A few Questions.

[Ectrios]

Hello, Just got a few questions about if the machine i plan on building is cost effective, and good for overall gaming.

Here's the specs:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FcAb

Anything I could upgrade that is about the same price but better quality? And would my GFX card be good for the recommended resolution on the monitor? Would my CPU need a cooler? If so, what would be a good one for it?
Also it is my first time building a computer, going to have the help of a friend whose built many, though.

 

[drunkducki]

you are spending too much money on the motherboard. you will not need 16gb for gaming. You can use a better psu. why do you need win7 pro?

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 ($47.69 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Compuvest)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VN247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1006.14
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-22 12:09 EST-0500)

 

[michxymi]

COUGAR Solution Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with 12cm COUGAR TURBINE HYPER-SPIN Bearing Silent Fan and USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553003

LEPA N Series N500-SA 500W ATX12V Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817494002

AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6300WMHKBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262

G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-1866C9D-8GAB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550

SAPPHIRE 100354XTL Radeon HD 7870 XT w/Boost 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024

SanDisk Ultra Plus SDSSDHP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for Notebook
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171740

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Acer G246HLAbd Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LED Monitor 250 cd/m2 ACM 100,000,000:1 (1000:1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009422

Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416550

Sum 1022$. That's a better and more balanced build than the one you post. It has better CPU, way better graphics and SSD!

 

[Ectrios]

Did some changing to it and this is what i got. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FcWS
Any better then the previous one?

 

[Ectrios]

Did some changing to it and this is what i got. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FcWS or this http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FdaC

Any better then the previous one?

 

[Lynxvi]

i'd go with the FX 6300, newer vishera cores provide a decent chunk of performance over the zambezi. if you're already spending what you are, spend the extra $5 for a much better processor. i'd upgrade the RAM to 1600mhz.. again, at your budget, and around the same price, get the better performanced part, especially when the difference between the costs is ~1% difference of your overall price.

i'd also tack on a smaller SSD (100-150GB) for Windows and your games to run from, will decrease load times drasically, whether it be boot time or game map load time.

 

[drunkducki]

+1 to 6300

 

[Ectrios]

Going with the 6300 for sure, made some adjustments again and this is what i got.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FgAd

$827 w/o the monitor. Not too bad for my budget.

 

[Ectrios]

Best answer selected by Ectrios.