New to building gaming PC [low budget]

[Pandasecret]

I'm new to building a PC and have always been a laptop user, so I wanted to know if I have the essentials and did not buy anything unnecessary.
I have a list from microcenter here: http://tinyurl.com/l4vez95
I already have an old case I can reuse, and I hope for this PC to be able to play Skyrim or Just Cause 2 at 60fps or more, with decent graphic settings.
Do I have everything necessary? Are there better alternatives? I want to stay under $500 if possible.

 

[xTempered]

Aside from the Case you have you need a Motherboard to put it all together.

If you have one in your old case it must be the same socket or its basically a paper weight.

Have never seen that PSU before.

And if you dont mind buying from a different retailer theres this RAM
Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313345&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[Pandasecret]

Aside from the Case you have you need a Motherboard to put it all together.

If you have one in your old case it must be the same socket or its basically a paper weight.

Have never seen that PSU before.

And if you dont mind buying from a different retailer theres this RAM
Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313345&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Thanks for the quick reply. I do have a few more questions regarding your reply though.
What are the differences in the RAM you recommended versus the one I had in the wishlist?
What motherboard would you recommend for this system? Do you think this one would work?: http://www.microcenter.com/product/414939/Z87_Extreme6_Socket_LGA_1150_ATX_Intel_Motherboard
What PSU would you recommend?

Thanks so much!

 

[jasonite]

One question I have for you is if you will be overclocking or not. I'll assume you're not right now, but let me know if you will be. A site you might try is pcpartpicker.com, it collects lowest prices for most places and includes coupons and rebates as well as letting you check for conflicts. Here is my build that's under $500 and is about as much power as I can give you under that price point. You said you already had a case so I left that out. The power supply is the cheapest that is of very high quality, and you don't want to skimp on quality with the PSU. You should definitely be able to play Skyrim and Just Cause 2 with good setting here. If you want to step down a bit to the Pentium G3258 you can afford the next step up with graphics, but what I have here is a good balance. Ask if you have any questions, hope this helps!

Edit: I included an optical drive, but if you already have it then take it off

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $493.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 20:25 EST-0500

 

[logainofhades]

Since you are going to microcenter, take advantage of their combo deals, for CPU and motherboard. Any compatible motherboard is eligible for the discount. Definitely want 8gb of ram, vs 4gb. Power supply is junk. XFX, EVga, Seasonic are better.

 

[Pandasecret]

One question I have for you is if you will be overclocking or not. I'll assume you're not right now, but let me know if you will be. A site you might try is pcpartpicker.com, it collects lowest prices for most places and includes coupons and rebates as well as letting you check for conflicts. Here is my build that's under $500 and is about as much power as I can give you under that price point. You said you already had a case so I left that out. The power supply is the cheapest that is of very high quality, and you don't want to skimp on quality with the PSU. You should definitely be able to play Skyrim and Just Cause 2 with good setting here. If you want to step down a bit to the Pentium G3258 you can afford the next step up with graphics, but what I have here is a good balance. Ask if you have any questions, hope this helps!

Edit: I included an optical drive, but if you already have it then take it off

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $493.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 20:25 EST-0500

thanks a lot!
but what is the difference between intel i3 and i5?
What impact does it have on performance? Is it worth the extra $50 to get i5 so it will last longer as technology advances?
Would you recommend getting a cheaper video card instead, perhaps: http://www.microcenter.com/product/429764/GeForce_GTX_750_Ti_Superclocked_2GB_GDDR5_PCIe_x16_30_Video_Card?

 

[jasonite]

The i3 is a budget pick CPU for gaming. It does have hyper-threading as well which will help with some games and you will be in solid ground, but with very demanding settings or games it could be a bottleneck given how high-performing your GPU is. The i5 is, I think, the perfect gaming processor. The next step up would be the 4460. With graphics cards, always get the best GPU that's worth the money, meaning anything up to and including about $330, which is what the GTX 970 retails for--the GPU is the most important component of a gaming PC.

If in the end you're not sure, I'd stick to the i3 and see how things perform. You shouldn't have any significant problems unless you're running the most demanding games at ultra settings. IMO the i5 is worth it, but not if it breaks the bank--if your budget is $500 then stick to it.

J