500$ Office Build

[Vayran]

Hello,

I am building a computer to use in an office. It will be used to email, browsing, occasional photo and video editing (nothing intensive, very basic functions). The budget is 500$ and I already have an OS, monitor and any peripherals. Here is what I have put together as a start:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NMh5
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NMh5/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NMh5/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-5700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($127.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($55.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $474.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-01 19:20 EDT-0400)

What kind of performance increase would I get if I switched to an i-3240 + appropriately priced motherboard? As well, I wasn't sure on what I should look for in a motherboard at a lower price, what do you recommend?

Thanks

 

[tenaciousk]

The only place the APU excels over the i3 is Integrated graphics, otherwise they actually perform very similar.

 

[ikes9711]

I like the build

 

[Goodeggray]

The only change I recommend is to spend an extra $35 more and get a 128GB ssd. The 64 can fill very quickly.

 

[Vayran]

The only change I recommend is to spend an extra $35 more and get a 128GB ssd. The 64 can fill very quickly.

Thanks, I will make that upgrade.
Would it be best to put the programs I use most such as a browser, outlook, word etc. on the SSD, and save the documents on the hard drive?

 

[Goodeggray]

Yes, that's the way to do it.