Total n00b, can you experts weigh in on my first attempt at around $750-$800 budget gaming PC?

[Joseph Stauffer III]

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

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.96 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($153.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($140.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $774.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-18 04:19 EST-0500)

I've been lurking around the forums for a few days now and have a friend that knows a lot more about building than I do. I'm just trying to build a decent gaming system that will be able to play most current games with at least high settings. I'm open to any suggestions to lower the cost or improve performance with keeping the the cost around $750-$800. Thanks for any help!

 

[Patrick Guenter]

Is ist going to be a pc for gaming?
What you wanna do with it?

 

[Joseph Stauffer III]

Is ist going to be a pc for gaming?
What you wanna do with it?

Yes I would like to be able to play most current games with at least High settings. I would be using it for gaming as well as your normal everyday browsing the internet, watching movies, etc...

I'm not looking to be able to play Crysis 3 on Ultra or anything, but I want a decent gaming PC for around that budget.

 

[FTPATQ]

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

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($354.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $788.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-18 05:52 EST-0500)

Get something like this. You can add an SSD later on. If you spent about 20 bucks extra you could upgrade to a 750W PSU and that would allow you to add in a second GPU later. The case i've chosen is suitable for you but you may want a different case, that's cool.

 

[Joseph Stauffer III]

I'd like to stick to an Intel CPU if at all possible.

 

[g-unit1111]

I'd like to stick to an Intel CPU if at all possible.

Intel is always a good choice but AMD isn't bad for the sub $800 range. Especially when you take into account that the FX-6350 is a much more overclock friendly CPU than the i5-3570K is.

There's two ways you could do this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.86 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $862.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-18 13:10 EST-0500)

Or if you want to go the AMD route:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.86 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $845.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-18 13:09 EST-0500)

Both systems are slightly over the $800 mark but include far better power supplies and GPUs.

 

[Joseph Stauffer III]

I revised my build a little, would this be better? I'm trying to take into account what people are saying about being able to add a dual GPU later on if I want to. I don't think I will really care about overclocking to be honest.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.95 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($95.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($120.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $845.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-19 02:03 EST-0500)

 

[g-unit1111]

I revised my build a little, would this be better? I'm trying to take into account what people are saying about being able to add a dual GPU later on if I want to. I don't think I will really care about overclocking to be honest.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.95 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($95.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($120.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $845.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-19 02:03 EST-0500)

That PSU is overkill unless you're planning to SLI later on but otherwise it all looks good to me, I say go for it!

 

[Joseph Stauffer III]

I revised my build a little, would this be better? I'm trying to take into account what people are saying about being able to add a dual GPU later on if I want to. I don't think I will really care about overclocking to be honest.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.95 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($95.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($120.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $845.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-19 02:03 EST-0500)

That PSU is overkill unless you're planning to SLI later on but otherwise it all looks good to me, I say go for it!

Okay I think I'm happy with this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.95 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($113.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Level 10 GTS (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $787.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-19 04:59 EST-0500)