What's a good, cheap CPU?
- Thread starter dave1701
- Start date
fastdude
Active Member
The best current-gen CPU you can get below $75 would probably be the Athlon II X3 445. Do you have an overall budget for your build, and do you have a motherboard budget?
spynoodle
Active Member
You're limiting your self a bit only going to $75. If you went to ~$105, you could get the newly price-dropped i3 540, which would be a LOT faster than anything you can get for $75. If you do want to stay under $75, then fastdude is right: you'll probably get the best performance out of an Athlon II X3.
fastdude
Active Member
Neither makes "better" CPUs;
Generally Intel CPUs are more expensive, but are at the cutting-edge of technology, based on a newer architecture, use less power, and perform better.
Of course, this is a generalisation, and it all depends on what you are doing with your computer. However, all this isn't to say the AMD CPUs are rubbish. They can also offer good bang-for-buck.
What will you be doing with your PC?
dave1701
New Member
Schoolwork, games but not really new games, I play alot of old games. I say the LGA 1156 socket motherboard is compatible with the newer cpus, so it's upgradeable. How much do you think a computer with a i3 would be without any bells and whistles? I also was looking for one with an AGP slot for my graphics card.
fastdude
Active Member
Well, an i3 build would probably come to about $50 more than an Athlon II X3 one, you could build the i3 one (complete base unit, without monitor or OS) for about $450-$500, seeing as you don't need a mid-high end GPU.
fastdude
Active Member
$250?
The following PC will be very upgradable.
It's a challenge, but here goes:
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...903&cm_re=Athlon_II_X2-_-19-103-903-_-Product - $59
Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176&cm_re=770-_-13-157-176-_-Product - $55
GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102907&cm_re=HD_4650-_-14-102-907-_-Product - $25 w/rebate
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...194&cm_re=2_x_1GB_DDR3-_-20-148-194-_-Product - $36
PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341038&Tpk=StealthXstream - Overkill, but $40 after MIR and leaves plenty of room for future upgrades
Case - I would say Rosewill blackbone but that was out of stock so...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815004 - $30
Optical - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151175 - $17
HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395 - $40
Total - 302USD
If you wanted to save even more cash, then downgrade to a Sempron 140 (saving $25)
EDIT: He has a Graphics card?
Agree with fastdude. Here is other component you could consider
COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
FS, $35 MIR $10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
PSU - Antec Basiq BP430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply, FS, $45, MIR $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176&cm_re=770-_-13-157-176-_-Product
AMD Athlon II X3 445 + ASRock M3A770DE AM3 combo, worth considering
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.547178
COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
FS, $35 MIR $10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
PSU - Antec Basiq BP430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply, FS, $45, MIR $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176&cm_re=770-_-13-157-176-_-Product
AMD Athlon II X3 445 + ASRock M3A770DE AM3 combo, worth considering
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.547178
dave1701
New Member
how bout this Power supply, it's cheaper.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339009
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339009
fastdude
Active Member
Get the case above, it's better than the one I posted and is cheap too
The Basiq is good value with that rebate
That's a decent combo, but it's stretching his budget a bit.
Nice suggestions:good:
That's because it's a load of crap. It's a very low-quality unit and you'll be lucky if it lasts you a month, plus it won't deliver the wattage stated. That's assuming it can power out your components in the first place.
EDIT: No modern mobos will have an AGP slot. You'll need a new GPU.
dave1701
New Member
fastdude
Active Member
The Sempron 145. It's a step below the Athlon II series, single core, but is still socket AM3 (AMDs latest socket). Fine for basic computing, plus has a low TDP (Heat/Power Consumed). But it's slower than the processor
spynoodle
Active Member
Yeah, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't find a LGA1156 mobo with an AGP slot.
I'm not sure that downgrading to a sempron would be a very good idea. That's probably not much faster than his current Northwood 2.4GHz.
Just another possible CPU suggestion;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=Pentium_dual-core-_-19-116-367-_-Product
If you chose the LGA775 platform, you'll need to find an LGA775 motherboard, which I'll leave to a mobo-expert on the forum.
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TrainTrackHack
VIP Member
Trust me, the Sempron will be a lot faster than a 2.4GHz Northwood. It's clocked higher and performs noticeably better clock-for-clock. Having said that, I'd rather go for a dual-core. If you decide to go for a Sempron, however, I'd go for the 140 instead of 145. You only save a few bucks, but that extra 100MHz is insignificant anyway (less significant than your ~$4).
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mx344
Active Member
The 140 would be decent, Heck you could unlock the 140 into a dual core if your lucky, and if its unstable, you can still overclock it 3.5+
Dave, you could get that cheap psu, but Its reliablity will be questioned, and it will be louder than other units, Im not going to say it will die within a month or 2, or whatever, because it could well last you the life of your computer, Im not going to bash on it, but it's looked down upon to get such a cheap psu, when there are other psu's have proven quality, and are consistant, and they only cost 20 bucks more...
Plus, that much power is overkill, you dont need anything more than 400watts, and a single 20amp 12v rail, especially if you are going with the sempron...
EDIT: If its an agp card, its probably not going to be that much better than some onboard cards, haha, so Just go with a decent onboard video.
Dave, you could get that cheap psu, but Its reliablity will be questioned, and it will be louder than other units, Im not going to say it will die within a month or 2, or whatever, because it could well last you the life of your computer, Im not going to bash on it, but it's looked down upon to get such a cheap psu, when there are other psu's have proven quality, and are consistant, and they only cost 20 bucks more...
Plus, that much power is overkill, you dont need anything more than 400watts, and a single 20amp 12v rail, especially if you are going with the sempron...
EDIT: If its an agp card, its probably not going to be that much better than some onboard cards, haha, so Just go with a decent onboard video.
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spynoodle
Active Member
Look it up on www.cpubenchmark.net
Yeah, it's a bit faster, but it's still not nearly as fast as the Athlon IIs, Wolfdale Pentiums, Celerons, and Core 2 Duos, or even the original Core 2 Duos. You could combo a dirt cheap LGA775 mobo with a Core2 Duo E6600 (not to mention the Pentium E6600), and it would still be faster even if you unlocked the Sempron to a dual-core. All that to just save $20 over an Athlon II?
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