New PC

[jaquoles]

Hello, I'm planning on getting a new PC. I don't know too much about some of the parts like power supply, motherboard, and soundcard. I would like to buy my parts separately.

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP


Budget Range: Preferably less than $800 total


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Schoolwork, gaming, surfing web, watching videos
Are you buying a monitor: Yes


RAM: minimum 6GB prefer 8GB


Parts to Upgrade: Full computer


Do you need to buy OS: Yes


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Tigerdirect, Newegg, or Amazon


Parts Preferences: Intel or Asus it doesn't matter to me


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: No


Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 or 1920x1200


Additional Comments: Will be playing Skyrim and newer games and doing schoolwork on it


And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Would like to have a nice computer to myself


If there is anything I missed just let me know and I will reply asap.

 

[butremor]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.89 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $789.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 16:59 EST-0500)

 

[jaquoles]

Any way to get a cheaper video card? This looks like a good build and thanks for the quick response I will continue to look into this.

 

[jaquoles]

Also I would like to know what kind of performance I could get out of a $600 PC or even less. I'm just curious and wouldn't want to have to purchase another PC in 2 years either.

 

[butremor]

Huh, lets find out.

Here you go.
i3 is the next best thing for gaming after i5 from my previous build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.49 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($41.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.89 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $584.31
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 17:17 EST-0500)

 

[g-unit1111]

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)

You can't use low voltage RAM on an Ivy Bridge build.

For less than $600 I'd actually go with an FX-6300:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($41.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.89 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $624.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-19 00:48 EST-0500)

 

[jaquoles]

Are there any advantages/disadvantages to a 6 core, quad core or dual core processor?

 

[g-unit1111]

Are there any advantages/disadvantages to a 6 core, quad core or dual core processor?

This will explain it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-core_processor#Advantages

 

[butremor]

More cores more processing power.
In gaming most games will be enough with 4 cores. Very few games use more.