1

Honestly, you can buy a new ready PC on Windows 8 (or still 7) and all the bits, for around £400 in The UK.
I have a new one (Asus) that I bought in July. It's got all the big gubbins and cost me about that.
I know it's fun to create your own kit, I've built radios in the past (long time ago) and it's great.
However, nowadays, I'd rather just buy the thing ready to switch on, same goes for a PC.
Good luck with it all though, it sounds a great set-up.

2

Yeah I had a look at prebuilt desktops but the price difference is pretty hefty. If it was a laptop I'd be all over prebuilds but since its a desktop and I've got some bits salvaged I'm thinking about adding just the parts I need. I had a wee research about what £400 or so would get me but it's a bit less than what I've got planned.

3

Why is it that you're shelling out for a pricey graphics card? You've not said what you're aiming to use it for. Personally I think you'd get more joy looking on Avforums - have a search on there for custom built pc's and you'll find loads of set ups for all kinds of budgets.

But I'm with you on custom builds. Yes, if you buy and off the shelf unit, you can get a cheap one where you just have to plug and play. But if it's for gaming, photography work then you'll be needing higher spec components and then the savings fall away...If you're happy going it alone then get building! Keep an eye out on Scan for their daily specials.

4

That's a fair shout, its a gaming PC ultimately, perhaps with some video processing work and some photo editing but what is pushing it is the gaming.

I've changed my mind regarding the Intel/AMD split though, mainly due to me not keeping up with current events, so my build currently looks like

Asus P8H61 USB3
i5-3470
GeForce GTX 660ti
8GB DDR3 RAM

5

My vote goes for the custom PC, the ready mades are fine for basic computer use, but as said above if gaming and photo/video editing comes into play or vector graphic works or 3D modelling then a custom build is the way to go.

Looks like a decent gaming rig to me, the 660 Ti is certainly a good card in that price range.
One thing that I would add is a SSD however - but you would have to spend a little extra then.

I use a 128GB SSD for OS and most important software and would not want a computer without an SSD anymore. Startup and launching software is just a dream.
++++

6

A SSD is definitely on the cards for a second upgrade but sadly I can't really afford it right now. I do like the idea of the quickness of SSDs though so maybe I'll splash out sooner than later.

7

If its for gaming, then build the biggest and fastest (or whatever they call it) you can afford.