Best gaming pc build for under $500?

[samuelthegreat]

I want to play pretty graphic intensive games at at least high settings. So, pretty much just the absolute best gaming rig I could build for under $500.

 

[toddybody]

500.00 is a hard budget, especially if you need an OS. Almost impossible if you still need a monitor. What do you currently have?

 

[samuelthegreat]

500.00 is a hard budget, especially if you need an OS. Almost impossible if you still need a monitor. What do you currently have?

When I said 500 dollars I was excluding the monitor and os. Sorry. Should have made that more clear.

 

[toddybody]

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2E8rl) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2E8rl/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2E8rl/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6300wmhkbox) | $109.99 @ TigerDirect
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A78L-M LX PLUS Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a78lmlxplus) | $44.99 @ Microcenter
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d4gbxl) | $43.92 @ NCIX US
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd5000aakx) | $51.98 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42662kr) | $159.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r) | $59.99 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** | [Thermaltake SMART 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/thermaltake-power-supply-sp750pcbus) | $59.99 @ Newegg
**Optical Drive** | [LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-gh24nsb0) | $15.99 @ Microcenter
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $546.84
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-19 21:31 EST-0500 |



..........

I went a little over (though with rebates, I think youre under)...definitely want to put as much $ into graphics as you can.

PS: This is just a quick build...I would take the time to research each component further. Also, if youre near a MicroCenter...definitely buy your CPU and motherboard there. Great bundle deals (free motherboards).