Budget Gaming Tower Help for Noob

[The 90s Kid]

Hello friends,

I've been out of the PC scene for quite some time and I'm still stuck with a dated computer that's extremely slow compared to today's standards. With all the recent games and new hardware consistently being released, I believe it's time for me to upgrade. I'm looking to build a gaming PC that is roughly $500-$600 and will run most of the fairly new PC games such as Diablo 3, StarCraft 2, Shogun 2, Battlefield 3, etc. I also intend on using the PC for personal and business purposes like storing music or compiling documents.

Approximate Purchase Date: About June 6th or June 7th, most likely right after I receive help from the community
Budget Range: $500-$600, I prefer $500 but if need be, I can stretch it out to $600
System Usage from Most to Least Important: (1) Gaming, (2) Multitasking, (3) Web Browsing, (4) Creating docs/ppt/xls, (5) Movie Viewing, (6) Media Storage
Parts Not Required: Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg
Country: US
Parts Preferences: I'm not too familiar with what the top brands are, I'm open to all suggestions as long as the parts are reliable and long-lasting (~2-3yrs)
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No, I don't really know what this means
Monitor Resolution: 1600x1200
Additional Comments: Ideally, I would like a PC that can run most of the latest games quietly with no lag.

I asked some of my buddies for advice and managed to put together a draft list of all the parts I'd need from newegg:
Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $39.99 (after Instant Savings)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $79.99 (after Instant Savings & Promo Code)
Intel EXPI9301CTBLK 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express Network Adapter - $22.99 (after Instant Savings & Promo Code)
ASUS EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - $74.99 (after Mail in Rebate & Promo Code)
SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM - $17.00 (after Instant Savings)
Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB 500W ATX12V Power Supply - $44.99 (after Instant Savings)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - $29.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $134.99 (after Instant Savings)
Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32120 - $124.99

The Grand Total is $598.25 (with shipping). Will these parts suffice for my ideal PC? These are probably noobish questions, but do I need to worry about compatibility issues among these parts, like if certain parts don't fit or work with other parts? And would I need to purchase Windows 7 if I don't already have a Windows 7 installation disk?
Other notes: I have a 20 inch monitor that will be used most of the time for everyday tasks and causal gaming, I also have a 40 inch TV that I would like to use for LAN parties or hardcore gaming.

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Outlander_04]

The motherboard has a network adapter built in .

The rosewill psu is junk . Only use 80+ bronze or better rated psu's . None of those will have a small red volatge switch on the rear
This PC Power and cooling unit is exceptional quality at $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703035

And since you didnt get the network card you have enough to upgrade the graphics to a 6770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150560


For even better game performance consider droping the processor ti an i3 2100 and using that extra cash to get a 6850 .

 

[The 90s Kid]

The motherboard has a network adapter built in .

The rosewill psu is junk . Only use 80+ bronze or better rated psu's . None of those will have a small red volatge switch on the rear
This PC Power and cooling unit is exceptional quality at $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703035

And since you didnt get the network card you have enough to upgrade the graphics to a 6770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150560


For even better game performance consider droping the processor ti an i3 2100 and using that extra cash to get a 6850 .

Thanks for your input, Outlander_04, I didn't realize a network adapter was built in. I was told not to buy a cheap PSU, so I'll definitely swap the PSU out with the one you reccomended. And I'll swap out the graphics card too since it's only $5 more after rebate.

 

[moornix]

Thanks for your input, Outlander_04, I didn't realize a network adapter was built in. I was told not to buy a cheap PSU, so I'll definitely swap the PSU out with the one you reccomended. And I'll swap out the graphics card too since it's only $5 more after rebate.

Using what you saved from the network card, you can probably up it to 8 GB (2x4GB set) of RAM. I suggest the Ripjaws X series over the regular Ripjaws. It's newer for the same price and specs.

 

[The 90s Kid]

Using what you saved from the network card, you can probably up it to 8 GB (2x4GB set) of RAM. I suggest the Ripjaws X series over the regular Ripjaws. It's newer for the same price and specs.

Thanks for your help, moornix. Would this be a better substitute? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 Also, does 8gb of ram show a significantly big difference when compared to 4gb of ram? Even though there's not much difference in price, I'd like to save money where I can, I'm just unsure of what to buy or substitute.

 

[moornix]

Thanks for your help, moornix. Would this be a better substitute? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 Also, does 8gb of ram show a significantly big difference when compared to 4gb of ram? Even though there's not much difference in price, I'd like to save money where I can, I'm just unsure of what to buy or substitute.

I was suggesting these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

For your uses, 4 GB will be enough. The difference will not be very significant. If you want to save the money, then consider this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427

You can always upgrade in the future.

 

[The 90s Kid]

I was suggesting these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

For your uses, 4 GB will be enough. The difference will not be very significant. If you want to save the money, then consider this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427

You can always upgrade in the future.

Perfect, that's good to know. Thanks again.

 

[The 90s Kid]

Best answer selected by The 90s Kid.