First Build - $650

[RoThurman]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next few weeks

Budget Range: >$650 preferable. Might stretch to $700 if needed.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Watching movies, gaming (Arkham City or Skyrim for reference), general internet use.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, monitor, speakers, mouse. Thinking about Ubuntu for OS rather than buying Windows 7.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I've put together some parts on Newegg, but whatever site has the best prices is preferred.

Country: US

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Doubtful

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments: Just looking for the best performance for the money.

GIGABYTE GA-H61MA-D3V LGA 1155 Intel H61 Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128539

EVGA 01G-P3-1370-KR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130752

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034

Intel Core i5-2400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Patriot Gamer 2 Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220555

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

GAMMA Classic Series ATX Mid Tower
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UDK9U6/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

That's what I've been able to put together, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited because I forgot to include my case.

 

[boiler1990]

I'd swap out the i5 and get an i3. Then you can reinvest the money in a better GPU. Games nowadays require much more of the GPU than the CPU.

For reference, I'm running an i3 +560Ti and playing Skyrim smoothly on High + 8x AA/AAF (could run Ultra + 0x AA/AAF, but the AA/AAF makes it look much better even on high). Also @ 1920x1080

 

[buzznut]

Number one problem--How the hell are you gonna play any games on ubuntu?

Just pony up for WIN7. Or if you prefer you could run WIN 8 beta like I am doing. Its really quite stable.

The build looks fine other than that.

 

[g-unit1111]

For $650 you can do way better. I hate recommending H61 on any build because there's no dedicated x16 lane and you can't OC, and you're limited to 8GB of RAM.

Here's what I recommend:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99 ($10.00 MIR)
PSU: Corsair CX600 V2 - $69.99 ($20.00 MIR)
Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 - $121.99
CPU: 3.3GHz Intel Core i3-2120 - $127.99
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB 1333Mhz 1.5V - $42.99
HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM - $84.99
Optical: Samsung 22X DVD Burner - $15.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 - $149.99 ($15.00 MIR)

Total: $673.92 - $45.00 MIR = $628.92

With this build you get a true dedicated Z68 motherboard, a better video card, better RAM, and a better PSU.

 

[RoThurman]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'm back to picking out parts after looking over your advice.

 

[Outlander_04]

Number one problem--How the hell are you gonna play any games on ubuntu?

Just pony up for WIN7. Or if you prefer you could run WIN 8 beta like I am doing. Its really quite stable.

The build looks fine other than that.

It might not be as much a problem as you think .

But the build is not sound .
The RAM needs to be 1.5 volt or less .
I'd stick with the i5 for a better all round and more responsive computer . If you were dropping to an i3 then the AMD FX 4100 could be a better choice . Game performance is identical to the i3 2100 when matched with similar graphics cards , but the FX can then be overclocked . AMD motherboards are also likely to have a better feature set .
The gamma is a cheap case , but not a good case .