Help Building $700 Gaming PC

DarkKnight2222

Honorable
Mar 3, 2013
6
0
10,510
Hello, I am planing on building a $700 gaming PC. I would rather build a $600 gaming PC but from what I have looked at it will probably cost more like $700. Thank you everyone that helps. Also I plan on playing BF3, Bioshock Infinite, the new Tomb Raider game and others. [Edit: Would rather have an intel cpu than amd cpu. Sorry forgot to put that when I first posted.]

Parts I'm buying for sure:
HIS IceQ H787Q2G2M Radeon HD 7870 $220 from newegg.com Comes with Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider which is a bonus :)

Parts I'm thinking about buying not to sure:
i5 2500 $202 tigerdirect.com or
i5 3470 $185 tigerdirect.com or
i5 3570 $205 tigerdirect.com
Not to sure if there is a big difference between these cpus.

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: week to 3 weeks.

Budget Range: $700 but would rather spend $600.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and video editing.

Are you buying a monitor: No going to use 32 inch 1080p tv

Parts to Upgrade: Pretty much everything except I know the gpu I want and I have a DVD drive.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, amazon.com, and bestbuy.com

Location: U.S.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe most likely not.

Additional Comments: Would like the pc to be pretty quiet.
 
Solution
Intel i5
USb3 case (but mATX only size)($5 more for a full size one) and usb 3 mb
7850 2GB to stay below $700 but if more budget, opt for an 7870 or 7870XT [all the 7870XT are out of stock so not a option as of now]
500GB HDD and 8GB ram (ram is actually $13 cheaper than listed due to combo but final price at bottom is correct)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.30 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue...
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($133.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Radioactive 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $723.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-03 23:46 EST-0500)
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($234.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Other: xfx psu 550w ($63.99)
Other: Kingston 2x4gb RAM ($39.99)
Other: WD Cavier Blue 1tb ($67.99)
Other: FX-6300 ($129.99)
Total: $726.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-03 23:54 EST-0500)
 
Intel i5
USb3 case (but mATX only size)($5 more for a full size one) and usb 3 mb
7850 2GB to stay below $700 but if more budget, opt for an 7870 or 7870XT [all the 7870XT are out of stock so not a option as of now]
500GB HDD and 8GB ram (ram is actually $13 cheaper than listed due to combo but final price at bottom is correct)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.30 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.14 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $666.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-04 00:08 EST-0500)

Over budget build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.30 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.14 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $721.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-04 00:13 EST-0500)

Taking out USB3 front panel brings you closer to $700

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.30 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.14 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $706.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-04 00:18 EST-0500)
 
Solution
Here is 1 options (I've use Newegg and Amazon for pricing):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.52 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.17 @ Amazon)
Total: $711.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-04 00:14 EST-0500)

AMD version is just a bit cheaper and you get more cores, but it's up to you:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($133.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.52 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.17 @ Amazon)
Total: $701.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-04 00:16 EST-0500)
 

Missed this, since I was building up the builds above, so here is another option:

4 Core Intel CPU, but GPU has to be dropped down to fit in the budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.52 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.17 @ Amazon)
Total: $698.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-04 00:24 EST-0500)

* I could have saved ~$10-15 on the PSU, but this PSU powers just about any single GPU out on the market.