First Time Gaming Rig (~800)

[FatalFazio]

Hey, everyone! I've been looking for a new desktop mostly because i have only ever gamed on a laptop and i think its about time to move onto something serious. I was thinking of choosing the parts on cyberpowerpc and letting them build it but then i did consider of trying to build it by myself. I'm not very computer savvy and it would be a challenge but i think i would consider the idea. I have never done anything like this so any advice would be very helpful to me.

I would like to be able to run new end games on high settings if possible. Battlefield 3, Diablo 3, WoW, and GW2 were the main games i would like to at least sufficiently be able to enjoy playing. I would want my main budget to be less than 800 dollars because i don't currently have that much to spend. I would like to consider putting an OS with my purchase but i do not need a monitor. I have looked around on other people's build threads and came across a build by Butler Log that i was very interested in.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($147.86)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 6850 1GB Video Card ($139.99)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99)
Optical Drive: Sony DDU1681S-0B DVD/CD Drive ($19.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99
Total: $839.87

This is a little bit over the price that i would want to be spending so i thought if anyone has any ideas on what i could maybe go a little less on it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[glo]

GPU is pretty weak. Personally I'd drop the processor down to an i3-2120, and pick up a GTX 560 (non ti version) instead for dramatically better gaming performance. If you go that route, you could drop the Z77 for H77 since you wont be overclocking, and possibly get a 7850 instead.

[Holes]

I wouldn't go lower than the i5-2500k for the processor if you're buying a new gaming machine. If you go too cheap on your CPU you'll run into performance issues, quad cores are actually useful nowadays.

I have a mirror build (essentially), but I'm using my old 5770. Still plays BF3 on high, no FPS loss, etc. in any games so far.

If you want to squeeze the most out of your budget, you could probably go with a better gfx card and get a cheaper PSU/mobo.

Grab a $60-$70 PSU (600W+)

Lots of non-Zxx boards for sub $100. I picked up a Z68 for $114.99 a few months back.

GPU (newegg prices):
560 - $179.99
560 Ti - $209.99
7850 - $239.99

No reason to spend more on the mobo than a gfx card.

[glo]

I wouldn't go lower than the i5-2500k for the processor if you're buying a new gaming machine. If you go too cheap on your CPU you'll run into performance issues, quad cores are actually useful nowadays.

I have a mirror build (essentially), but I'm using my old 5770. Still plays BF3 on high, no FPS loss, etc. in any games so far.

If you want to squeeze the most out of your budget, you could probably go with a better gfx card and get a cheaper PSU/mobo.

Grab a $60-$70 PSU (600W+)

Lots of non-Zxx boards for sub $100. I picked up a Z68 for $114.99 a few months back.

GPU (newegg prices):
560 - $179.99
560 Ti - $209.99
7850 - $239.99

No reason to spend more on the mobo than a gfx card.

I can count games that use more than two cores on two fingers.

Also, even in BF3, the shitty AMD FX processors do just as well as a 2500k/2600k.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...e,3063-13.html

An i3-2120 is definitely NOT going to bottleneck him before a 6850 does. If he's on a strict $800 budget, my suggestion will easily outperform the 2500k/6850 in virtually every game available.