$500 gaming system

[Guest]

Approximate Purchase Date: Indefinite.

Budget Range: $500 or lower

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and YouTube @ 720p


Are you buying a monitor: No



Parts to Upgrade: Whole system rebuild

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Atlanta, GA

Parts Preferences: by brand or type : AMD processor with ATI gfx please. Actually, with the graphics solution, this is required.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Dual Graphics mode (crossfire)

Your Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024

Additional Comments: You can go over $500, but not too much pretty please.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:This current PC is crap for gaming

 

[nafoni]

Do you have any parts from your old PC that you can re-use?

That will definitely help, considering your budget is pretty low.

List your specifications. Would be perfect if you can re-use for example your HDD and optical drive. Will leave more money for a better CPU/GPU.

 

[guerrero]

Do you know how far you are from a Microcenter?

 

[mocchan]

Oh you're in Atlanta! Sweet! There should be a Micro Center around an hour away from you, buddy. There's one in Sandy Springs

Here's a parts list I made. It'll be an Intel build, however, but I'm sure you'll be pleased with its performance

Intel Core i3 2100 $89.99 @ Microcenter - http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0359809

ASRock H77M $74.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303

G. Skill Ripjaws 8GB kit 1333Mhz $43.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Lite-On DVD Burner $17.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Geforce GTX 550 Ti $124.99 ($109.99 after rebate) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

Corsair CX430 PSU $44.99 ($34.99 after rebate PLUS an extra 15% off at checkout) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=Cx430

500GB Samsung HDD $69.99 (Currently $10 off) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Cooler Master Elite 430 case $44.99 ($34.99 after rebate) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

Total price after rebates and discounts - $460.17

Now this is without the cost of Windows 7 OEM, this would add another $99 to the cost.

If you would like an AMD build, please let me know, I could tinker the list and change it to your liking. However, at this price point, I think this would be the best route to take as the i3 is a killer gaming CPU, especially at the price available @ microcenter.