Is the AMD Phenom II X2 B59 a good processor?

[Guest]

I found a cheap AMD Phenom II and thought it was a good price.

Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Phenom-II-X2-B59-CPU-3-4GHz-Unlockable-to-X4-HDXB59WFK2DGM-AM3-AM2-AM3-565-/130941110801?pt=CPUs&hash=item1e7cb2ca11

It says it has 2 cores and can be unlockable to 4. Is that true?

Its a 3.4 GHz processor.

I want to know if its good for the Minecraft Shaders Mod which is really intense. I am going to use a Radeon HD 7750 and I'm not even sure if that's good for the Shaders Mod.

 

[JD88]

I wouldn't get that. It's used and for a little extra money you could do a lot better.

What is your budget for the whole rig?

Do you have any parts yet?

 

[Guest]

No I don't and don't plan on buying anything till around December. My budget is about $450-$550 so around $500.
Here is a list of things I've chosen so far that I might buy for this build:

Motherboard: ASRock Socket AM3+/AMD 760G/DDR3/SATA3&USB3.0/A&V&GbE/MicroATX Motherboard 960GM/U3S3 FX

processor: ?still deciding? but hoping for one about $80- $90

Ram: Corsair XMS3 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1333 MHz (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory (CMX8GX3M1A1333C9)

HDD: WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - WD10EZEX

Psu: Rosewill Stallion Series 500W Power Supply RD500-2DB Black

If you have any part recommendations I'll have a look.
To help you, help me, the game that I will play almost 70% of the time on this PC is minecraft. I might play slender, which isn't very demanding. The Shader Mods for Minecraft is so im trying to build a PC that will run it at 40+ FPS.

If you have any video card recommends for me that would be nice, please no more than $110.

 

[JD88]

A lot will probably change between now and December, but here's a few things to think about.

First, you are going to want to take advantage of dual channel ram. Get 2x4GB sticks instead of 1x8.

Also, I would suggest the AMD Athlon II x4 750k as a CPU. It's on the FM2 socket, but is really the best value in CPUs under $100 right now. It can be had for under $80 when it's on sale. It is also multiplier unlocked so it can be overclocked for substantially better performance.

I would recommend a build that looks something like this.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Ajpa) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Ajpa/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Ajpa/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad750kwohjbox) | $79.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [Asus F2A85-M PRO Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-f2a85mpro) | $89.98 @ Outlet PC
**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cml8gx3m2a1866c9b) | $57.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $59.98 @ Outlet PC
**Video Card** | [MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r7770pmd1gd5) | $69.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-300r) | $49.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m) | $34.99 @ Newegg
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $88.88 @ Outlet PC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $531.79
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-05 15:16 EDT-0400 |

It's probably not the absolute best specs for the money, but I like to spend a little extra on a reliable PSU, nice case, and better motherboard. It just makes the build a little more well rounded.

 

[Guest]

Thank you, its my first build and you have helped. I am skeptical about Windows 8 but will get it anyways because its time for something new and ii actually do like moving tiles. 😛

 

[JD88]

No problem. Good luck! If you have any questions feel free to post here or shoot me a PM. Win 8 isn't all that bad tbh, just takes a little getting used to.