GPU and CPU Tradeoff advice

My initial call would be the i3 w/ GTX650Ti. However, we do not know your budget, and you will need a motherboard for your CPU. If we have a whole system to work with we can work our black magic and make it great. I do see that i3 has $10 off right now. Take into consideration the AMD FX-6300 chip. It is a 6 core processor for $140 and will run between an i3 and i5 in performance. Typically it runs close to an i3 in apps that do not use more than 2 threads and for apps that like multiple cores it scores closer to the i5's. So for a few extra bucks you can get that. As far a video cards go, you will want to throw as much of your budget at it as you can to get the best gaming performance. I don't see why a 7850 would not fit in your case.

The Elite 360 is my cousin's old one and he said his 6850 couldn't even fit in there.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vypw
This is sorta what I have worked out so far but IDK if I'm making good calls for some of the parts. My budget WAS $500 but I've extended to $600.

Thanks for the build, but it seems that the computer gods smile upon me. I have recently uncovered 2 old HDDs, one with 250gb 7200 rpm the other with 100gb and 7200 rpm. I also found a new optical drive. These were all sitting in the basement, right under my nose! So knock off the price of the storage and optical drive. Thanks again!

Ummmm i wouldn't be saving any data to them, but maybe for an OS it is fine. I am very picky with data drives. I don't keep data on drives older than 5 years. That is when their failure rate starts to go up quite a bit.

Ah, I believe they're not too old as the 250gb was unopened. If you have had any experience with the CM Elite 360, could you recommend a graphics card that fits in it? I'm thinking the GTX 650 Ti but if it's worth it I might just spend more money to get a new chassis. Trying to save as much money as possible so I would prefer to just use the case that I already have. If the airflow in the Elite 360 is not good and it's just a bad idea overall I might just go with that build you posted.

If it is unopened, then that is perfectly fine. What make is it?

I still don't see why a 7850 wouldn't fit in that case. I don't believe a 7850 is any longer than the motherboard is wide so it should fit. If not then go get a case, but I hear you on reusing a case, it's one less thing to buy. Airflow should be fine as long as you at least have a good exhaust fan at the rear of the case.

Ohh wait. I see how that case works now. The power supply sits at the front and gets in the ways... I just looked at some images. Yeah that might not work. I'd get a new case and be done with it. That corsair 300R is a really really good price and you can reuse that over and over.

Thanks for the help, I'm probably just gonna get the case you suggested. The HDD is a Seagate Barracuda (I think)

A good solid case will just cause less headaches in the long run and give you options for future upgrades.

Oh yeah just run with the Seagate drive then. I used Seagate drives for years and never had an issue. The OEM Seagates are cheaper than the usually retail ones. I don't mean bare drives I mean the OEM drives that are used in Dell or HP type stuff. You will be perfectly fine with that and it will save some $$

Best answer selected by NerdBBQ.