Is this a good $500 gaming computer?

Solution
I wasn't recommending the build, just demonstrating how close I could get. The point was to show a $500 build. His build shows $675 before rebates.

Here are other 6790 reviews
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/AMD-Radeon-HD-6790-Video-Card-Review/1236/6
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6790-barts-gpu-geforce-gtx-460,2917-5.html

Now that we have the edit and a bit more info, the Intel build he put up is fine. But I have to question the $500 mark. I don't think it's going to happen.

Here are some relevant SC2 benchmarks. Looks like the 6850 you linked might be a good match.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/10
your spending too much money on the CPU and motherboard and not enough on the GPU. /if you plan to upgrade the GPU down the track, then this build is fine. I suggest you swap the 2500k CPU for an amd phenom 955, get a 970 series motherboard which should be cheaper, and put the extra toward a decent video card. What screen resolution do you plan to game at? if its 1920x1080p then you REALLY need a better vid card.
 
I wasn't recommending the build, just demonstrating how close I could get. The point was to show a $500 build. His build shows $675 before rebates.

Here are other 6790 reviews
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/AMD-Radeon-HD-6790-Video-Card-Review/1236/6
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6790-barts-gpu-geforce-gtx-460,2917-5.html

Now that we have the edit and a bit more info, the Intel build he put up is fine. But I have to question the $500 mark. I don't think it's going to happen.

Here are some relevant SC2 benchmarks. Looks like the 6850 you linked might be a good match.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/10
 
Solution