New Budget Build for Occasional Gaming <$900

sun9292

Honorable
Jul 8, 2013
1
0
10,510
Hi everyone, could use a little help to see if this looks like a good build for occasional gaming (with future lasting power/upgradability) but mostly for smooth office work (excel, access, etc.). If it is possible to shave off the price to below 800, that would be ideal!

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1eFhR
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1eFhR/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1eFhR/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($95.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master GX 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS24AH-P 24.0" Monitor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Lite-On SK-1788/BS Wired Standard Keyboard ($12.98 @ Newegg)
Speakers: Cyber Acoustics CA-3090 10W 2.1ch Speakers ($27.09 @ NCIX US)
Total: $941.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 22:12 EDT-0400)
Approximate Purchase Date: this week (7/8/13)

Budget Range: below $900

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Occasional gaming (Skyrim, WoW, Starcraft II, etc.) and office work

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (e.g.: newegg.com, amazon

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Washington D.C.

Parts Preferences: Could switch to AMD, dont really know the difference honestly

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 or 1920x1200?

Thanks!
 
Solution
I like your build. For occasional gaming you don't need to spend a ton of $$ on your GPU. Also, you chose a very high quality IPS monitor that doesn't break the bank.

If you want to bring down the price, then look for a 23" monitor..like VS239H-P.

I changed the PSU to a better brand. 550W is plenty. You could even get 500W and it'd be enough. Also, switched to a ASRock mobo. It's smaller but for one HDD and a GPU it is enough.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($75.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x...
I like your build. For occasional gaming you don't need to spend a ton of $$ on your GPU. Also, you chose a very high quality IPS monitor that doesn't break the bank.

If you want to bring down the price, then look for a 23" monitor..like VS239H-P.

I changed the PSU to a better brand. 550W is plenty. You could even get 500W and it'd be enough. Also, switched to a ASRock mobo. It's smaller but for one HDD and a GPU it is enough.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($75.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Keyboard: Lite-On SK-1788/BS Wired Standard Keyboard ($12.98 @ Newegg)
Speakers: Cyber Acoustics CA-3090 10W 2.1ch Speakers ($27.09 @ NCIX US)
Total: $883.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 22:33 EDT-0400)
 
Solution