Building a new PC, Budget of ~£500

[Felix]

Someone I occasionally speak to on Twitter would like to build a new PC but doesn't really know what to get. He's stated that his budget is around £500, could probably go a bit over, but he isn't really sure what direction to step in.

I've shown him this image of my build/prices to get him started, but this doesn't include KB/M, Monitor, headset, harddrive or PSU and with those it would probably spill well into the £700 region.
http://i.imgur.com/DcJ2U.png

So, with that said, I know a lot of you have a lot of experience when it comes to which parts are best to aim for under a certain budget, so if you don't mind could someone channel their knowledge for the good of getting someone new to PC Gaming a place to begin? :)
Thanks!

[๖ۣۜKillstreakTurtle]

I recommend a quad core 3ghz+ AMD Phenom processor from ebuyer and a 6800 or 6900 gpu found for under £100 on waeplus.co.uk.
A coolermaster elite 500w psu can be found for around £30 on ebuyer which is super value.
The sharkoon T9 is widely available for under £50 but has loads of room, simple access, reams of fans and several awards.
8gb of 1600mhz DDR3 ram is a good buy.
Western digital caviar green sata 3 7200rpm HDD
Cheap 20x Liteon DVD writer
A gigabyte or asus AM3+ motherboard; comprimise by getting a micro ATX here if you don't plan to crossfire.
Get windows 7 Home Premium for £59.99 from Play.

(some of the prices I have indicated are subject to present sales)

[H3X]

These reatilers sell components, full systems (if that's your thing) and bundles of parts for decent enough prices, they're the ones i use myself ;)

http://www.cclonline.com/

http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

Between those you'd likely manage to put together a decent system

[๖ۣۜKillstreakTurtle]

I am building a pc for a similar price and I recomend the following:

ALWAYS go for AMD over intel and AMD over nvidea on a budget.

CPU: The FX line of cpus is built for overclocking but the phenom ii x4 965 is perfect for gaming and saves you about £30 pounds on the latest fx line. £70 ebuyer.com

RAM: 8gb of ram is all you need and if you run out of cash 4gb is a modest comprimise. about £35 ebuyer

HDD/SSD: Get a caviar green or black 1tb HDD. about £60 ebuyer. Forget SSD's under £700.

MOTHERBOARD: MAKE SURE your motherboard is a AM3+ (or if you go with intel, a H77/Z77) chipset with USB3, sata 3 etc. if you run out of cash get micro ATX size instead of ATX unless you plan to crossfire. £40-£70 ebuyer (don't bother to pay more)

PSU: Get an 80 plus certified PSU at 500w-600w. Remember, with PSU's; if you buy cheap, you pay twice. (as in, it melts you components).

GPU: Get a 7850 if you can but a 6870 can be obtained on waeplus.co.uk for £95 in current sale.

CASE: Sharkoon T9 case has plenty of awards and is only £47 ebuyer, alternitavely the bitfenix alpha £33 amazon.

OPTICAL DRIVE: get a cheap 20x or 24x Liteon or Samsung DVD+RW

DO NOT BUY WINDOWS 8 UNLESS YOU HAVE A TOUCH SCREEN MONITOR.

This only works if you build it yourself. I recommend watching newegg's 3 part youtube video on building.

I have compiled a sub-£450 rig on most of these criteria. Check it out by searching in discussions:

Impressions my under £400 pc

Thta's not the exact title but it will come up.

On retailers, sticking with ebuyer, amazon and waeplus.co.uk has served me well. When I search around, there are few better.

[Felix]

Thanks, KillStreak Turtle. I don't know if the person I made this thread for is still looking to build a PC, but I've sent him a link to your response! :)

[๖ۣۜKillstreakTurtle]

I'm happy to help, I've spent ages researching the best parts for a new budget build and i though I ought to share the knowledge.

If you'r friend needs any help building it I reccomend these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok

The first one is mostly just about components and he won't learn much more from it but the second 2 are a complete demonstration of pc building and setup which I found really helpful.