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I've searched Pcpartpicker, newegg and amazon. The problem I'm having is making sure that the CPU I buy is the best option for my usage below. When I bought mine it was simple I just grabbed an i7 4790k and called it a day. Trying to budget build a PC for someone else with completely different needs than mine, its difficult to select the correct CPU out of all of the available options.

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  • I'm looking for a CPU for general office use, including facebook games.
  • I have no preference between Intel and AMD.
  • Integrated graphics
  • No preference between current gen and last gen
  • Under 100$ usd

Additional points I should clarify, and things I don't really need help with.

  • Going to use a micro ATX motherboard
  • Already have a 500w evga PSU for the system
  • Noise doesn't matter
  • Would like to use stock cooling
  • Plan on having an ssd(m.2 or standard) and two 3.5 inch archive drives.
  • PC will be shut down nightly
  • No interest in Over clocking at all.
  • The most intensive thing this build will do is playback 1080p media from a remote plex server.

Based on a couple comments and answers so far, I think I might be worried a bit too much about what CPU to buy, it seems like anything a few years old and within my budget would be acceptable.

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  • There are still too many choices given your criteria. I could comfortably sit here and point you toward a Pentium, Celeron, i3, Athlon, A6, or A8 CPU from the last five years - and pretty much ALL of them would be potentially excellent choices. You should specify the stats for the rest of the system, what kind of user will be using it, whether it needs to be quiet, whether it needs to utilize more than 2 storage media, and whether you're interested in being as cheap as possible or getting the most bang for your buck.
    – Adam Wykes
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 15:24
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    It doesn't need to be quite. I'm going to buy a Micro ATX mobo for it. Two archive drives and an ssd for the boot drive. I'd like to get a longer life out of the chip. I already have the psu, just a standard 500w evga atx.
    – BigElittles
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 15:51
  • @BigElittles Can you edit your question to add that in?
    – Cfinley
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 15:57
  • Added some additional stuff.
    – BigElittles
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 16:04
  • You need more descriptions of your workload.
    – Buffer Over Read
    Commented Sep 20, 2016 at 0:02

2 Answers 2

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I suggest the AMD A8-7600 for maximum lifespan. I've built a few systems with this APU by now, so I can be fairly confident in recommending it. It offers a good mix of single core, multicore, and GPU performance with a TDP of 65W, and it offers low overall system cost because mATX boards for this APU are inexpensive. It costs only about ~70, but it offers four cores at 3.1ghz stock (turbo up to 3.8ghz, which it can hit quite easily and often on its stock cooler in a decently cool system), and its R7 integrated GPU is frankly much more powerful than is likely needed - it should be able to handle screens up to 4K without difficulty (provided you get a motherboard with a video out that supports those resolutions - link is to one of the motherboards I've used for this socket that I got a world record overclock on and which I think is just about the best board for this socket).

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  • This is the one I'll buy then. We've had our interactions in the past and I trust your recommendation. Your reasons make perfect sense, and I appreciate the answer. Thanks again adam!
    – BigElittles
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 16:09
  • I found quite the deal at microcenter. An AMD A10 7870K 3.9GHz, and a MSI A68HM-E33 V2 FM2+ mATX Mother board for $110. Their CPU/MOBO combos are unbeatable. They did not have any AMD A8-7600 chips in stock.
    – BigElittles
    Commented Sep 20, 2016 at 20:59
  • Sounds like you're set! Hopefully your BIOS is updated on that board; otherwise it might not boot. If that happens take it back to micro center and have them do it for you.
    – Adam Wykes
    Commented Sep 20, 2016 at 21:04
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The Pentium G4400 should do. Decent performance for general business needs, low power consumption, $45 under your budget, plus it uses the new skylake architecture. The G4400 may not be a beast, but it would get the job done.

Typically what I would do is ask the person I'm building the pc for what their habits and routines are when using their pc. Then you can look at the programs they use and determine how much each program would consume the CPU.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015VPX05A/ref=asc_df_B015VPX05A4524847/?tag=hawk-future-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B015VPX05A&linkCode=df0&ascsubtag=hawk-348218449-20

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  • The problem with just suggesting the Pentium G4400 is that its main claim to fame is that it is relatively inexpensive; but it can be beat at that game by Celerons, or even the Athlon 5350, which offers decent quad core performance at ~35 dollars right now.
    – Adam Wykes
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 15:26
  • I looked at the chip, and its a strong contender. I think what I'm realizing between you and @AdamWykes is that there is no real WRONG choice in this case. I appreciate the answers, they really did help shed some light on my decision making process. I know its a tad over budget for this, but I might go with the AMD Quad Core A10-Series APU for Desktops A10-6800K amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPLGGXM/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza Any objections?
    – BigElittles
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 15:54
  • Very true, you make a valid point, but the main reasons why I like the G4400 is because of the larger cache, higher base clock, and the newer architecture (which is the main reason that I like it the most because it would give you better upgrade options and it would be supported longer by intel.) It really just depends on what you need though.
    – aud.io
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 16:00
  • @aud.io no argument there, those are all good reasons to go with your chip.
    – Adam Wykes
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 16:06
  • @BigElittles if possible I would avoid going for that CPU. While it is a strong APU, you will end up overpaying for it because it is the strongest APU available for the FM2 socket, so people stuck on that are eating them up in the used market and you won't get any deals. Going with a newer 7xxx series APU for the FM2+ socket will get you similar performance at a better price; see my answer for one example.
    – Adam Wykes
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 16:07

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