SOLVED Advice on a budget build

[idkfa]

Hey,

a friend of mine is in need of a new computer and therefore another friend and I tried to put a system together that offers him the best for the buck. His limit is 400€ (520 USD).
My original set up already exceeds that limit, however since he will buy it in june, we have some time to compare prices.

https://www.mindfactory.de/shopping...2203454def02e2568c407c3ae66febc729d1ad8a6ca53



This would be the system. Some things we are not sure about is:

CPU - Im sure the phenom would be the much better choice over a FX 4170, while my friend says newer is better
Our friend won't upgrade that machine, he buys it now and keeps it as long as it runs, so I think using an older socket is not too bad.
Mainboard - He once was not content with an Asrock board, but I've seen the extreme 4 and 6 series to be recommended a lot here, and the extreme 3 is only around 5€ more expensive than other mainboards on that site.
PSU I chose the 430W out of preference, we already agreed on the cheaper 400W BeQuiet Unit.
GPU I'd go with the 7770 as it is the same price as the 7750 OC and will perform at the same level, yet leaving headroom for OCing, even though OC is not intended on that build. But I like the option, depending on how difficult it is I though when we set up that machine for him, we could start off with a mild OC on the 7770 and leave him with that.

Any opinions? Any suggestions, part swaps are welcome. You are not restricted to the posted side for suggestions.
http://www.alternate.de/
http://www.hardwareversand.de/
http://www.computeruniverse.net/
are also eligible. Please do not post newegg links, since I experienced it more than once that I saw something for 100$ and the lowest price around here was 110€

Edit: I forgot to mention what the system is needed for:

It is mainly a multimedia PC, browsing, doing some excel / matlab stuff for college and occasional gaming. He doesn't require the newest titles to run on high (which would be ridicilous anyway with that budget), but he does enough casual gaming so a HTPC solution with Integrated Graphics would not work.

Thank you in advance!

 

[briansun1]

you might be able to get some of your stuff for cheaper on ebay or amizon or the classified here... just saying


oh and dose he really need a cd drive?


Edit: and mabey a difrent type of ram?...

 

[manu2b]

Wait for replies, but I am sure an AMD APU system will give better bang for the bucks.

Don't ask me for precise models, as I don't know much about them.

What I do know, is that it's really the best choice for HTPC/Browsing/Office and casual gaming (as you can crossfire with a 7770 IIRC).

 

[idkfa]

Thank you both for your fast replies!

or the classified here... just saying

I thought about that, too. Would have to wait until June anyway to see what where to get things. Definitely a good idea

oh and dose he really need a cd drive?

A CD drive is quite unneccesary, however from time to time you might want to burn a CD for your car and stuff like that, or older games he owns are on DVDs. So I think we'll go with that.

Edit: and mabey a difrent type of ram?...

Was the cheapest 1600er at the time I put this together. Right now we can get 1600er with CL9 timings for 46€, so we'll throw in whatever is cheapest at the time we order.
We also thought about going with 4gigs, since my rig in my signature ran on 4gigs for the past two weeks and it wasn't that much of a PITA. On the other with current RAM prices we decided we could try and throw in 8 gig.
The rest of the components looks good then?

edit:

Wait for replies, but I am sure an AMD APU system will give better bang for the bucks.

Will definitly look forward to get some input on that

 

[manu2b]

you might be able to get some of your stuff for cheaper on ebay or amizon or the classified here... just saying


oh and dose he really need a cd drive?


Edit: and mabey a difrent type of ram?...

Well, you must take into consideration that in Europe, PC parts are roughly 25/30% more expensive than in the US.

A $200 CPU is sold €200 ($260) on this side of the Atlantic...

 

[manu2b]

Something like that with a better PSU.

www.rueducommerce.fr/Composants/Kit-PC-a-monter/Kits-PC-a-monter/RUEDUCOMMERCE/4880953-Kit-PC-Media-AMD-A10-5800Kac4-Go-DDR3-1-To-HDD-Graveur-DVD-et-lecteur-de-cartes-memoire.htm

I know it's a kit PC, but it gives you an idea on the parts.

You should stay below €350 if you build it yourself.

 

[idkfa]

A $200 CPU is sold €200 ($260) on this side of the Atlantic...

Would be at least a +1 for his classifieds suggestion.
A 200$ CPU might be sold there for 150$, add 30$ of shipping and you get away with 180$ compared to 260$.
If I could lay hands on a got bundle there, saving shipping costs this could save a lot of money for sure.

 

[manu2b]

^Was talking about new parts, not used ones.

You can make very good deals on eBay: last year (APril) , I got 2 2600K's for €140 (both of them) and a GTX580 gor €120...

 

[idkfa]

^Was talking about new parts, not used ones.

I know, this is why it says in my first post that I would appreciate suggestions that consider the european prices, since a cheap 100$ Part will come in at least at 100€ here.

but I am sure an AMD APU system will give better bang for the bucks.

A10 5700K / A10 5800K Come in around 105€ / 110€ compared to around 80€ for the phenom. They sure give more performance, but enough to spend almost 30% more on the CPU?

 

[Mandrake4565]

Looks like a good budget build, the only thing that stands out to me is the RAM Kingston ram sometimes doesn't like to play nice with AMD chips. This isn't to say they won't but we have seen then cause instability issues. I have always had good luck with G.Skill this might be a better choice and they're a little cheaper, with the same timings.

 

[manu2b]

I know, this is why it says in my first post that I would appreciate suggestions that consider the european prices, since a cheap 100$ Part will come in at least at 100€ here.


A10 5700K / A10 5800K Come in around 105€ / 110€ compared to around 80€ for the phenom. They sure give more performance, but enough to spend almost 30% more on the CPU?

The thing is the GPU is integrated: no need of buying a graphic card. And your buddy could always add a €60/€70 GPU down the road to crossfire and (almost) double the perf.

 

[Theis]

Quick question; How do you feel about ordering outside of your country? Your packages won't be charged for extra if they're found (like some of us) would they?
Reason for the questions; Wont some other European countries be cheaper if they would send it for free?

 

[idkfa]

The thing is the GPU is integrated: no need of buying a graphic card. And your buddy could always add a €60/€70 GPU down the road to crossfire and (almost) double the perf.

You mean like xifre between the IGU and the new dedicated card then?
Seems like viable option to save some bucks for now. Thanks!

Quick question; How do you feel about ordering outside of your country? Your packages won't be charged for extra if they're found (like some of us) would they?

I think if you are caught you have to pay doubled taxes which wouldn't be worth the risk.

Reason for the questions; Wont some other European countries be cheaper if they would send it for free?

Not really, beside the fact that they most probably won't ship for free outside their own country I think the european prices are pretty similar.

 

[manu2b]

^Idfka summed it up.

Edit: what's doable is to ask somebody in the aimed country to buy it for you and send it by regular post (very cheap within european countries, somethin like €20 for 10kg).

 

[idkfa]

Thank you all for your valuable input