Budget micro-ATX build - 400€

[mon4ro]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within two months

Budget Range: Hard budget cap of 400€ before shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Running DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software, light gaming (e.g. Skyrim, CS:GO, etc.), watching movies, surfing

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: I got the case, HDD and optical drive. Possibly could use the RAM for the time being.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any cheap, reliable in Europe. Hardwareversand.de, bpc.fi, jimms.fi

Location: Western Finland

Parts Preferences: Nothing specific, I want the best bang for my buck.

Overclocking: Not necessarily. If there is a possibility, good but it isn't required.

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: The build being silent would be a plus. The case my friend has fits a micro ATX motherboard. There might be a need for a HDD but that remains to be seen and doesn't need to be included on this budget.

Why Are You Upgrading: Old PC is acting up!

I'm helping to build a budget PC for a friend of mine. There are a few questions that need answering though. He's old PC has 2 x 1.5 GB RAM and he was hoping he could use them for the time being and maybe upgrade in 6 months or so when he has more money. Is this the wisest place to be cutting corners? He's pretty adamant on the 400 € budget and I'm still trying to figure out how much to invest in each part. Here are two different builds we came up with. Any suggestions or ideas how to improve it and which one is better?

BUILD 1:
CPU: AMD FX-6350 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+ 109,70 €
MOBO: ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3, Sockel AM3+, mATX 53,50 €
PSU: Corsair CX Series Modular CX430M, 430W 45,50 €
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7750 OC - 1GB GDDR5 97,50 €
OS: Windows 8.1 64bit DVD OEM ENG 98 €
Total: 404,20 €

BUILD 2:
CPU + GPU: AMD A-Series A10-7850K Box mit AMD Radeon R7 Series Graphics (95W), FM2 + 147,40 €
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-DS2, AMD A78, FM2+, mATX 46,20 €
PSU: Corsair CX Series Modular CX430M, 430W 45,50 €
RAM: 4GB G.Skill PC3-12800U CL11-11-11-28 35,20€
OS: Windows 8.1 64bit DVD OEM ENG 98 €
Total: 372,30 €

Here they are. What do you guys think? Would one of these be able do some gaming and stuff like that. All suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
-mon4ro

 

[Eduello]

Is his old RAM DDR2 or DDR3? If it's DDR2 it can't be used with any modern motherboards.

My take on this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (€86.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€54.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (€33.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card (€89.89 @ Hardwareversand)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€46.70 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €312.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
+100€ for Windows.

I live in Finland and I've never ordered from Germany, but a few of my friends have done it and they've had no problems whatsoever.

 

[Outlander_04]

Eduellos build is not m-ATX

and sadly there are no good m-ATX motherboards for the AM3+ platform

I would build using the APU , possibly stepping down to the 7700K and spending more on RAM . 2 x4 gig , and timings of 9-9-9-24

 

[Eduello]

Eduellos build is not m-ATX

and sadly there are no good m-ATX motherboards for the AM3+ platform

I would build using the APU , possibly stepping down to the 7700K and spending more on RAM . 2 x4 gig , and timings of 9-9-9-24

Aaand I messed up, again...

Anyway, this would be suitable for mATX (although the motherboard isn't that great as stated above):
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (€86.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€53.39 @ Hardwareversand)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (€33.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card (€89.89 @ Hardwareversand)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€46.70 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €310.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Whatever you decide to build, it would probably be a good idea to stick with the PSU in this build, the quality is much higher than that of the Corsair CX430M.

 

[mon4ro]

Is his old RAM DDR2 or DDR3? If it's DDR2 it can't be used with any modern motherboards.

My take on this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (€86.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€54.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (€33.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card (€89.89 @ Hardwareversand)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€46.70 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €312.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
+100€ for Windows.

I live in Finland and I've never ordered from Germany, but a few of my friends have done it and they've had no problems whatsoever.

Eduellos build is not m-ATX

and sadly there are no good m-ATX motherboards for the AM3+ platform

I would build using the APU , possibly stepping down to the 7700K and spending more on RAM . 2 x4 gig , and timings of 9-9-9-24

Aaand I messed up, again...

Anyway, this would be suitable for mATX (although the motherboard isn't that great as stated above):
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (€86.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€53.39 @ Hardwareversand)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (€33.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card (€89.89 @ Hardwareversand)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€46.70 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €310.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Whatever you decide to build, it would probably be a good idea to stick with the PSU in this build, the quality is much higher than that of the Corsair CX430M.

Alright, thanks! I'll check these websites. I have never heard of them. Thanks for the input!

 

[mon4ro]

My friend came into other thoughts that he might want a new case after all. Then he would be able to get an ATX motherboard. Are the case + PSU deals any good? The cheapest I found was around 35 € for both the case and PSU. The price doesn't seem right, though.

 

[Eduello]

Case+PSU deals usually have a really bad PSU, so it might be a better idea to just get a really cheap case and a bit better PSU.