$600 Kaveri Build

Here's another build guide, using one of the new AMD Kaveri APUs.

CPU: AMD A10-7850K
Cooler: Noctua NH-L9a
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H
RAM: 8GB Kingston Beast DDR3-2400
HDD: Seagate 1TB 3.5" Hybrid Drive
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0
PSU: Corsair Builder Series 430W
ODD: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD-RW

Total cost: $580.92 (as of 4/3/2014 via PCPartpicker.com)

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Metman2PSU/saved/4fZY

New PC is Built

This is an update on the progress of my personal rig.

I was able to get the new parts put into the old Gateway GT5404 case that I talked about in previous posts and in my YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieZY7QLgAuo).

I am working on getting all of the drivers and BIOS updates installed before comparing benchmark numbers from Cinebench and the Windows Experience to the old configuration of the system.  I have successfully installed Windows 7 64-bit on the system and believe my only bottleneck at this time would be the HDD, which I will be replacing in the future with a Solid State Drive.

I am trying to think of different things that I may want to try to do with this computer in the future, including running AMD Dual Graphics or a water-cooling solution.  But I think those will be determined by the final choice of case I make.

New Parts Are Installed

I was able to get the new motherboard, processor, and memory installed and checked that the system will POST and boot to the BIOS.  I just need to reinstall the OS and then I will be able to run a few simple benchmarks that I was able to run on the old configuration to see what the difference will be in performance between the old and new.

I am not expecting astoundingly fast performance out of new processor, but I should see a nice boost, as I will be going from a 2.8Ghz Dual-core Pentium D with 2GB DDR2 to a 3.6Ghz Quad-Core A8-5600K with 8GB DDR3.  Also, while I did not play Fallout: New Vegas on this machine with the older parts installed, I will do a simple Fraps comparison to how it runs on the new machine vs. the laptop that I have been playing it on.  This PC is a 2.3Ghz Dual-Core Pentium T4500 with 6GB DDR3.

Sound Blaster Cinema on MSI Motherboards

MSI is looking to take over the title of Best Onboard Motherboard Audio by incorporating Sound Blaster Cinema audio technology into their mother boards.

MSI ‏@msitweets

Coming Soon! The New Audio Standard For Motherboardshttp://fb.me/2CuirUEVU 

For more information the features of the Sound Blaster Cinema audio, please visit MSI at http://emm.msi.com/display.php?List=31&N=2348