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Constructing Custom Desktop - Need your help!

Tags:
  • Desktops
  • Build Your Own
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Computers
  • Systems
  • New Build
October 16, 2014 1:55:28 PM

Hey guys, I am wanting to build a custom desktop. Now, first of all, I'm a 14-year-old guy who, due to my age, has a limited budget. That budget being approximately 400$. I was hoping I could get some help/tips on the process of building, and obviously, the components I will use.

I already have a "template" for a build which fits my budget, and seems to be optimal for my purposes (gaming and CPU-demanding applications such as Photoshop, Flas, etc. for school).

Here are the specs, as well as their individuals prices (total price at bottom):


GIGABYTE GA-F2A55M-S1 (Motherboard) 34.69 USD

G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB 2000mhz 240-DIMM PIN (RAM) 49.99 USD

Logisys CS206BK Black (Case) 28.92 USD

Microsoft Wired 200 (Keyboard) 4.99 USD

ASUS DRW-24F1ST (DVD Drive) 19.29 USD

Edimax EW-7811Un (USB Wi-Fi) 8.5 USD

Diamond XS51 Xtremesound (Sound Card) 9.89 USD

Toshiba MQ01ABF050H 500 GB (Hybrid HDD/SSD) 57 USD

Acer S200HQL (Monitor) 59.99 USD

AMD A10-5800K (Processor) 97.98 USD

AMD Radeon HD 7660D (GPU) W/ CPU


Total Price: 381.52 USD


Also, is it worth it getting a cheap sound card? I read that they greatly improve audio quality, but nothing about how good the sound card should be, relative to other sound cards. The reason I picked a Hybrid Drive was so I could utilize some of the speed acquired from SSD, yet having the storage capabilities of an HDD. I also read that the APU CPU's such as mine have great efficiency when coupled with a fast RAM, so I assumed that a 200mhz 4gb RAM would be more effective than a 1333mhz 8gb RAM. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this, because then I can easily swap to 8gigs instead. Please leave any suggestions or tips for the build! :) 

(And no, I don't have previous experience building computers)


EDIT: Removed DVD Drive (don't need it), changed motherboard to ECS A55F2P-M2 (35.99 USD) and changed RAM to G.Skill Ares 8GB (2x4) 1866 mhz 240-PIN. This alters the sum of the build from 381.52 to 377.25. I'm not completely sure if this motherboard is compatible with the other hardware, so I would greatly appreciate if you guys would let me know on that front. ^^

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