Gaming Rig First Timer Here!

[cam1411]

Looking at 800-1000$ including *everything*, monitor, os, and possibly keyboard. I have a gaming mouse already.
I have a crappy old monitor I can use in the mean time if I have to, but it's old school.. would like to find a way to fit in a decent flatscreen monitor as well!
Also to keep in mind I won't be able to begin buying parts until 3-4 weeks from now, trying to get the main plan setup now so I can keep an eye out for any deals that pop up!

So far this is what I've come up with after my own research!

GPU ??? - This is where I'm afraid I'm going wrong, I'm not sure what would be the best buy for the best start with room to upgrade in the future via crossfire or whatever (see bottom of post for what I'm looking at so far..)

Gpus, this is my compilation of gpu's I'm looking at so far..
SAPPHIRE 100358L Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX
SAPPHIRE 100355-1GOCL Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX
HIS 7850 IceQ X 2 GB(256 bit) GDDR5 2X Mini DisplayPort HDMI DVI-I HDCP PCI Express X16
MSI GTX 660 Ti Power Edition Graphics Card with Triple Overvoltage and Enhanced PWM Design

These range from 100-300$, and I have no idea what would be best for my uses, (the game I'm primarily looking to play is currently path of exile a new game that just hit it's open beta [free 2 play not pay 2 win!] release and is currently pretty poorly optimized, so it's good timing for income taxes to upgrade!)

CPU 125$ - AMD FX-4170 4.2GHz Quad-Core Socket AM3+ CPU with AMD Virtualization Technology
Why in budget builds is an i5 that costs around 220$ more commonly used than the 125$ amd?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0074J7ITG/cupcre06-20 is what I am looking at cpu-wise

Mobo 150$- GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Found this on another website with builds, I'm sure there is a better buy here, I am unsure of how to find the right one!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0055QYKQO/cupcre06-20

Memory 50$- Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800)
(considering going for more here if budget allows)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00569K7LM/cupcre06-20

Hard Drive 110$- Seagate Barracuda 7200 2 TB 7200RPM SATA NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Desktop Hard Drive
I need my space... 2tb is the best deal so I'm fairly firm on this one, will probably get a SSD in the future as well
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OKQUJ6/ref=twister_B000EY5F5C?ie=UTF8&psc=1

PSU 80$-Antec EarthWatts EA-650 Green 650 Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE Power Supply
Also got this from another website, is it enough?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004NBZAES/cupcre06-20

Case 100$- I am dead set on the type of case I've always wanted for making my own computer, a semi see through with blue LED everywhere, working on finding the best one but this is what I'm looking at, so far best I've found for the price (as far as I know at least):
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Nine-Hundred-Black-Computer/dp/B000I5JHB0/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360304197&sr=1-5
Also found this one for 70$, not sure of the differences!
http://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Black-Steel-Chassis-921RB-BL/dp/B004351H9G/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_6

Heatsink? 25$- Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes (RR-B10-212P-G1)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cupcre06-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002G1YPH0

Optical Drive 25$ - Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0033Z2BAQ/cupcre06-20

Speakers 40$- Logitech Z313 Speaker System
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002HWRZ2K/cupcre06-20

Windows 7 64 bit 91$
(Heard bad things about some older games I enjoy with windows 8 so would rather stick to 7 for the time being unless someone can make an outstanding argument as to why it'd be a good idea to go for 8 now, I'm completely open for discussion!)



Budget- with everything here my budget is already around 800... without the graphics card. So I need help deciding what I can cut down, what I can find better deals on

And lastly, thanks in advance for anyone taking their time to sort this mess out, greatly appreciate it!

 

[djangoringo]

Can you buy from other sites ? because you can get some stuff cheaper.
I'd get the FX-6300, it's a better cpu and with lower power consumption.
And a 7950 from amd or a 660 ti from nvidia.

 

[cam1411]

I do not mind buying from other websites I just prefer to stick to well known and websites that can deliver free/quickly, amazon and newegg are my preferred (just because I have dealt with them so frequently)

 

[djangoringo]

Here's my suggestion for 1000$ :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($100.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.17 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Zalman MZ230ED 23.0" Monitor ($122.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($27.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1002.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It goes 2$ off, also doesn't include the speakers, but it has the monitor, a good card and all the stuff needed, from just newegg and amazon.
Feel free to make any changes, it's just a suggestion.

 

[cam1411]

Here's my suggestion for 1000$ :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($100.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.17 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Zalman MZ230ED 23.0" Monitor ($122.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($27.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1002.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It goes 2$ off, also doesn't include the speakers, but it has the monitor, a good card and all the stuff needed, from just newegg and amazon.
Feel free to make any changes, it's just a suggestion.

So far that looks great, the only thing I intend to do differently would be no keyboard, I have my old xp machine keyboads I can use until I can get a better one, speakers I suppose aren't a big deal I do have headphones!, but the case is the one thing I am adamant on getting something that looks great and was curious if the two I was looking at would be acceptable, I know size and fans and whether they come with a crappy psu are the important things but is that all? If you have any alternate suggestions on case I'd love to hear it!

Also, would the six core processor be better for general high performance gaming? Using less power is a for sure plus, but I just want to make sure I'm getting the best bang for the buck where I need it

And lastly, can I ask why you chose that specific gpu? That's been my biggest problem trying to choose one over another based on specs instead of price, because I'm not terribly sure what sort of specs I'm looking for


P.S. Thanks for working with this semi-noob!

P.P.S. Would overclocking be valid with this setup as well? I know what it is, but I have no experience with it so figured I'd ask

 

[djangoringo]

The FX-6300 has faster cores, even when games don't use the six cores, single threaded or multi threaded, the fx-6300 is better.
The 7870 XT or thaiti le is now the bang for the buck card, it's better than any 7870 or 660 gtx and it's almost as good as a 7950 or 660 ti, it has more shaders than the standard 7870, it's basically a 7930.
The source 220 is a good case, pretty solid, with enough room for everything and it's cheaper.

 

[cam1411]

Best answer selected by Cam1411.

 

[cam1411]

The FX-6300 has faster cores, even when games don't use the six cores, single threaded or multi threaded, the fx-6300 is better.
The 7870 XT or thaiti le is now the bang for the buck card, it's better than any 7870 or 660 gtx and it's almost as good as a 7950 or 660 ti, it has more shaders than the standard 7870, it's basically a 7930.
The source 220 is a good case, pretty solid, with enough room for everything and it's cheaper.

I believe this is pretty much solved, thanks for super fast replies man!