Cutting down the price of my build

[RoloFanatic]

Hi, im planning to build a cheap gaming PC (but i am not planning on overclocking). The specs i was considering were:
GeForce GTX660
i5 4570 quad core
8Gb Crucial 1600 MHz ram
BitFenix Prodigy M case
Gigabyte GA-H87M-HD3 Socket 1150 HDMI DVI mATX Motherboard
630W be quiet! PURE POWER CM L8-CM 80PLUS Bronze Modular Power Supply
Windows 7 home premium ( just put this in because i included it in my calculations)
and a cheap £15 optical drive.

However, this all adds up to a grand total of around £670. The problem is that i only have £500 (£550 at a push) to spend on a PC. So obviously i need to lose £170 from somewhere. So i have two questions really:

Any ideas where i can go cheaper without losing too much performance?

and

I was looking at getting a PowerColor HD 7850 2GB GPU instead of a GTX660 because it is about £40 cheaper, but it sounds like this is over clocked when you buy it, so would this work with the motherboard i have chosen? (also if it is compatable, is the price difference worth the loss in performance?)

Sorry this post is so long, i look forward to reading your replies.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Avocade]

Drop from a 660 to a 650 Ti

 

[rvilkman]

Intel version:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2in8l
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2in8l/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2in8l/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£133.53 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£78.65 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£72.81 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£42.86 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£140.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Midnight MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£68.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£47.15 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£13.18 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £598.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-11 00:01 GMT+0000)


Amd version:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2inbq
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2inbq/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2inbq/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.79 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£72.81 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£42.86 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£140.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Midnight MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£68.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£47.15 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£13.18 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £542.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-11 00:02 GMT+0000)

The 7870 XT is actually faster than the 660.

 

[giantbucket]

for me, the obvious answers are:

in this order:

1) cheaper case - it's just a box to hold shit, get one for 20 quid
2) less ram - you can easily add more in 3-6 months, takes all of 5mins and nothing is lost / removed, just stuff added
3) a very slightly cheaper vid card, or try your hardest to score one with a killer rebate