Mid-end gaming rig questions

[tdbnasc3]

Alright fellas, I built this because I couldn't find a decent gaming pc for 500 bucks. I still went a bit overboard because I wanted to go for 600 at the highest. Anyway, here's the build.

CPU Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Combo or $119.99
CPU Cooler Corsair Hydro Series H60 74.4 CFM Liquid $57.25
Motherboard Asus P8H61-M LX3 R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 $59.99
Memory Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Combo or $-0.01
Storage Corsair Force Series 3 120GB 2.5" SSD $124.99
Video Card Asus GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB $114.48
Sound Card Asus Xonar DGX $39.98
Case Apevia X-Dreamer3 Silver ATX Mid Tower $49.98
Power Supply Antec 430W ATX12V $42.38
Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $19.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.98


The price was 707,00 as of right now. Is there any way I could lower the price without losing fps in games?
Is this even decent for gaming? By decent I don't mean running everything at 60+ fps, I'm happy with 40+ anytime.

 

[cmi86]

Yes you most definitely can lower the price ! I will tell you how.

1-The i3-2100 is not overclockable so that $57.00 liquid cooling set up is a totally useless waste of money as the stock heat sink will be more than sufficient.

2-Sound cards have somewhat become a thing of the past on systems that are not used for audio specific/intensive tasks as the integrated audio chips on modern motherboards have more than enough quality/features for average use.

Between these 2 parts I have saved you about $97.00. What you do with it is completely up to you however i suggest you invest a little bit of that into wither a more capable video card (550Ti is starting to show it's age) or a more powerful PSU ( I recommend at least a 500 watt continuous PSU for systems with graphics requiring external power)

 

[tdbnasc3]

Any cards you would recommend putting in with the current power supply? Or particular suggestions?

 

[bigcyco1]

a 7770 or 650 Ti or 7850

 

[devilofdeaths]

Any cards you would recommend putting in with the current power supply? Or particular suggestions?

7770/650Ti after the savings of taking out the water cooling

 

[tdbnasc3]

What fps would I get let's say,on bf3 with this build?

 

[cmi86]

The Radeon 7750 is a quite capable DX11 Video card that does not require any external power from the power supply however I found this PSU which is a 500W single rail unit and is only a couple dollars more than the one you already spec'd out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 This unit would be more than sufficient to support a much more powerful card such as The Radeon 7850 HD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161426 while still saving you around $30 off of your initial build price. If you would like to save a bit more money but still be a bit faster than the 550ti go with the Radeon 7770 Ghz Edition http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161402 which will pocket you about $75.00 off of your initial total.