• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

A8 3870 APU with A75A-G55 build suggestions

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.
T

tommythrash

New Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
I was given two AMD A8 3870 APUs and a MSi A75A-G55 motherboard all new in the box and want to build a Diablo3 machine that I can also use for a media box. I would like to know what everyone suggests for case, power supply, memory, system drive, graphics card, Blu ray/DVD, APU cooling, etc. The A8 came with a cooling setup but im not sure how good it is. I want the most bang for my buck. I would like to get 16gb of memory if possible and a SSD for the system would be great if it can be had for a good price. For the case I want the smallest and least expensive option that can still hold 2 graphics cards, 2 HDDs and the system drive, and a blu ray drive if i choose to go that route in the future.

I just want to see what my options are. I have been looking on newegg and am still deciding what my budget is, thats why i say the best bang for my buck. Thanks
 
You need to decide what your budget really is since no one wants to waste time speccing system that is beyond your intentions to purchase.
 
I want to spend as little as possible for now but I want to buy things that will allow for upgrades in the future. I guess for now I would shoot for a 400 budget.
 
Are you going to sell one of the APUs?

GPU, best bet would be to throw a 6670 in there and Crossfire it with the iGPU so you can take advantage of both.

IMO, best bang buck:
Radeon 6670
HAF912
Hyper212
500GB HDD
120GB Agility 3 (lots of sales)
8GB of whatever RAM

Probably going to run you more than $400, might come out of under if you sell the extra APU for $100 or so.
 
 
The Agility 3 120GB is a ever so slightly slower drive for half that price.

There's cheaper 6670s as well, make sure you get the GDDR5 version.

Hyper212+ is a better cooler for cheaper.

Thermaltake PSUs aren't the best.

COMBO DEALS!
 
Remember he said "also use as media box" so a Full Tower ATX case doesn't really make the best sense. And the 6670 I listed is the 2GB DDR3 which even though it's slower still has a higher effective memory clock rate than the 1GB DDR5.
 
I use my main rig as a media box. I just lug it over and put it next to the TV. I think the OP is prioritizing low cost over size.
 
Knufire said:
I use my main rig as a media box. I just lug it over and put it next to the TV. I think the OP is prioritizing low cost over size.
Click to expand...

Is that the same thing as me putting a rope around mine and dragging it across the room. Hehehe. RGone...ster.
 
I would swap that PSU with the corsair suggested in a previous post. Otherwise looks good.
Another case to consider is Antec's One and Three Hundred cases.
 
Updated list for you.

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147108

Mem - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
One of the best values for the money and with the $20 mail in rebate is unbeatable
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-CX430-Power-Supply-Review/1200/10

HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148725

SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227810
Great reviews and you don't need more than 64GB for the OS. Follow the optimization guides that move user files etc. to HDD and you won't have to ever touch the SSD (I have it set up like that and it works awesome)

Blu-Ray - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136246

CPU Cooler - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Can't be beat for the price/performance.

GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127586
I was thinking....2GB will probably be wasted in this setup so go for the 1GB GDDR5

Total with shipping = $509.03
Total after $20, $10 & $5 mail in rebate = $474.03

Edit - updated....forgot the GPU
 
tommythrash said:
can I go with a GPU other than the 6670? I was searching for a GDDR5 card with crossfire support and i didnt see any 6670 options. I would also like something that will run diablo3 the best it can on my 28in 1920x1200 3ms monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254052&Tpk=hz281
Click to expand...

You can go with whatever video card you want. The HD 6670 though is the highest card you'll be able to use in hybrid crossfire (now called "dual graphics") with the GPU on the 3870K.
 
The point is that it Crossfire with the GPU inside the 3870, not with another 6670. A better video card means you're just wasting the potential of the iGPU.
 
The 6670 and 3870K setup runs D3 @ 1080P with all the details on high just fine in my wife's rig. The only thing I don't have enabled is AA but I honestly don't see the difference in this particular game with or without AA, even on my rig with the SLI 460s :shrug:
 
Knufire said:
The point is that it Crossfire with the GPU inside the 3870, not with another 6670. A better video card means you're just wasting the potential of the iGPU.
Click to expand...

Yep. And he would need to buy something (if I remember correctly) better than a 6770 to "beat" the 6670 in crossfire with the IGPU.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mackerel
FEATURED Zen 4 APUs anyone?
Replies
19
Views
830
dejo
dejo
Neuromancer
NVME 4x 4.0 suggestions
2
Replies
27
Views
550
Woomack
W
antonio112
Thought on new build I am looking into
Replies
15
Views
386
antonio112
antonio112
M
New 4090 Build
Replies
3
Views
118
Janus67
Janus67
D
New Build questions
Replies
9
Views
136
Droidriven
D
Back