Highly Upgradeable $400 First Gaming PC Build

Hello! I'm 14, and just finished saving up (for about a year) to build a pc. I plan on upgrading it soon after i build it, just want something that can hold me over until I upgrade it into an awesome gaming pc. Being able to upgrade it very extensively, and having a good motherboard, are my top priorities, since the motherboard is the only part of the build I dont plan on upgrading regularly. I have the rest of the information below. Thanks!

Request: A pc build that is very upgradeable, can work with an hdtv, with not too great graphics or other parts, just a computer that can hold me over until I can afford a better graphics card and cpu. Hopefully can play most, if not all games on low settings. (games such as planetside 2, portal 2, starcraft 2, Skyrim, and FarCry 3, even on low settings)

Approximate Purchase Date: Between this month and the summer

Budget Range: $400 (approximately)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (I know you cant get a good gaming pc for 400, but just something to keep and be able to upgrade), Movies and videos, and surfing the web.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, but I am pretty much decided on that, I took 200 out of the build so I could buy it, but if you have any suggestions, keep the whole build at about 600.



Parts to Upgrade: Everything. 4 or more gigs of ram, other than that, stuff can really be changed. Just want stuff that can play all current games up until about 6 months to a year. Can get about a $480+ upgrade in a year, just stuff that can last until that time, or even later.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Windows 7, can't stand windows 8, I feel like it is slowly becoming a closed system.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg,
Location: California (USA) I live near the center of california, kind of near sacremento.

Parts Preferences: Intel and Nvidia

Overclocking: The motherboard should be able to handle it, but I dont necessarily need it right now, just want the option when I upgrade later on.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, Just want the option, so I can upgrade to it later possibly.

Your Monitor Resolution: 16:9 1366 x 768 (HDTV, don't have it yet though)

Additional Comments: Quiet, Very upgradeable. I dont want to have to upgrade the motherboard for another 4-5 years. Other things can be upgraded periodically after I build it. Works with an HDTV.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Really Bad computer cant run games at all. Half of them I cant even run on low settings.

Thank you!

Yeah, I was just kind of skeptical of AMD (and I shouldn't be) because I'm more familliar with Intel. I can go with an AMD, Now I just dont know what to do next really.

I don't really know what APU to get. I could get a trinity, but I'm not sure.

^Also you have a great base with an SSD.

Thank you! I looked at the parts, and I like everything about it, except I might need to add more storage, but other than that, its great! Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback, I like that you put a midtower, and the 500GB of storage, and than later I can get an ssd. I Also like that there are 4 ram slots instead of 2, so I can upgrade it even further.

I also fit the A10 APU in the $400 budget which will get you better gaming from the get go

Yeah, read the newegg reviews of raidmax. Not good, neither is the one you reccomended me though too. I went for a gigabyte case that was cheaper and generally had better reviews.

This is what I think I might go with, Give some feedback please.

Dvd Drive: Samsung dvd burner SATA Model 17.99 (dont really need it, but i kind of do need it a little, so whatever)
Case: Gigabyte Gz-f3heb black secc steel/abs atx mid tower computer case 23.99
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4 FM2 AMD A85x (Hudson D4) SATA 6gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard 114.99
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply 39.99
RAM: G.SKILL Value 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) DEsktop Memory Model F3- 1600C11A-4GNT 28.99
CPU: AMD A8-5600K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) SOcket FM@ 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU with directX11 graphic amd Radeon HD 7560D AD560KWOHJBOX 109.99


Total: 335.94 (didnt add OS yet, but it would be around $415, which is cloce enough to my price range) Any suggestions? are these all compatible? Thanks!


Oh yeah, and I think he added the APU in a larger case because I plan on upgrading to a better graphics card, and making use of as much as I can (Plus, bigger cases are more upgradeable)

What about your HDD, plus you are spending a lot on the motherboard compared to the rest of your build.
And why drop down to the A8 when the A10 is only $10 more? Do you have access to a Microcenter? The A10 is only a $100 there.

Edit: sorry should have cleaned up these quotes a bit but I'm in a rush

I looked up benchmarks and the A10 is like 5% stronger than the A8. He is trying to save money after all. Also If you are gonna spend over $400, you might as well get a 7750 + a Phenom II x4 and just make it a $500 build. Either save as much money as possible or spend your money well.

After all if you can't afford the PC you want now, wait until you can. The parts will be cheaper and better.

5% is worth $10 in my opinion. He only has $400 and I was able to fit the A10 in that. He can build the sytem and be able to game now and upgrade it later. Or he could save some more and build a better system from the get go but this is a good starting point. He's 14 and doesn't have access to a lot of money.

Shaking my head at idiots who waste a quarter of their budget on OS. You know how easy it is to wiggle one out of somewhere? For free? SAME THING as the "real" one. And doesn't your school give you one for free?