Cheapest "light" gaming build, what would you choose? CPU+iGPU

[El_Capitan]

So... on another forum, some guy just didn't get what I was saying, and I'm just continuing to troll him. Funny stuff.

 

Alas, I thought I'd get a conversation going here.

 

First and foremost, if you're going to buy the cheapest build where I'd be doing some "light" gaming. Meaning playing various games on at least 1200 x 800 resolution at whatever settings make it run smoothly enough, what would you use? Motherboard prices being pretty equal.

 

For me, I'd look at some CPU's with iGPU's/APU's. With the AMD A10-5800K with a HD7660D being the best performer, that's where I'd start. But then, an i3-3220 with a HD2500 is $15 cheaper. While they perform on par CPU-wise, the AMD A10-5800K with a HD7660D outperforms the i3-3220 with a HD2500 by a large margin for only $15 more.

 

So that gets me wondering. Why not use an HD4000 on these CPU's? Well, they do, an i3-3225, which has a HD4000... but it's $15 more expensive than the AMD A10-5800K and still doesn't outperform it iGPU-wise.

 

If Intel isn't going to decrease the costs to include the highest iGPU they can on CPU's where most cost conscious builders would buy for, why don't they just stop including an iGPU on those CPU's and lower the costs?

 

If the i3-3220 cost $80, I'd just buy a $50 graphics card, or spend $30 more to buy a used GTX 460 767MB card, which would still be $15 more than the i3-3225 but blow it away gaming-wise.

 

Now, I'm not sure how much it costs to manufacture an i3-3220 without an iGPU compared to one with a HD2500 or a HD4000, but if it's aimed at people deciding to get that or an AMD A10-5800K, I would think they'd do more to cut some manufacturing costs to draw in more people to buy these CPU's at a lower price.

 

Thoughts?

[IVIYTH0S]

I'm not up on the matter but wouldn't board pricing come in to play here too (which would make it hard to argue with all the choices) since every dollar saved is the goal in this choice (without sacrificing performance)...

I guess the A10 though all else equal...

Edited March 19, 2013 by IVIYTH0S

[El_Capitan]

I'm not up on the matter but wouldn't board pricing come in to play here too (which would make it hard to argue with all the choices) since every dollar saved is the goal in this choice (without sacrificing performance)...

 

I guess the A10 though all else equal...

Board prices are pretty much equal.

[IVIYTH0S]

 

I'm not up on the matter but wouldn't board pricing come in to play here too (which would make it hard to argue with all the choices) since every dollar saved is the goal in this choice (without sacrificing performance)...

 

I guess the A10 though all else equal...

Board prices are pretty much equal.

 

Or get a 460/Athlon x4 combo if they didn't mind used...I have built two of these golden budget gaming combos, I luvvv em , unless used Phenom II's can be found for the $60 or cheaper prices I used to find the good ol' x4 600 series Athlons for.

[El_Capitan]

 

 

I'm not up on the matter but wouldn't board pricing come in to play here too (which would make it hard to argue with all the choices) since every dollar saved is the goal in this choice (without sacrificing performance)...

 

I guess the A10 though all else equal...

Board prices are pretty much equal.

 

Or get a 460/Athlon x4 combo if they didn't mind used...I have built two of these golden budget gaming combos, I luvvv em , unless used Phenom II's can be found for the $60 or cheaper prices I used to find the good ol' x4 600 series Athlons for.

 

Yeah, that always works, too. I think I can get a good AM3+ MB and AM3+ x4 CPU for $100 or even less these days. With free cases on freecycle, cheap 2x2GB DDR3 memory, a $25 PSU after rebates, and a used GTX 460 768MB, that could set you back like only $225 - $250 for a complete build minus any hard drives. It's crazy at how much you can do with used prices these days.

[aaron6581230]

Another option would be to go with an even cheaper GPU-less CPU like the Phenom II X4 965 for $30 less, using the saved money towards an actual GPU

[WarWeeny]

dem those not anonimous votes, what evil plot are you after captain?

 

 

anywho, if i would make a micro pc with the lowest costs possible with small gaming, then the a10 is just the way to go, no competition there.

if there was a no igpu on the 3220 then i would definetly choose that over the a10, not only because it outperforms the a10 clock for clock, i would also put in a cute gpu (2nd handed gtx560 for $40/50 hell yeah) and would massively outperform that a10.

[SpikeSoprano]

dem those not anonimous votes, what evil plot are you after captain?

 

 

anywho, if i would make a micro pc with the lowest costs possible with small gaming, then the a10 is just the way to go, no competition there.

if there was a no igpu on the 3220 then i would definetly choose that over the a10, not only because it outperforms the a10 clock for clock, i would also put in a cute gpu (2nd handed gtx560 for $40/50 hell yeah) and would massively outperform that a10.

Good luck on finding a gtx 560 for 40 or 50 bucks.

[IVIYTH0S]

 

dem those not anonimous votes, what evil plot are you after captain?

 

 

anywho, if i would make a micro pc with the lowest costs possible with small gaming, then the a10 is just the way to go, no competition there.

if there was a no igpu on the 3220 then i would definetly choose that over the a10, not only because it outperforms the a10 clock for clock, i would also put in a cute gpu (2nd handed gtx560 for $40/50 hell yeah) and would massively outperform that a10.

Good luck on finding a gtx 560 for 40 or 50 bucks.

 

+1

MFW when rebranded 460 anyway

[WarWeeny]

 

dem those not anonimous votes, what evil plot are you after captain?

 

 

anywho, if i would make a micro pc with the lowest costs possible with small gaming, then the a10 is just the way to go, no competition there.

if there was a no igpu on the 3220 then i would definetly choose that over the a10, not only because it outperforms the a10 clock for clock, i would also put in a cute gpu (2nd handed gtx560 for $40/50 hell yeah) and would massively outperform that a10.

Good luck on finding a gtx 560 for 40 or 50 bucks.

 

 

good thing i live in the netherlands where we use EURO's instead of those crappy dollars xP

i was meant to put an euro logo in there, guess i was sleeping for a bit

 

50 euro = 65~dollar or so, hope that satisfies your believe ;P

Edited March 20, 2013 by WarWeeny

[aaron6581230]

 

 

dem those not anonimous votes, what evil plot are you after captain?

 

 

anywho, if i would make a micro pc with the lowest costs possible with small gaming, then the a10 is just the way to go, no competition there.

if there was a no igpu on the 3220 then i would definetly choose that over the a10, not only because it outperforms the a10 clock for clock, i would also put in a cute gpu (2nd handed gtx560 for $40/50 hell yeah) and would massively outperform that a10.

Good luck on finding a gtx 560 for 40 or 50 bucks.

 

 

good thing i live in the netherlands where we use EURO's instead of those crappy dollars xP

i was meant to put an euro logo in there, guess i was sleeping for a bit

 

50 euro = 65~dollar or so, hope that satisfies your believe ;P

 

 

I picked up a 5850 recently for $75 used, so $65 isn't too too far of a stretch

[SpikeSoprano]

the cheapest 560 I could find on ebay was $90 us, and the bids were still coming in on that one. Here in Canada they are still fairly high priced, even for used.