Metalhandkerchief said:
Get something with an intel CPU, the current architecture AMD is just lagging so far behind that computer won't be even slightly resellable and maybe even almost instantly outdated. The graphics card is woeful.
You save more by buying more. Lets say you get a top of the line computer right now around $2000. Sounds like a lot? Think again. You can sell that computer in 2 years for $1000 dollars used, and you can take that $1000 and reinvest into a new top of the line computer for 2K.
If you buy a $600 computer however, it'll be completely useless in every possible way in 2 years and no one is going to touch it with a paddle.
EDIT: Actually you don't even have to spend $2000 right now. This is prime time for purchasing because prices are low. An intel Ivy Bridge (say, an i5 3570K) with a Z77 chipset motherboard (Asus P8Z77 series is awesome) and 8 gigs of DDR3 ram, a GeForce 660Ti, a Samsung 830 series SSD and a terabyte HDD should not cost more than $1000. It will at least be resellable for $500+.
And the best possible advice I can ever give you is: build it your own damned self!
Exaggeration much?
Firstly, an AMD CPU is fine. No, they are not as good as Intel CPUs ATM, but dependent on what you intend to use the PC for, an AMD can get you along just fine for less cost.
Secondly, spending 500 here is better than the alternative you provide later in all reality. Spend $1000, get $500, spend $1000. Your initial investment is higher, and each consecutive purchase adds the price of this rig to it. If you were looking for a 1337 machine, maybe you'd consider it. For the OPs purpose however - Minecraft, Bastion, Angry Birds - you have absolutely 0 need for a $1000 gaming powerhouse.
A $600 computer now is unlikely to be "useless in every possible way" in 2 years. It will not run games on high, and some games not even medium, settings by that point, however less graphically intensive indie games - like what the OP seems interested in - will run perfectly fine, as will all the general use programs you find online. Even AAA games will still run, albeit on lower settings.
If the OP were looking for a powerhouse PC for playing BF3, TW2, Skyrim with heavy graphics modding or other titles, I would agree with you on such points. However, as the OP is not looking to even max out AAA games, going by what he has said, the build will do perfectly fine for its intended purpose.
And whilst building a PC yourself is preferable, not everybody has the time to put into learning this, nor the desire to learn. Its not hard, but some people simply don't see it as a skill they want/need, and would rather pay extra to have someone else do it instead.
