First-time Builder, Gaming PC- $600 budget

[desertindy24]

Hey there, people. I'm in the market for a gaming PC. I'm looking to run Skyrim, Portal 2, Guild Wars 2, and Civ IV. For a while, I've been surfing the Web, looking find the best parts to build one myself. Unfortunately, my budget is constrained to the $500-$600 range. So far, your website has been oodles of help, so before I order these parts, I wanted to see if you guys could help me one last time. I'm kinda overbudget right now, so if anyone could help me lower to my previously mentioned range, or even lower, that would be perfect. Here's what I've found.

CPU
Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077 $124.99

GPU
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908 $149.99

PSU
Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371004 $59.99

MOTHERBOARD
ASRock Z75 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157304 $84.99

HARD DRIVE
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769 $69.99

CASE
Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower Steel Computer Case Fully Black Powdered Interior VM30001W2Z http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133179 $49.99

MEMORY
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145278 $21.99

OPERATING SYSTEM
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99

Subtotal: $661.92
Rebates and promos: -$35.00
Total: 626.92

My cousin works at an Eclipse Computing Solutions store near me, so I'll get his opinion on my build as well. But if someone could see if they could cheapen this build, or if there's something I'm forgetting, or if one of my parts isn't good quality, or ANYTHING ELSE HELPFUL, I would be forever grateful. Thanks in advance!

 

[kevin83]

If you want to save yourself $60 and sacrifice some build quality you can always get this combo. Rosewill is a relatively trustworthy brand.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147091
If your an engineer in college you can usually get free windows.
You should look into this motherboard because you can't overclock anyways.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157315

and now that I've saved you $100 you should get this msi gtx660 factory overclocked for $240.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699

Also this is the cpu you want - ivy bridge 3220 for $120.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116775

 

[desertindy24]

If you want to save yourself $60 and sacrifice some build quality you can always get this combo. Rosewill is a relatively trustworthy brand.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147091
If your an engineer in college you can usually get free windows.
You should look into this motherboard because you can't overclock anyways.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157315

and now that I've saved you $100 you should get this msi gtx660 factory overclocked for $240.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699

Also this is the cpu you want - ivy bridge 3220 for $120.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116775

Unfortunately, I'm not an engineer in college. I'm a 7th grade student.
The CPU is cheaper than my selected one, and it's Ivy Bridge, so I thank you for that. But with the GPU, that puts me at over 700 US Dollars, if my calculations are correct. My family simply cannot afford that much on a computer. With rebates and a promo on my selected case, that brings it to 29.99, lower than your suggested case price. And from what you said, it sounds like thermaltake is better than Rosewill on some level. The motherboard looks fine though. And it's much cheaper.

 

[Kamen_BG]

Hi i made a build for you.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 560 1GB Video Card ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.20 @ Amazon)
Total: $558.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-15 14:21 EDT-0400)

It's a pretty good improvement over the build you made up and it's also a bit cheaper.

 

[XXStavrosXX]

Go with the new gen i3, but I cannot see what else you could change in order to drop the price without making a considarate sacrifice in quality or performance.

 

[desertindy24]

Best answer selected by desertindy24.