$600-$700 Computer build. First build

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BZo1
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BZo1/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BZo1/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter) way better,
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler ($13.99 @ Newegg) simple cooler to game, minor overclock, for mid/high OC take CM evo 212
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($91.32 @ Amazon) SSD brings performance much higher, fast load times
Case: Zalman Z11 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg) Just a case, you can choose one you like really
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg) Cheap good powersupply
Total: $650.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-07 06:49 EST-0500)



this i5 will perform awesome for games, but your current videocard will hold it back. but it leaves you room for upgrade  
if you dont want to take the i5, take at least AMD 6300, it will be much better than the 5800

if you take out the SSD.... you could put it towards 7850/7870 gpu and get much better gaming. (but if you go with intel and buy a new gpu lets say... in 6months from now when they drop price, it will be really a nice system)




amd
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BZpm
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BZpm/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BZpm/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($132.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($91.32 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman Z11 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $583.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-07 06:55 EST-0500)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $613.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-07 11:54 EST-0500)

At this time I would go amd FX ... links to reviews and benchmarks are below, as well as my personal parts list

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4et7kDGSRfc


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($139.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($108.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case: NZXT Tempest 410 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $704.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-07 13:09 EST-0500)

I will venture a wild guess that the Trinity APU graphics performance is dang close that of the GTX260.

If you can wait until March 19, a new AMD socket FM2 APU, called Richland, will join the market. Richland graphics performance will be nipping at the heels of a GT640 in quite a few games, especially at lower resolutions and detail ...

I have no idea how a GTX260 compares to a GT640.

I dont think that a gtx260 is that low in performance.... have you looked at the toms hierarchy chart... the 260 is comparable to the gtx 275, 280, 460 192-bit, 460 SE, 550 Ti, 560 SE, 650 and on the amd side : HD 4870, 5770, 4890, 5830, 6770, 6790, 7750 .... and those run todays games decently.

I dont think that the APUs are that comparable in performance just yet... maybe one day but not now.

No, not yet. They will actually give playable frame rates in most of today's games with the graphics turned down (no, not BF3 multiplayer), which is definitely progress, but even crossfired with a 6670 they aren't quite on par with the gtx260.

The 260 is not in the same league as the GTX 275 ... I've been looking around trying to find something ...



GTX260 article

Trinity stomps on an HD5770, too.

I'll tale a wild swing at it and say the GTX260 is roughly 25% faster, but does not do DX11 (does it?)

We'll have to wait a month or so to see where Richland ends up ...

Im not saying the 260 is a great card, but it still still better then any of the APUs.... read yourself :
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/trinity-gaming-perf...

most of todays games are not playable at 1080p with an APU... The fact is that discrete graphics chips are almost always better then hybrid chips. Again the 260 is not a great card, but it is still better... I would advise the original owner of this thread to save some money and try to upgrade but i just cant see the advantage of going APU RIGHT now.... by the time richland comes out and enough reviews are done, it could take months to make a decision. But i think the gtx 260 would be fine for now, and I would just plan to upgrade the gpu when you get some more funds like a hd 7850 or 7870 or something similar. But for those that say, "you can just lower the resoltuion"... that is just a load of crap, cause your lowering your gaming experience.

You're over-reaching to stress your point.

Not everyone plays at 1080p. In fact, I feel safe at saying the majority of folks do not.

And ... please spare me the 'lowering of game experience' crapola.

Lol... then whats the point of going i5 then... everyone that i know has a 1080 monitor... and if you do not, then you should invest in that before spending 700 on a computer build... you can build a decent comp for 500 that will kill 1080p current games at high settings. look at the builds that toms hardware puts out. Whats the point of building a $700 pc if your monitor is gonna give you the performance that your computer can deliver. Its completely pointless.

And 1080p monitors are very affordable nowadays... newegg can a sale on a 23 in 1080p asus for like $110 a week ago.

You might as well spend less on the whole build and invest in a decent monitor. I have seen my friends 720p monitor running with the same gpu that i have but with higher graphics settings because it was 720p, and i was running 1080p on a 23 inch monitor, and the 1080p looks much better, even though the graphics might be set a little lower.


Its easy to say, that cpu and gpu will run much better at lower resolutions, but the experience is much worse in reality... and why wouldnt you play in 1080p?

I had 7 year old hp desktop with a 1.8 phenom quad core, with hd 6790... it ran battlefield, skyrim, and a ton of other games with relatively high settings with good framerates at 1080p.

Again, you can make whatever assumptions you want, which is basically what you have been doing and not looking at any actual data... but when looking at reality and practicality, apu is not worth getting if you are ever thinking of getting a discrete graphics card.

i play at 720p. and im fine doing it. it does not lower my experience.. im thinking of going with gussrtk amd build without the ssd  . honestly i dont play games like bf3 crysis or skyrim. i leave that to console and i dont feel like arguing why.. i play simply wow, d3, sc2, LoL.. so if that will give me a better experience than what i have chosen that is all i need