Need input on a budget build

[Strange01]

I'm a 14 year old in the uk that needs a gaming pc. I've been using my crappy laptop that has an i3 on integrated graphics and 6gb of RAM, and to be honest i wouldn't be surprised if it died tomorrow as it is a couple of years old and has a serious thrashing. My budget is strictly £350, and it will be used for gaming and school work.

 

I have a monitor but need an OS (windows), keyboard and wifi adapter (my parents wont route ethernet to my room) and am expecting to upgrade it heavily in the future.

 

This is what i have so far, any input would be much appreciated:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/nHmxqs

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/nHmxqs/by_merchant/

 

CPU: AMD A8-7650K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£74.33 @ CCL Computers) 

Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  (£40.08 @ Amazon UK) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£38.93 @ Ebuyer) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£32.40 @ Aria PC) 

Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  (£28.55 @ Amazon UK) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£36.98 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN851ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter  (£14.99 @ Novatech) 

Keyboard: Microsoft Wired Desktop 400 UK Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  (£9.80 @ CCL Computers) 

Other: Windows 8.1 (£74.00)

Total: £350.06

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-04 13:19 BST+0100

 

[Trik'Stari]

If you expect to heavily upgrade in the future, best bet is to go Intel.

 

I would wait a bit until the next generation of the Intel motherboards comes out. Save up your money etc. (specifically, the Z170 chipset)

[IanDrexP]

Better to save more to get an Intel for more future proofing plus better power efficiency, lower heat output and more.

[KamiKatze]

Save up more and/or buy some parts used.

 

Other than that, your build looks good, it just won't be that powerful.

[Strange01]

If you expect to heavily upgrade in the future, best bet is to go Intel.

 

I would wait a bit until the next generation of the Intel motherboards comes out. Save up your money etc. (specifically, the Z170 chipset)

i would have gone for the g3258 but i wanted a quad core to be able to play far cry 4 (also one of the main reasons for building the pc in the first place)

also my plan for upgrading was to get a gpu + ssd at around christmas time, then save for some much bigger upgrades and/or peripherals

[Strange01]

Save up more and/or buy some parts used.

 

Other than that, your build looks good, it just won't be that powerful.

i would save more but the only income available to me is £5 a week pocket money which i spend on going climbing (im only 14)

[KamiKatze]

i would save more but the only income available to me is £5 a week pocket money which i spend on going climbing (im only 14)

 

Alright. I am not familiar woth the 2nd hand market in the UK but i would try to get stuff used if i were you. You might need some help from someone with a bit more experience in 2nd hand shopping so you won't get screwed over but i think it will be worth it.

 

Hold your eyes open for a Sandy bridge i5 or newer. Get a corresponding motherboard and 8 GB of RAM, no matter what speed. Some people also offer all 3 parts in a combo, which is nice, so you can be more sure that the stuff works.

 

Get some kind of hard drive. Focus on western digital, as they tend to be more reliable over time. If possible ask for the S.M.A.R.T. values of the hard drive before buying and check them. 500 GB would be enough, I'm sure.

 

You can buy a power supply used or new but stay within a reliable brand. 500W will get you covered for every system imaginable at that price.

 

Buy some kind of cheap ass case online for 20 quid. If it has a case fan great, if not, don't bother, it's just a case.

 

Lastly the graphics card. The rule of thumb usually is that you should invest a third of your budget into the GPU. So look for something around 100 quid or less (you still need Windows). You should be abled to find a GTX 580 or a GTX 660 Ti on the nvidia side and a HD 6970 or HD 7870 on the AMD side. I would not go for older cards than that. Generally the newer the better. The card should of course work fine, if possible stress test it at the dudes place before buying.

 

 

 

 

 

This way you can hammer together a PC that will completeley wreck anything you can buy new for 350 quid and even 500 or more. If you can't find everything within price, step down to a sandy bridge i3, they sell for less than 50 quid.

 

That being said, buying used is allways risky. Try to get parts with rest-warranty. Generally having someone help you buy and test the parts is good. You can also just buy some parts used and some new.

 

Moral of the story: your money can do more than you think.

