I think this is my finale build for my first build. I got more than I expected from my Birthday, so I replaced the 3600 with the 8230. Apparently it is a much better processor, so worth the extra £30. I assume my MOBO can handle it, let me know otherwise.
What about the case? It's by far my favourite aesthetics case I have seen, but you can't get it from the U.K so it might take a long time to ship to the U.K. AnYing got any cheap case. (Up to £that moo look really nice, similar to mine.
By the way, I think I could possibly get the R9280x graphics card instead of my MSI one. However, the step up is far less than I think the CPU so that is what I'm pretty sure I'll be going with.
Build looks good, but i would strongly recommend getting a 650W PSU. Because 550W w/ Bronze rating means you'll really get a max of 467W and that be a little low because the FX-8350 will run @ ~125W, video card @ ~200-250W. 325-350W which means you have ~167W remaining, and that leaves little room for the MB, RAM, Optical Drive, and HDD. You'll be running PSU pretty hard. a 650W PSU would give enough breathing room.
Also to mention, the Video Card auto-overclocks itself so you'll have instability while gaming with a PSU @ 550W...if you had an Intel chip, it would be fine to go 550W but with AMD CPU, it gets a little heavy on consumption.
After research. I have found that the FX3600 is supposedly a bit better for gaming. Is this true? This will be a primarily gaming computer, but I will be doing other things too.
If the difference is not too much, would I be smart to stick with the Fx3600 and try to stretch for the R9280x graphics card?
Also, Im a real fan of this MOBO, so unless you can find a replacement, I'll be sticking.
That motherboard is great, especially for the FX-6300.
The FX-8350/8320 is better for gaming. I have no idea where you decided that the FX-6300 is better. However, if you want to overclock the FX-8350, you might have to get a slightly better motherboard, like http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a99xevor20
You can overclock HD 7950s really high, as they've been pretty much underclocked at stock speeds. Even an HD 7870 can match a 7950 at stock speeds. If you overclock an HD 7950, you can get pretty close to an HD 7970/R9 280X
Your name says it all...do you even know how electricity works...you lose power with distance, you can never get 100% power efficiency atm. The highest is Titanium rated which is 95-96% power efficiency which costs an arm and a leg.
Maximum rated means the highest possible load but that's what the 80+ rating system is for. The rating guarantees 85% power efficiency. This means at worst case scenario a 550w PSU will deliver 467W. Learn a little about 80+ certification and how it's awarded.