Budget Custom PC 2014

[iKs274]

Hey, I am trying to build a decent priced PC for normal use with a budget of around ~£300 (willing to go slightly higher if needs be). I plan on watching videos on YouTube in HD, doing work (so using Word, Excel etc), gaming every now and then and most probably recording console games from my HD PVR.

So are these components okay? Recommendations on better parts are more than welcome 😛

CPU: AMD A8-6600k http://bit.ly/1k8D9y7 ~£70
Motherboard: MSI A55M-E33 Socket FM2+ VGA HDMI Audio mATX Motherboard http://m.ebuyer.com/624096 ~£32.50 (it says its FM2+ but on other sites it says its FM2? Also would it be better to get an A75 or an A85 rather than A55???)
RAM: Don't know, am I meant to get 240pin or 204 etc?? I was thinking http://bit.ly/1pokBL6 but it doesn't look like they'll be in stock any time soon...
HDD: http://bit.ly/1kDq6Sn or http://bit.ly/1g177Ns (which is better?)
Optical Drive: once again, unsure, this LG http://bit.ly/1bIE8ST one says it has 'BD, BD-R, BD-R DL' does that mean it can record onto blu-ray, or it has a built in blu-ray player?
Case: CiT Vantage Type-R ~£35
PSU: haven't got a clue
OS: I want it legal and the price of windows is extortion IMO so I'll stick with Ubuntu

Cheers for any help guys 😀

 

[cin19]

1) MSI A55M-E33 is the FM2 not the FM2+.
2) That RAM is out of stock.
3) That optical drive is DVD burner. If you want the BD drive, I add it in the list.

Here is the list.
PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8/benchmarks/
CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor (£68.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£40.14 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.42 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master K280 ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£35.98 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (£40.20 @ Aria PC)
Total: £306.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 01:28 GMT+0000)

 

[spat55]

I'm not the best with these builds but I have done my best, don't know if you want to add a graphics card later but you should be able to fit a GTX 750ti in this if you want otherwise get a ATX case

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£91.90 @ Dabs)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£32.50 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.58 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Antec NSK3180 MicroATX Mid Tower Case w/380W Power Supply (£70.63 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.78 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £303.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 01:37 GMT+0000)

 

[iKs274]

1) MSI A55M-E33 is the FM2 not the FM2+.
2) That RAM is out of stock.
3) That optical drive is DVD burner. If you want the BD drive, I add it in the list.

Here is the list.
PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8/benchmarks/
CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor (£68.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£40.14 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.42 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master K280 ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£35.98 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (£40.20 @ Aria PC)
Total: £306.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 01:28 GMT+0000)

is that the harddrive with 32mb of cache or 64mb? also is the cache size important?

 

[iKs274]

I'm not the best with these builds but I have done my best, don't know if you want to add a graphics card later but you should be able to fit a GTX 750ti in this if you want otherwise get a ATX case

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£91.90 @ Dabs)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£32.50 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.58 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Antec NSK3180 MicroATX Mid Tower Case w/380W Power Supply (£70.63 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.78 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £303.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 01:37 GMT+0000)

realistically is the a10-6790k any better than the a8-6600k considering it costs almost £25 more?

 

[cin19]

1) MSI A55M-E33 is the FM2 not the FM2+.
2) That RAM is out of stock.
3) That optical drive is DVD burner. If you want the BD drive, I add it in the list.

Here is the list.
PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/32sM8/benchmarks/
CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor (£68.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£40.14 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.42 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master K280 ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£35.98 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (£40.20 @ Aria PC)
Total: £306.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 01:28 GMT+0000)

is that the harddrive with 32mb of cache or 64mb? also is the cache size important?

It is 32mb, and there is no noticeable difference.

 

[spat55]

I'm not the best with these builds but I have done my best, don't know if you want to add a graphics card later but you should be able to fit a GTX 750ti in this if you want otherwise get a ATX case

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£91.90 @ Dabs)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£32.50 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.58 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Antec NSK3180 MicroATX Mid Tower Case w/380W Power Supply (£70.63 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.78 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £303.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 01:37 GMT+0000)

realistically is the a10-6790k any better than the a8-6600k considering it costs almost £25 more?

Realistically no :/

 

[sora]

I'm not the best with these builds but I have done my best, don't know if you want to add a graphics card later but you should be able to fit a GTX 750ti in this if you want otherwise get a ATX case

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£91.90 @ Dabs)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£32.50 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.58 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Antec NSK3180 MicroATX Mid Tower Case w/380W Power Supply (£70.63 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.78 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £303.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 01:37 GMT+0000)

realistically is the a10-6790k any better than the a8-6600k considering it costs almost £25 more?

no, stick with the a8 if you want to save quids.