700 dollar gaming computer (another one)

[Azreal73]

Hello,
I am looking to build my first PC, primarily for gaming, and my budget is around 6-700 dollars
i have been browsing the website and have found numerous threads dedicated to people wanting to do the same, so my question is do i want to go for a better graphics card? or a better processor? in most of these builds i see either the i5-2400k, or i5-2500k offered as good processors, but other builds utilize the i3-2120k as a cheaper alternative, should i stick with something in the i5 line, or would my money be better spent by getting the i3, and investing more in my gpu? the most expensive gpu i saw in any of these builds was the Radeon HD 6950, but i cant find that in stock anywhere, so what would be a good graphics card for around 250? additional info: i am going to be using the pc for gaming (league of legends, minecraft, WoW) but would also like to be able to run more graphics intensive games on high settings. I also don't need to buy a monitor or the OS so the 6-700 can go towards just hardware.
sorry for the long post and thank you in advance

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

I would go with the i3 for gaming. It will be better spent getting a better gpu for gaming, although you won't be able to run as many tasks at the same time. But you should also look for a mobo that is about $50-80 for your build. But good cards for around 250 would be the 7850 for 200, the 660 for 230, and the 7870 for 230-270 usually on the higher end of that. Your money would be well spent with any of these cards.

 

[Bolivious]

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116775 $130
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130653 $74
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422 $34
PSU:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028 $60
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147060 $50
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006 $300

Ivy Bridge i3, Z77 mobo, 8GB Ram (well reviewed, good company, great price, just not flashy), Good PSU and graphics muscle to last you a good long while. All for just under $650.

I picked the case based on my own experience, decent build, has good airflow and pretty good cable management.

Also, if you really want to do something awesome add on an SSD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227725 $60

Pushes you a bit above $700, but the difference in speed is amazing.

I'm assuming you have an old PC you are using, if so pull out the Optical Drive and HDD to use with this one. With an SSD, the speed of your data drive won't matter.

 

[Azreal73]

thanks for the build, but unfortunately, the only pc i have anymore is my laptop, so im assuming that i wont be able to use the HDD or optical drive from that. also, with the SSD, do i just install that in addition to a regular hard drive? if so how do i hook that up? (this will be my first time building a pc from scratch)

 

[Bolivious]

No problem, a revision and adding the parts you need:

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404 $220
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769 $70
Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 $18

Taking away the SSD and swapping to a 7870 puts your total at $656. If you plan on buying, I advise doing it soon to get that 7870, that is a fantastic deal and Newegg won't be able to keep them in stock long.

Again, you can add the SSD and go about $10 over your projected budget, which I strongly advise.

Its quite easy to setup. You just install it like a regular HDD and install Windows onto it. 60GB is plenty to also put your internet browser on as well as programs like Office. My wife has all that and runs Guild Wars off of hers.

 

[Azreal73]

Best answer selected by Azreal73.