AMD A8-Series Quad-Core A8-3850 APU 2.9GHz w/ Radeon HD 6550D (400 Cores) Dual Graphics Ready w/ Fan $109 AC + FS

For those that don't know (was a little confusing to me at first) this is:
1x AMD A8-3850 APU
1x3850 APU with 6550d graphics (which is slower than a discrete card due to RAM limitations) [clarity by dandlewood]

You will need to buy a motherboard separately.

Here's the amazon link to the same product ($135 w/ free shipping, with great reviews):
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-A8-3850...B0055ZCXVE

Wish I could float this expense right now but I don't think I can. Looks like a front page deal to me, though.

Cashback is also available at certain websites.

For the price, would I be better off going for an A8 processor like this, a cheaper FM1 processor and overclocking, an older/cheaper AM3 processor, or just spending a bit more and getting an i3 processor. I haven't really followed computer hardware in about 5 years and I'm pretty overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of processors and active sockets out there (it's not like the old days when you knew what you were getting by speed).

This would primarily be a light gaming rig for Diablo III and possibly SWTOR. Any guidance and/or motherboard recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Bang/buck this is gooood. Im on a older system, a dual core Athlon AM2 and trying to decide...

Quote from proppat : (it's not like the old days when you knew what you were getting by speed).

"AMD A8-3850 APU with Radeon HD Graphics - 5448"

I'm not even sure you know what you're getting when you directly compare benchmarks (Passmark CPU rating, in this case.) Just looking at benchmarks, the "CPU value" (CPU rating divided by $) is out of the park for this deal.

AMD Phenom II X4 960T - 4053
Intel Core i5-2300 @ 2.80GHz - 5591

not too bad of price, I guess for those who purchased the ASUS F1A75-V PRO. finally we have a cpu deal

Quote from proppat : For the price, would I be better off going for an A8 processor like this, a cheaper FM1 processor and overclocking, an older/cheaper AM3 processor, or just spending a bit more and getting an i3 processor. I haven't really followed computer hardware in about 5 years and I'm pretty overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of processors and active sockets out there (it's not like the old days when you knew what you were getting by speed). This would primarily be a light gaming rig for Diablo III and possibly SWTOR. Any guidance and/or motherboard recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, it used to be simpler in the old days.....(sigh!)

Quote from crosstrain : Yeah, it used to be simpler in the old days.....(sigh!)

Used to be a hell of a lot more difficult to build (still get chills thinking about trying to decipher jumper settings in those manuals), but you have to be knee deep in hardware these days to cut through the marketing and BS model numbers being throw out these days. I have up computers as a hobby after a few years of having to sit behind them 10 hours a day for work. Now I just want something that plays my dumb game.

man...been out of the game for under 2yrs and now im completely lost...need/want to build a nice rig for light gaming, easy video editing and get a good deal,

specs wise looks excellent specially when compared to Intel Core i5-2300 @ 2.80GHz - 5591 (this does 5448 and way cheaper) now have to see if i can get a great motherboard (no need for vid YAY!) and a very small form case

This is decent for LIGHT gaming. The processor isn't as powerful as an i3 etc., but is pretty good for built in graphics.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/...-3800.html

On the other hand, if you spend say an extra $100 and get a i3 and a decent dedicated GPU you'll smoke this - but also use more power (electricity).

Would be a great deal for me, except TD now charges tax in GA... +8.80 Still cheaper than other places...

Quote from proppat : For the price, would I be better off going for an A8 processor like this, a cheaper FM1 processor and overclocking, an older/cheaper AM3 processor, or just spending a bit more and getting an i3 processor. I haven't really followed computer hardware in about 5 years and I'm pretty overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of processors and active sockets out there (it's not like the old days when you knew what you were getting by speed). This would primarily be a light gaming rig for Diablo III and possibly SWTOR. Any guidance and/or motherboard recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

You know, it's hard to tell which would best fit your needs you're going to be "light gaming" for Diablo III and SWTOR.

Here is a Review of the AMD A8-Series Quad-Core A8-3850 vs i3-2100. it shows that the AMD is better for gaming in most respects, but loses out in everything else when it comes to general uss
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/ar...iew/1325/1

The i3 is a faster processor overall. Plus with Ivy Bridge just around the corner, the prices of the current Sandy Bridge (i3-i7) processors will likely be even lower. You might want to go for a i5 instead of an i3 for gaming purposes. Then again, you might just want to save that money and put it towards a decent video card, such as a Radeon HD 6850 (Sale $120) or a HD 5770/6770 (Sale $90).

it's a tough call, but either way, you have a lot of good options available

Quote from Immacoolguy : For those that don't know (was a little confusing to me at first) this is: 1x AMD A8-3850 APU 1x AMD Radeon HD 6550D You will need to buy a motherboard separately. Here's the amazon link to the same product ($135 w/ free shipping, with great reviews): http://www.amazon.com/AMD-A8-3850...B0055ZCXVE Wish I could float this expense right now but I don't think I can. Looks like a front page deal to me, though. Cashback is also available at certain websites.

This is a little misleading. The 3850 APU has the 6550D built in. There is no discrete graphics card.

so it's

1x3850 APU with 6550d graphics (which is slower than a discrete card due to RAM limitations).

I've heard that crossfire works great with these APU's, so if you want to add discrete graphics, with GDDR5 RAM, etc, you will definitely see an improvement.