[Guest trucker2]

I would go with the v2 board. It is the latest version beefed up to handle the A10 7870k and is a pound cheaper. For my daughters 7850k I just got her a long network cable instead of the wi-fi. With the newest games your looking at 720p but VERY playable framrates.

Ram speed has a HUGE effect and 2133 is considered the sweet spot for an APU and it is worth it.

For my a10 7870k I am using an old 220 watt LiteON 7 year old PSU so you have plenty of headroom to add a gpu later. Dual graphics is not very cost effective and Linus did a video to that effect.

Awesome review showing what fps at what settings you can get (w/2133 mhz mem) and how well it will preform with GPU's all the way up to a GTX 980.

It can be found here:  http://www.anandtech.com/show/9217/the-amd-a8-7650k-apu-review-also-new-testing-methodology

Even GTA V 720 low settings your looking at 49 fps and that a pretty demanding game. Also a ton of vids on youtube showing gameplay with games like far cry 4 etc.

Good build.

[Strange01]

Alright. I am not familiar woth the 2nd hand market in the UK but i would try to get stuff used if i were you. You might need some help from someone with a bit more experience in 2nd hand shopping so you won't get screwed over but i think it will be worth it.

 

Hold your eyes open for a Sandy bridge i5 or newer. Get a corresponding motherboard and 8 GB of RAM, no matter what speed. Some people also offer all 3 parts in a combo, which is nice, so you can be more sure that the stuff works.

 

Get some kind of hard drive. Focus on western digital, as they tend to be more reliable over time. If possible ask for the S.M.A.R.T. values of the hard drive before buying and check them. 500 GB would be enough, I'm sure.

 

You can buy a power supply used or new but stay within a reliable brand. 500W will get you covered for every system imaginable at that price.

 

Buy some kind of cheap ass case online for 20 quid. If it has a case fan great, if not, don't bother, it's just a case.

 

Lastly the graphics card. The rule of thumb usually is that you should invest a third of your budget into the GPU. So look for something around 100 quid or less (you still need Windows). You should be abled to find a GTX 580 or a GTX 660 Ti on the nvidia side and a HD 6970 or HD 7870 on the AMD side. I would not go for older cards than that. Generally the newer the better. The card should of course work fine, if possible stress test it at the dudes place before buying.

 

 

 

 

 

This way you can hammer together a PC that will completeley wreck anything you can buy new for 350 quid and even 500 or more. If you can't find everything within price, step down to a sandy bridge i3, they sell for less than 50 quid.

 

That being said, buying used is allways risky. Try to get parts with rest-warranty. Generally having someone help you buy and test the parts is good. You can also just buy some parts used and some new.

 

Moral of the story: your money can do more than you think.

 

I have a friend with an old pre-built(-hard-drive and OS) who might be willing to sell me it, but i don't think he will. otherwise i don't really fancy buying stuff of ebay etc. because i want to do it soon because my dad goes away for a while soon and my mum would never let me build it on my own

I would go with the v2 board. It is the latest version beefed up to handle the A10 7870k and is a pound cheaper. For my daughters 7850k I just got her a long network cable instead of the wi-fi. With the newest games your looking at 720p but VERY playable framrates.

Ram speed has a HUGE effect and 2133 is considered the sweet spot for an APU and it is worth it.

For my a10 7870k I am using an old 220 watt LiteON 7 year old PSU so you have plenty of headroom to add a gpu later. Dual graphics is not very cost effective and Linus did a video to that effect.

Awesome review showing what fps at what settings you can get (w/2133 mhz mem) and how well it will preform with GPU's all the way up to a GTX 980.

It can be found here:  http://www.anandtech.com/show/9217/the-amd-a8-7650k-apu-review-also-new-testing-methodology

Even GTA V 720 low settings your looking at 49 fps and that a pretty demanding game. Also a ton of vids on youtube showing gameplay with games like far cry 4 etc.

Good build.

with the ram i was hoping i could overclock it up to 2133. also i was planning to add a lesser gpu in dual graphics to get through while i save for a better one like a 360/70. 

i don't think the long ethernet cable would really work for me because all of the walls in this house are solid brick so it would be hard to mount it to the wall easily, and my dad would just say to get a wifi adapter instead