Im looking for some help.

cacra

Honorable
Jul 10, 2013
49
0
10,540
Ive been doing a lot of research and basically ive came up as this for a lower-range gaming pc.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fANL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fANL/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fANL/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (32-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $595.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-11 14:46 EDT-0400)

I've not decided on a cpu cooler, optical drive, operating system or a power supply and i frankly have no idea what to choose or if i even need a cpu cooler. And I also dont know if im getting the best 'bang for my buck.' Also I'm British so I have to spend an extra 20% of VAT as apposed to the 10% sales tax which im not sure even applies to the listed components.

EDIT: i should also mention RAM, from what ive heard there really isnt much difference between sets. So i should go for the cheapest one i can find?
 
Solution
I've modified the list you made and added my recommended optical drive and PSU based on your build.
Your getting pretty good bang for buck in this build, the 660 is probably the best card for around $200.
As with RAM, its true that there isn't much difference between sets, however, for gaming I would recommend at least DDR3-1600 with maybe 10-11 timings, the RAM you picked out is just fine.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)...

bob1033

Honorable
Jul 11, 2013
233
0
10,760
I've modified the list you made and added my recommended optical drive and PSU based on your build.
Your getting pretty good bang for buck in this build, the 660 is probably the best card for around $200.
As with RAM, its true that there isn't much difference between sets, however, for gaming I would recommend at least DDR3-1600 with maybe 10-11 timings, the RAM you picked out is just fine.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Cooler Master i600 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (32-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $637.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-11 21:22 EDT-0400)

Edit:Also, could you give me a budget you would like to stick to?
 
Solution

cacra

Honorable
Jul 10, 2013
49
0
10,540
Probably under £500 which is about $750 (although I also need to buy a keyboard, mouse and monitor). Ive been hearing a lot about other, free, operating systems like Arch Linux. Is this something to consider or is it not worth the hassle?

Also is there anything glaring that can be upgraded for a few pounds more? or anything that can be slightly degraded for a large amount?

Cheers.