$800 new build (downsize from $1300 build) budget/gaming upgradeable

[ecoli8888]

Approximate Purchase Date: By the end of July (Before I return to school)

Budget Range: Around 700-850 (total cost of pc+keyboard+monitor+mouse and OS)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, School work, Video/Audio applications, Internet

Parts Not Required: NEED EVERYTHING! (Except speakers, and I do have a 40 in tv but do not know if want to use as monitor)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com

Country: U.S.
Parts Preferences: I would prefer an Intel processor, with an NVIDIA graphics card

Overclocking: Maybe? I'm new at this so I'm not entirely sure what this means.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe? again chalking it up to I have no clue

Monitor Resolution: the best I can get for my money

Additional Comments: Recently posted a thread about possible build for $1300, now realizing I probably won't have this amount by the time I need a new computer.

I need a personal computer, my school bought laptop didn't live up to my expectations and it kicked the bucket at the end of the past school year (tech guys said the motherboard got fried, hp elitebook 8530p if you must know).

I'm a gamer, and soon to be audio/digital media graduate with a tight budget. Bottom line I don't want a new laptop, with the research I've done the performance I want in a small package puts the price tag way up. I'd like to be able to move the computer though so I can take it with me to college next year.

Right now I'm pretty confident that for the amount of use I'm going to get from the new computer I should attempt to build something (this is my first build, yes) that I can upgrade in the future when I get more money.

I would like to be able to play a few games at decent settings (witcher 2, total war shogun 2, tf2) that I already own that my old laptop could not handle. I also would like the ability to do some video editing/ audio editing since I will be graduating in that field.

/////My friends suggested these parts for me://////

GeForce GTX 670 2GB $399.99
Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) $319.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$129.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model $82.99
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$99.99
Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W Bronze W0382RU ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
$114.99
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$69.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
$39.99
Acer G235HAbd 23'' WideScreen LCD monitor
$179.99
Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard
/////////////////////

{{{{{{{{{{{And then my other post suggested these:{{{{{{{{{

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($58.50 @ B&H)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake V9 BlacX ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($159.98 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech Call of Duty: MW3 Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1299.36
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Ideally I'd really like something to fit into my budget that looks like:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k or better
Motherboard: A compatible ASRock
Memory:?? I don't know
Hard Drive: I think I only need one so Seagate 1TB
Graphics Card: Nvidia card, perhaps GTX 560ti?
Case:Something basic
Power supply: Corsair something
Optical drive: Any
Monitor: 23in or less
Keyboard: Any (does not need to be a gamer one)

Can anyone help with downsizing one of those to fit into something like I have above?

 

[obsama1]

Yes, you can get an i3 for the same price. Heck, at Microcenter it's $90. 15%? Tom'sHardware benched the FX CPU's with Win8, and it's that big of a difference. Just get a Phenom II x4/x6, which will beat the FX in every thing.
Here's the benchmark with Win8.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8150-zambezi-bulldozer-990fx,3043-23.html

 

[JefferyD90]

Yes, you can get an i3 for the same price. Heck, at Microcenter it's $90. 15%? Tom'sHardware benched the FX CPU's with Win8, and it's that big of a difference. Just get a Phenom II x4/x6, which will beat the FX in every thing.
Here's the benchmark with Win8.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8150-zambezi-bulldozer-990fx,3043-23.html

Let me make a quote from that article
"I wanted to get a more comprehensive suite of tests run on Windows 8, but the developer build was having none of it. Many of our tests are scripted, and none of those would work."
So there for, that review does NOT represent real world performance it is scripted, AND it was not allowed to be tested like they wanted. Plus it was the Developer Preview, the Release Preview will perform better not to include AMD is now starting to publish drivers for Windows 8.

And do you really think a...
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5581942&CatId=5196
...will perform better than the 4100 in video games?

 

[ecoli8888]

Okay so an update from me this is how my build research is going so far:

Processor: i5 2500k 219.99 (i'm adamant about getting this i5)
GPU: Nvidia GTX 560 189.99 (NOT 560ti, should I switch the 560 out for an amd 6570 though?)
RAM: corsair vengeance 8GB (2x4) ddr3 1600 53.99
MOBO:asrock z68 extreme gen 3 lga 1155 129.99
PSU:corsair tx650 v2 650w
Hard drive: samsung spinpoint 1TB 99.99
Optical Drive: samsung dvd burner 13.99
Case: Antec three hundred black steel case 54.99

Keyboard: lite-on two tone 7.99 (supa cheap but will upgrade later)

TOTAL AFTER REBATES: 840.91 (might be able to get more off if I buy from amazon we shall see)

How does this look to you guys (obsama, mousseng, etc)? I'm pretty confident in the way it stands just hope all my research paid off

 

[ecoli8888]

woops not 6570....meant the 6870

 

[JefferyD90]

woops not 6570....meant the 6870

Intel = Nvidia
AMD = AMD

They just perform their best when paired up like this.

 

[obsama1]

Nope. Absolutely false. The only advantage to having all AMD is saying that you have a Scorpius/Dragon computer, which is a fancy marketing term for all AMD computer. I've seen many people with Intel CPU's and AMD GPU's, and vice versa. It's not like you'll get less performance. It's a myth that needs to go away.

 

[mousseng]

CPU performance is separate from GPU performance, beyond one limiting the other.

@OP: that looks like a great computer, but you're missing a monitor and OS. Are you no longer going to include them in your budget?

 

[azeem40]

CPUs and GPUs run on different buses, so they do not have to be from the same realm.

 

[JefferyD90]

I am refering to compatibility. There are several times that drivers simply do not coexist because they are from different manufactures. I had a friend who had a AMD processor, with a AMD chipset, and had a Nvidia 480 video card... It never ran right, he even RMA the card twice I think. The onboard video ran just fine, he got a 6950 instead... it is now flawless.

It does matter, maybe not a whole lot, but you do get the most of your video cards when they have the right chipset paired with them. When I switched from my Nvidia based motherboard (ASUS M4N82 Deluxe) to my AMD based board (ASUS Sabertooth 990 FX) my video card score on PerformaceTest (http://www.passmark.com/products/pt.htm) went down by about 5%... I increased my system score by about 8% (RAM and Processor went up about 10% each and my HD score went up about 5%) but my video card went down. The only thing I changed is my Motherboard and my RAM went from DDR2 1066mhz to DDR3 1600...