Building Gaming Computer for roughly $700-$800 - Budget Can Vary

[Educated Noodle]

Hello,
I've played computer games for a decent amount of time but my older PC can't come close to keeping up with newer games so I'm looking to build a new one. Unless I'm mistaken it is cheaper to build a PC yourself, correct? Anyway, I currently have two 1600x900 monitors (DVI connections, if that's relevant) and I'm hoping to run most games at decent settings (Med/High/Max). As a baseline I'd like to be able to run GTA V at 60 fps at those settings (Preferably higher so I've got room for modding). It will be fullscreen at 1600x900. If anyone can come up with a good build that can fit those specs and be (preferably) under $700-800 then I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[Brunostako]

Here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($222.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill 600W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $753.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-17 13:27 EDT-0400

The R9 280X is actually a 1440p card, but if you are going to run mods at 900p ultra, i guess it will be enough.

 

[Educated Noodle]

Here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($222.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill 600W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $753.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-17 13:27 EDT-0400

The R9 280X is actually a 1440p card, but if you are going to run mods at 900p ultra, i guess it will be enough.

That looks pretty good but how much faster, really, is the SSD for the OS and frequently used files? I've heard a lot of praise but I'm not sure how big the difference is.

 

[Brunostako]

If you've never used a SSD, believe me, you will love it.

Yes, that's the SSD. for.

 

[Jeff Baffalo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-402WB ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $769.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-17 18:28 EDT-0400

 

[Educated Noodle]

Here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($222.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill 600W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $753.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-17 13:27 EDT-0400

The R9 280X is actually a 1440p card, but if you are going to run mods at 900p ultra, i guess it will be enough.

Is there any downside to using a higher res card on a lower resolution or does it just increase the available graphics power? It seems like I read somewhere that it isn't properly optimized or something, though that could be entirely wrong.

 

[Archaic59]

Hi Noodle. It's not really cheaper to build your own in most cases. What it does is allow you to customize the parts to suit your budget and needs. It also allows you to control the quality of all the parts used to assemble it. This build features a powerful GTX 970 that will help you max many games now and for some time to come.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($319.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $816.27 after rebates
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-19 16:08 EDT-0400

You can get the i5-4590 for $159.00 if you have a Micro Center near you.