacClaude]

If you want budget and performance, that's what overclocking is all about. It's easy and there's really no point in not doing it if you want to scrape all the performance you can for your dollar. Being able to overclock is guaranteed, unlocking the fourth core is not.

You know, an OEM 720 Phenom II X3 black edition is cheaper than that retail X3 450. I would go with that and a cheapo HS/F that will give decent temps for the money in the $10 range.

The board doesn't look bad for the money, but don't limit yourself to newegg. Better prices can be found in other places sometimes. Use the internet. Don't be afraid of used hardware either. Check our classifieds and eBay.

 

[tonytnnt]

How flexible is the budget? Ideally for 1080p you'd want to jump up to a 6870 and go Intel (especially if Diablo 3 is anything like Starcraft 2), but that's dependent on your budget.

I priced out an Intel with Radeon 6870 build and most of the parts were similar to yours in price. You did leave out a DVD burner that I included for $19. But my build with the following changes:

$125 - Intel Core i3-2100
$130 (before $10 MIR) - BIOSTAR TH67+ LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AND CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W
$180 (before $30 MIR) - XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB with Shogun 2 Total War (game is free -- can also get Dirt 3 for free from XFX's website.)
$19 - SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AB - OEM
$25 - Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$50 - Samsung F3 1TB 7200 RPM
$50 - LIAN LI Lancool First Knight Series PC-K57W (This is a place holder. Insert case of your choice here. I'd look around $50, so the Fractal Core 1000 fits too.)
Total (all shipping free): $578.92
Total after MIRs: $538.92

So when you factor in the $19 DVD burner into your build, your total comes up to
Total shipped: $509.56
Total after MIRs: $466.56

So about $70 difference, but you get a much faster processor (it hangs with or beats quad and hex core Phenoms for gaming) and a better GPU as well. If you'd like to save $20, you can drop down to a Radeon 6850 or a GeForce GTX 460, but I would look into OCing them to get acceptable performance at 1080p.

The extra money spent by going to a Core i3-2100 also transforms this from being a cheap throw away build to a cheap gaming build. The 1155 socket will be around for future Intel CPUs (based on the Ivy Bridge core -- due out sometime next year) leaving room for increased CPU performance should you need it.

However, if $500 is more your upper bound, don't get that GPU. Save $2 and this better combo deal instead:
$228 (before $40 MIR) - XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB AND CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W

You get a faster GPU and the same PSU. You lose out on Shogun 2 but still get Dirt 3. If you really want Shogun 2, you can save $10 by going with:
$160 (before $25 MIR) - XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB AND Shogun 2 Total War AND Dirt 3

You may also want to consider guaranteeing that you get a quad core by getting this:
$115 - AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz AND BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX
$28 - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

The heatsink and fan will hopefully enable better overclocks as well. Just make sure it fits in your case. Also be aware that the above combo is an ATX motherboard and not mATX, so if you want a small case you should look into a different motherboard.

 

[PoopsMacClaude]

There is no doubt the i3 is superior. It's a competent contender against overclocked X4s and only really loses out on multi-threaded apps. However, at $125, it is a full 67% more than a $75 X3 720 BE. Overall, your build is about 16% more overall in increased cost. The 6870 suggestion is quite good. I would definitely not skimp on the RAM, deals are everywhere for it, being cheap as it is, I'd get 2x4 GB. A few 8GB SODIMM kits have gone for $30 or under in the past few days. The regular stuff is getting just as cheap.

As is often the case with these super-budget builds a little more usually gets you a lot more. In this case, the 16% overall cost increase is very much worth it in my opinion but that is something the OP will have to decide for himself.

 

[Dangman]

However, at $125, it is a full 67% more than a $75 X3 720 BE. .

I'm no math major but how did you get 67%?

 

[tonytnnt]

I'm no math major but how did you get 67%?

$125/$75 = 1.667

I agree, it's up to the OP. He'll be able to game pretty well on a Phenom, especially if he goes with the 6870 instead of the 6850. But the Core i3 has the performance edge for a bit more money (the 16% overall system increase.) OP is definitely getting more than 16% performance boost in gaming performance and photochopping.