$550 Gaming PC - opinions on parts?

[taipoxin]

Hey! I'm new, and don't know tonnes about computers, or building one, so I was wondering whether you'd help me with my first build. You've come highly recommended from my friend, anyway!

Here's a parts list that my friend picked out for me, earlier this year. I'm happy enough with his suggestions, but he feels that he's not fully up-to-date on the latest parts, and recommended that I should do more research. There's some parts missing, so if you had any suggestions, that would be great!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1VgOQ

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1VgOQ) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1VgOQ/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1VgOQ/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6300wmhkbox) | $117.97 @ SuperBiiz
**Memory** | [PNY XLR8 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-memory-md8192kd31600x9) | $74.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st500dm002) | $53.97 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr785oc2gd) | $164.99 @ Amazon
**Case** | [Cooler Master RC-361-KKN1 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc361kkn1) | £29.64
**Power Supply** | [Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m) | $49.99 @ Microcenter
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $461.91
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-19 11:08 EST-0500 |

I hope that came out right...

As you may have guessed, my budget's roughly $550 dollars. I use Euro, myself, but dollars just seemed like the easiest currency to use. It's roughly around €400, or £350, otherwise. It's going to be a gaming PC, so preference is given to performance and graphics over looks. I won't be over-clocking. Other than gaming, I won't be doing much other than Word and browsing the internet. I don't want an optical drive, and already have an OS, keyboard and mouse. It'd be great if you could suggest a decent monitor for my budget, but it's not essential.

Thanks!

 

[fonzieguy]

I noticed you don't seem to have a motherboard, or are you getting the amd combo from microcenter?

 

[maurelie]

Here is something for your budget

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($117.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.85 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $561.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-19 11:57 EST-0500)

 

[taipoxin]

I noticed you don't seem to have a motherboard, or are you getting the amd combo from microcenter?

I was wondering whether anyone here would have any suggestions for one. It seems deceptively simple, but don't want to spend money on a good GPU/CPU, only to mess up the motherboard... USB 3.0 would be nice, but not essential on my budget.