Cheap PC for a kid - gaming, schoolwork, surfing, etc....What AMD APU & Mobo?

[Whirly]

So my soon to be 9yr old daughter's "hand me down" PC has finally ridden off to the great Dell graveyard and I'm looking to build her a new PC.

I've got a lot of the components (left over from an aborted build) - a nice Lian-Li case, quality PSU, memory, OS & HDD but now I'm looking at the various options for the cpu&vid card/apu & mobo.

As always, these breakdowns happen when money is tight so my budget is VERY strict. The closer I can get to £100, the more likely she'll get it. So a separate GPU seems to be out of the question.

I'm totally new to the AMD APU's so I need a little advice. I can go for an A6 6600K or, for £25 more, an A8 5600K. From my research, the A6 seems to be better value as it would play the sort of games she's going for now (minecraft, rollercoaster tychoon) without splashing out too much. But am I right? Is the A8 worth the extra?

Oh and does anyone have any recommendations for a basic mobo? ATX or mATX, doesn't matter (it's a BIG case), whatever offers the best value for under £50.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What speed RAM do you have and what PSU??

The A6 APUs use only one module meaning it is a dual core with only one FPU. I would get the A8 5600K TBH.

[Whirly]

PSU wise I have a couple spare, an Antec tru-power and a coolermaster gold rated - heck I even have an older seasonic sitting around somewhere!). The RAM is bog standard ddr3 1333mhz (bought for a core i3 system) so it's not going to do anything for the speed of the in-built GPU. But if I add the cost of new ram I won't be able to afford to build the PC so I'm stuck with it. Anyway, I doubt it will make that much difference to the fps in minecraft and its ilk.

[DoubleHelix]

Hi, I'd suggest going for the A6 6400K, or the A4 5300 if you really want to squeeze the budget and something like a Asrock FM2A55M-VG3+. I can't speak for the A4 5300 but the A6 6400K is a decent cpu and I've had good experiences with Asrock before. This combo isn't going to set the world on fire, but it will do the trick for you. Hope this has helped.

[Whirly]

Thanks for the reply DoubleHelix. In the end I went for the A6-6800K and the PC has been up and running for a few of weeks. I used an MSI A88XM-E35 in the end so it cost me just under £100 to put her a new PC together.

[DanceswithUnix]

Thanks for the reply DoubleHelix. In the end I went for the A6-6800K and the PC has been up and running for a few of weeks. I used an MSI A88XM-E35 in the end so it cost me just under £100 to put her a new PC together.

Do you mean the A6-6400K dual core part?

If it is the A6, then how happy is she with the result? I would imagine you can get an OK Minecraft draw distance out of that part, but would be nice to know.

If the dual core works well then that sounds like a really good budget build, plenty of upgrade possibility.

[DoubleHelix]

I've been having a look at that motherboard for a build I'm considering. Is it any good? And is it good with the A6 6400k?