Budget Gaming PC, get most for the money

[madcar86]

I am looking into building a new Gaming/Everyday PC. The last build I did was over 8 years ago, so it has been a while and I am a little out of the loop on current tech. I have been using my laptop for gaming, but it has finally started giving up and overheating. I think it is time for a new PC. I cant spend as much as I would like, kid on the way, but I think I can spend between $500-$750. I want to get the best results for the money of course.




Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Within two months

Budget Range: $500-$750

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and other everyday stuff

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, if it pushes the budget too much, I can use my TV.

Parts to Upgrade: (e.g.: CPU, mobo, RAM) Everything

Do you need to buy OS: No, I have a Win 7 Key

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Anywhere with the best deal. I do have a microcenter near by

Location: Acworth, GA

Parts Preferences: Whatever gives the best bang for my buck. The case does not need to look super cool, just needs to have good cooling, and USB/Audio in the front or easily accessible. Maybe a few other feature that I am unaware of.

Overclocking: Maybe, never done before

SLI or Crossfire: No, probably out of my budget currently, maybe in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: Need suggestions for screen resolution.

Additional Comments:Would be nice to be easily upgraded in the future when I have a better budget.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Gaming laptop finally stopped working.

This is what I have looked at so far:
CPU: Intel i5 3350P
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
RAM: Corsair Vengeance GB, comes with the mobo at newegg
GPU: Radeon HD 7850 2GB
PSU: Cooler Master GX RS650
HDD: WD Blue 1TB 7200RPM

Let me know what you all think. Again it has been a while since I last built a PC so I am new to it basically.

Thanks for you help.

 

[michxymi]

COUGAR Solution Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with 12cm COUGAR TURBINE HYPER-SPIN Bearing Silent Fan and USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553003

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

FX 6300 Black Edition 3.5GHz Six-Core Socket AM3+ Boxed Processor & Asrock 970 Extreme 4 Microcenter Bundle
http://www.microcenter.com/site/products/amd_bundles.aspx

G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-1866C9D-8GAB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550

SAPPHIRE 100354XTL Radeon HD 7870 XT w/Boost 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024

SanDisk Ultra Plus SDSSDHP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for Notebook
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171740

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

The above build is the best in terms of perfomance per dollar! It offers a value case with USB III and plenty room along with a high quality 80+ Bronze PSU from Seasonic. You also have a six core CPU ready for everytask plus a full featured motherboard, which except from Crossfire capable is also upgrade able for atleast one CPU generation! Finally you have the killer value 7870 tahity le which is only ~3% slower than a 7950/660ti and an SSD to speed thing up! Sum 724$ and 15$ MIR from GPU. You can add a value heatsink for lower noise and for overclocking when you need it!

 

[madcar86]

Looks awesome. Thank for you help. Just wonder how much of a difference is the Radeon 7870 from the original GPU I picked? It is $100 more, is worth the extra money? And just wondering why you went with ADM instead of Intel.

 

[michxymi]

Looks awesome. Thank for you help. Just wonder how much of a difference is the Radeon 7870 from the original GPU I picked? It is $100 more, is worth the extra money? And just wondering why you went with ADM instead of Intel.

Of course it's worth the extra money. It's the best value card out there (as I said ~3% less powerful than a 7950/660ti). I went with AMD because

a)Similar or sometimes better perfomance for less money

b)Upgrade able to the next generation CPUs without changing motherboard

c)Full featured motherboards without limitations

d)Platform cost is less expensive so you have room for better GPU or/and SSD

 

[madcar86]

Best answer selected by madcar86.