First PC Build (Build vs Buy)

tu2j2

Hi Guys,

My trusty laptop that I've had for the last 7 or 8 years is finally starting to drive me mad, I've had to do a hard drive change on it and now its running linux and its hardly up to the task of internet browsing anymore so it has to go. I'm looking to buy a desktop as I don't need the portability of the laptop and it seems to be better value too. I'll fill in the questionnaire first and then get to my choices at the end.

1. What is your budget? Up to €500 but preferably closer to €400

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? General web browsing, uploading photos (not much editing), Might play a few games but nothing taxing enough to require a proper graphics card yet, Little bit of MS office.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes, have been looking to use Windows 10

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? Not sure, its basically a fairly new 23" Samsung HD tv I acquired

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No,

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? At some point in the future yes

8. How can you pay? Whatever

9. When are you purchasing? Next few weeks

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Meath but I don't foresee any problems

So at the moment its not going to be used for anything overly intensive so as much as I'd like to build something mad with graphics cards and stuff I don't really need it but I would like to be able to have the option to carry out some upgrades in the future.

I've done a little bit of research and have came up with a list of parts on amazon that comes to €415, now I'm very much new to all this but I think it should all be compatible and at least not be terrible And its cheap which is good.

I've also found a UK website that builds PC's (I'm very weary of all these sites) FiercePC.co.uk and I build one on their site that comes to €450 and doesn't seem too bad. Anyway the two.

Aerocool GT Advance Case - White/Blue
AMD A8 7650K Black Edition
Be Quiet! BK002 Shadow Rock CPU Cooler
Gigabyte F2A78M-HD2 Motherboard
8GB (2x4) Corsair Vengeance Pro 1866MHz DDR3
1TB Western Digital Blue Hard Drive
Aerocool Integrator 500W 80+ Power Supply
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

€450



Zalman Z1 Neo Case
AMD A6-7400k
Be Quiet! BK002 Shadow Rock CPU Cooler
Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-HD2
HyperX FURY Series 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 1333MHz CL9 DIMM
1TB Western Digital Blue Hard Drive
Corsair VS550 80+ Power Supply
Windows 10 Home 64

€415



Any opinions on either? The other thing that puts me off buying a complete PC is that I wouldn't actually have put it together myself which is something I'd actually like to do. Only massive difference between the two that I can see is the Processor, I had to upgrade a lot of parts on it as they were using no name hard drives and power supplies as standard. Also am I going overboard using an upgraded CPU cooler? If I ditched that from the DIY build it would drop under €400 which I would be very happy about.

All Advice/comments welcome.
Thanks.

Eoinmc97

Well, none of those PCs have an SSD, which is perfect for your needs. For your upgrade path, do you intend to go down the route of AAA gaming or photo/video rendering etc anytime soon? If so, this PC has enough longevity and upgrade path to allow you to do so with a new CPU with your needs.

Case: Silverstone Sugo ITX case: €45
CPU: Intel Core i3 6100: €120
Mobo: ASUS H110 mITX motherboard: €55
RAM: x1 8GB DDR4 2133MHz RAM stick: €30
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Blue: €45
SSD: 128GB SSD: €35
PSU: 450W Silverstone Strider SFF PSU: €65
Total: €385 for the build